Make Buttons or Stickers: Stuff I Found

I found a button maker in my craft room when I cleaned it. So I made buttons. And then I realized I could make stickers from those same images. I have a 1 inch and a 2.25 inch die for the button maker so that is the sizes I made. Make them whatever size you need.

I don’t do craft shows but these wold be great inexpensive crafts for a show. You can get a button maker and 1000 buttons for about $100 on E bay. The cost to make buttons or stickers per unit is about 10 cents so the profit margin is great! Cordelia has her backpack covered with buttons and paid a dollar or more for the ones I didn’t make

What you need:

Plain printer paper if making buttons
Cardstock if making stickers
Xyron sticker Maker if making stickers
Button maker and parts if making buttons
printer
Download Files

Paper Selection to Make Buttons or Stickers

For buttons you need regular printer paper. Cardstock is too thick and only about 20% of my buttons sealed. Printer paper is thinner and worked better for the buttons.

For stickers you can use cardstock and it looks better. You can also use printer paper if your printer will not take cardstock. I also use sticker paper for the stickers and that worked too.

Cutting to Make Buttons or Stickers

If you are using my designs they are flattened already and will print. When you make your own, you will need to flatten the designs. If you need help with Print then Cut check out the tutorial here. They look much better when flattened and you see much more detail. You can use ink jet or laser printer if you are working with paper.

The files have a lot of buttons, if you only want some of them, just hid the ones you don’t want.

Assembling Buttons

I have a machine that looks like the picture below. Also pictured are the button parts and the “dies” for the machine. You can buy the dies separately and change sizes easily for my type of machine. I don’t recommend the Badge a Mint Button Makers. They are cheaper but are not as sturdy. i had one years ago and it broke after just 10 or 15 buttons.

Follow the directions for making the buttons from your machine. Just a few general tips. The plastic covers are very staticy. It is hard to line them and the paper under it and keep it in place. If you have this problem, put a little bit of sticky stuff (I used a dot of glue stick) between the metal part and the paper to keep it centered. And if you design your own or make a different size, make the circle about a quarter inch bigger than the final size of the button. This will curl under and make the sides of your button the same color as the rest of the button. The learning curve is steep for any button machine and the first few you make won’t quite work right, but don’t reuse those parts. They never look right. I messed up 3 or 4 before I got the hang of it. Keep trying. You will get it.

Making stickers

If you are using sticker paper the back is already sticky but if you are using regular paper, you need a Xyron Sticker Maker. These machines are great for attaching embellishments to projects too. I love mine. It really is a must for any crafter!
Once the circles are cut out, feed them into the machine one at a time. Feed them right side up. They come out with a plastic sheet on the top. Before cutting them apart remove that sheet. Then cut them into individual stickers if you want. Don’t feed them too fast. You don’t want them to overlap because the overlap won’t get sticky on them.

The makers come in a variety of sizes and have lots of cartridges, like two sides stickers or magnets. These are available for the second and third styles. Those types allow you to buy replacement cartridges. The first and last are disposable.

Conclusion

You can make buttons or stickers, your choice. I bought the button maker years ago when Cordelia was a Girl Scout. I haven’t used it in a while but it still works years later and you can buy replacement parts on Amazon or E bay. The Xyron ,on the other hand, I use all the time. The stickers were made for a project for Cordelia’s English class.

I earn a small commission from the links on this page but it does not add to your cost. And I truly believe in these products.

Which ever you do the possibilities are endless. My favorite design is of course the Crazy Cricut Lady Logo. You can make them for advertising too. Just have fum with it!