Ring a Ding Ding - My First Giveaway Contest!

Many, many moons ago (aka 2009), I was out of work and trying to keep things afloat.  I started a proofreading business.  And that helped.  But I've always been nuts over crafting and jewelry.  Especially jewelry.  
In college, I started out as a journalism major, but quickly changed to an art & design major, specializing in metal crafting (i.e. jewelry making).  I went to classes by morning and worked as an apprentice jeweler at the local family owned jewelry store by afternoon.  Until my parents caught me, that is.  "Wendy, you've always HATED art class. Why are you majoring in it?  It's cute, but we're not going to pay for that!  You should go get a business degree."  <I'll give you three guesses what my degree is in>

Even after leaving the jewelry world, it never really left me.  I dreamed of being involved in it somehow and puttered around with vintage costume pieces, taking them apart and putting them back together in new fun ways.  
Fast forward to 2009.  I'm downsized out of work and trying to figure out how to keep things afloat.  And I run across a box of old costume stuff and a jar of buttons when unpacking from a move.  I remembered an article in a magazine (Real Simple, I think) from ages before that showed how to make rings out of old, vintage buttons.  Ta da! <light bulb moment> 

With the help of some great friends, the Denyers, (who had an SUV to take me to go pick up a used jewelers bench - I'll never forget the trip to Winder, GA.  We even saw Spiderman on that trip) and a basement in which they let me set up said bench, I was off and running with ElevenEleven Designs.  I started searching everywhere for vintage buttons and turned them into rings, cuff links, earrings and even bobby pins.  And I sold them.  Lots of them.  And that's how I paid my bills (along with dog sitting for the Denyers when they traveled) until I found a 'real' job several months later.
I still putter around with them when I have time, although the bench has long since been sold.  So, today I thought I would share with you how easy they are to make.  They make great gifts and it's easy enough that your kids could do it.  

You'll need:

• Vintage buttons (preferably with flat backs, but you can snap or grind off thread loops with a Dremel tool) 
• Adjustable Ring Bases (can be found here)
• or Earring bases (can be found here)
• Bobby Pin Bases (can be found here)
• E6000 Glue (click the link to find it but you can also find it at most any craft store)
• toothpicks - regular old wooden kitchen toothpicks work great
• Some sort of hard, flat surface on which to dry things - preferably one that can get a little glue on it and it won't hurt it, but it's not soft like a paper towel.

Take you flat-backed, vintage button and one of the bases and set them up on a surface that's ok to get a little glue on it (that's why I had the jewelers bench, but you could use a piece of cardboard on your kitchen table and it would work fine).  Open the tube of E6000 (this stuff is off the charts amazing for gluing stuff.  It's not waterproof, but it works really well) and use your toothpick to pull out a gob of the glue.  Put some on the back of the button and some on the surface of the ring/earring/bobby pin base.  Adhere the button the base, sit it face down on your hard surface (preferably somewhere that it won't be disturbed) and let it dry for 24 hours.  You're done.  See, I told you it was easy.

If you're giving these away as gifts, be sure to let the recipient know not to get the item wet - if it's a ring they should take it off when they wash their hands.  Some of the best vintage buttons came from garage sales or flea markets, so be on the lookout.  I'm told there's even a vintage button lady at the monthly antiques market in Atlanta, but I never was able to find her.
I mentioned that today is my first ever giveaway. It's like Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa in September!  Just leave a comment below by Sunday at 2p EST and tell me which of the three rings (shown under this paragraph) you'd like.  I'll put all of the entries in a hat and have one of my bonus daughters  draw a name out of a hat on Sunday evening.  Then I'll announce who won in Monday's Monday Mania Blog Post.  

A contest AND now you have yet another holiday gift giving idea.  Or if you're broke like I was, an income stream.  You're welcome.