Do you have a “just in case” button collection that’s getting out of control? Please don’t throw it away! There are so many things you can do with old buttons besides sew them onto clothes. Using recycled materials to make something new is satisfying and engages our creative sides. Below we’ve shared many ideas that you can pick from to put those old buttons to good use.

25 Ways to Reuse Old Buttons

Flip Flop Makeover

Give your flip-flops a little personalized flare with some of your favorite buttons. You can even color coordinate with your outfit! Buttons are waterproof so you can still wear those flip-flops to the pool and the beach. Scrap and Cards Today Mag has a great tutorial you can follow.

Spunky Bobby Pins

Bobby pins are designed to stay hidden, but sometimes you want a little pop in your hair. Is that so bad, especially when it’s so easy to do? See how Craft and Creativity use buttons to bring some spunky color to their up-dos.

Christmas Button Wreath

You can make Christmas ornaments out of anything, and old buttons aren’t excluded. Whether you like snowflakes, trees, Santa, or wreaths, you can make all kinds of hanging ornaments with buttons. Olivia from Hopeful Honey outdid herself with this red button wreath. See the tutorial here.

Button Lampshade

If your lampshade is dull or boring, you can decorate it to match the rest of your home decor like Hayley from Craftaholique. With your choice of color and design, you can give your living room a fun pazazz by reusing some colorful buttons.

Button Bowl

Can you have too many decorative bowls? We don’t think so, either. So reuse your old buttons to make a bowl like the one Elisabeth Kruger from DIY & Crafts. Use it to hold fruit, hair ties, beads, or even more buttons! 

Fridge Magnets from Old Buttons

Buying fancy fridge magnets can be expensive, and it doesn’t lend the same homey feel as these button magnets from Healthy House. It’s much easier to make your own with brightly colored buttons and a little glue.

Button Frames

You can spice up a picture frame or framed mirror with some buttons. Whether you’re interested in specific colors or you just want a random assortment, buttons can make any picture frame just a little more interesting. Check out some examples from The Ribbon Retreat.

Button Coasters

Use brightly colored string, or even thinly-cut ribbon, to thread old buttons into a unique coaster for your table. CraftStylish has a great step-by-step tutorial here. You can color code them, fold them, wash them, and more. You’ll never have to worry about rings on your coffee table again.

Holiday Button Wreath

Interested in a nice Easter wreath? Or maybe an orange and black Halloween one? You can make colorful and festive button wreaths to decorate your house for every occasion. Tuula from Color Me Thrifty has great photos of her button wreath-making process.

Buttoned-Up Globe

Lots of homes have globes of the world incorporated into their home decor. But have you ever actually used yours? If you want to keep your globe but would like to make it more interesting, reuse old buttons to cover the oceans and continents. Robin Ayers’ globe is sure stunning to look at!

Button-Bling Heels

Spicing up a pair of your old heels with old buttons is a great way to renew an outfit. Whether you’re looking for white buttons for black heels or neon yellow buttons for green heels, there are endless possibilities when it comes to button fashion. SNLouise posted a great tutorial on Instructables that you can follow!

Unique Button Phone Case

A lot of people, like purpleleopard12 from Instructables, like to personalize their phone case, and buttons are a perfect way to do it. Choosing your own colors and creating your own designs allow you to make a unique, one-of-a-kind phone case.

Perpetual Button Calendar

Rather than buying paper calendars that you throw away at the end of the year, try making this reusable button calendar. All it takes is a little adjusting each month to match numbers to the days of the week. You can reference Diane Gilleland’s post on Makezine for materials and photos.

Giant Button Mosaic

If you’re feeling especially ambitious and truly have hoards of buttons, you can try your hand at making a full button mosaic on the wall or counter like this one that Maximum Rabbit Designs found. While it will take a lot of patience, it will be a unique talking point for your home or business.

Button Bookmarks

If you’re always losing your bookmarks, you might want to try a button paperclip bookmark. Not only are they cute, but they hug the pages so they won’t easily fall out of your book (and it’s easy to make a lot of them at once!). Check out Jamielyn’s tutorial from The Inspiration Board.

Trees & Bouquets from Old Buttons

Buttons can be used to make little house decorations of all sizes, including this small button tree. All it takes is some wire and an unused spool of thread and you have a great piece to go on a shelf or to give to a seamstress friend. Consider sticking the “trunk” into a spool of thread, like Elsie Jones published on Flickr, or stick the wires in the top of an old salt or pepper shaker.

Old Button Garlands

Button garlands are great for hanging around your house, hanging on a Christmas tree, or even wrapping around other objects (like a candle) to make them a little more interesting. Easy to make and versatile in use, they’d be worth trying if you’ve got old buttons laying around. Check it out from Home Road.

Button Wall Art

There are a lot of different options for wall art. Whether you want to create an owl, spell out words, or create an intricate, abstract design, buttons are magnificent for creating wall art for every kind of home. Check out this example posted by PandaHall.

Reusable Coffee Sleeves

These cute, reusable coffee sleeves only require one button, some felt, and some basic sewing skills, but they’re definitely worth putting on a list of ways to reuse buttons. Check out the tutorial from Jessi at Practically Functional.

Button Jewelry

Button jewelry is common and easy to make. Whether your want to make button necklaces, bracelets, hair bands, rings, or earrings, buttons can be coupled and styled to match your outfits. It’s a great way to display all those antique buttons you might have. Check out the tutorial for this fun necklace at Amy Latta Creations.

Button Clock

If you enjoy sewing, you’ll love this button clock from Occasionally Crafty made out of a sewing hoop and some cloth. It’s cute, simple, and helps use up those buttons! Consider using old vintage buttons for a classy decoration.

Spruce up with Old Buttons

Sometimes there are plain things in your house, like napkins, shower curtains, or pillows that could use a little color. One Dog Woof shows us how buttons are perfect for sprucing up some of the bland things in your home.

Button Monogram

Button monograms are popular for hanging on the wall, like this one from Emmerson and Fifteenth. They can be heavily personalized with different fonts, different colors, different styles, and more, whether you’re decorating a nursery or a college dorm. 

Button Embellishments

You may have had your bag for a couple of years and are getting tired of it. Instead of shopping for a new one, you can embellish the one you have with some old-fashioned buttons to make something old look brand new. Check out some examples from Constança Cabral.

Button Gift Tags

If you have buttons to spare around the holidays, making homemade Christmas cards and gift tags add a personal touch to your gifts and make Christmas feel that much more personal and special. One Dog Woof shows us how.

Which one will you try and make first? Do you have any other ideas?