Big Damn Buttons

I have a potato camera and I'm not afraid to use it

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And batch #3 of the Hawkcards.  With the potato phone.  All credit to David Aja, Matt Hollingsworth, Jordie Bellaire, and that Fraction guy, with cardification inflicted by me.

Joyous Yulkwazakahmali!

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Hawkcards, batch #2.  Sorry for the quality, pictures taken with potatoes.

Art mostly by David Aja.  Awesome by Matt Faction.  Colors based on Hollingsworth.  Cardification inflicted by me.

[bigdamnbuttons]

So I made myself some Hawkeye holiday cards.  ("Hawkcards")

Art is Aja's.  Coloring based on Hollingsworth.  Awesome by Fraction.  Cardification inflicted by me.

Batch #1

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Two buckaroonies each from Big Damn Buttons/Black Market Buttons, on Etsy!

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It's a pinback button!  Comes in red and blue (and custom colors), two sizes.

(via Etsy)

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2.25" and 1.25" buttons, two bucks each!  (via Etsy)

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Get it here!

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Hawkeye’s sass on Flickr.

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I'm still here.  And my to-mail box has been uncovered and oh crap I have stuff I meant to mail out weeks ago. WEEKS.  This is why I need a secretary: I'm a great one to other people, a lousy one to myself.

So if I owe you something, it will get mailed out ASAP.  (I'm looking at at you, two contest winners. WHOOPS.)

I've also been reveling in the new 1.25" button machine, despite the fact that it's creating work.  Most buttons I've designed won't just size straight down and still look right, so I'm recreating a lot.  And many I have are too wordy or too detailed.  But I'm  getting there, and finally getting to put a lot of my collage sheets to work.

So, anything you guys want to see on buttons?

[bigdamnbuttons]

This new button maker setup is the shit, people.  With my old one, I could only use plain lightweight paper, it took up to a minute per button, I needed to stand/sit in a very specific way to get the proper leverage, it had five parts besides the press, and too many buttons and I hurt.  I also had a lot of failures--usually around 10-20%, but as much as a 50% ratio, depending on the project and my stamina.

This one has no spare parts.  Everything is built into the machine.  (The cutter has one optional spare part that is invaluable to me.)  It's quick, it's simple, it boosts my efficiency!  

I can use regular paper, origami paper, cloth, stickers (stuck to paper), cardstock, photo paper--even a matchbook cover.  It really opens a whole new world.  Failures are almost unheard of, and all but one or two were the result of either experimentation or user error.  

I've decided I *will* be upgrading the big (2.25") press before I invest in a 1" machine.  My next con table is just four months away, and since 2.25" are what sells best at cons, it will be a tremendous help to have a proper Tecre machine for it!

tl;dr version: My new 1.25" button machine is the bomb-diggity, and the folks at Button Boy Inc. are my new best friends.

Photos later of the batches I've done so far (Avengers, Frida Kahlo, cloth, banned books week, more).

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A batch of 1.25" buttons.  It's like grunge candy!

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Since I have this shiny new 1.25" button maker, what should I make first?  Avengers stuff?  Doctor Who?  Put some of my non-genre sayings onto buttons?

Suggestions, thoughts, ideas, requests?

[bigdamnbuttons]

This will be the next week for me.

Wednesday: I ordered my machine!

Thursday: Oh boy, it's shipped!

Friday: I can't wait for it to get here!

Saturday: Why isn't this tracking updating?

Sunday: Nothing I can do about it today. Be zen.

Monday: UNF. Patience.

Tuesday: I'm just going to get a few things ready... ::leg bouncing::

Wednesday: omhigodohmigodohmigod one more day MAKE ALL THE BUTTONS.

Thursday afternoon: DELIVERY NOTICE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, quick, to the Buttonmobile!!!

Thursday evening: ::stare:: What the hell do I do with this and why the hell did I order it.

Remember this? I WAS RIGHT.

Actually, I was so excited to get it I opened it in my car and made buttons out of my junk mail while sitting in the post office parking lot. Then I had a dinner thing, came home, and I'm so tired I don't even want to think about doing buttons. Yet at the same time I REALLY want to do buttons. I think if the good printer was hooked up to the desktop I'd be more inclined, but I have to set up a second computer and second printer to print the good graphics. It's work.

Regardless, it's here, I have it, I am happy!

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I did the first version this for an ATC a few years ago.  I printed it with a heavy dose of ink on glossy paper, immediately dumping clear embossing powder on it as came out of the printer. There result was a raised, scattered, bumpy texture to the black areas, with the text being flatter, with a bit of texture.  (The remaining green texture on the ATC was added by hand.)  I loved it; I repeated the technique for a Lost ATC that came out just as well.  

You'd think it wouldn't work well for a button, that method, but I made it work.  The problem is you have to skip the mylar cover, but for an art button that you display or care for, it works.  And of course, sans embossing, it works fine.  

The above image is the final full sized print version.

Frankie is taken from an old still from/promoting the 1931 movie, starring Boris Karloff; the text is from Mary Shelley's novel.

[bigdamnbuttons]

This will be the next week for me.

Wednesday: I ordered my machine!

Thursday: Oh boy, it's shipped!

Friday: I can't wait for it to get here!

Saturday: Why isn't this tracking updating?

Sunday: Nothing I can do about it today. Be zen.

Monday: UNF. Patience.

Tuesday: I'm just going to get a few things ready... ::leg bouncing::

Wednesday: omhigodohmigodohmigod one more day MAKE ALL THE BUTTONS.

Thursday afternoon: DELIVERY NOTICE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, quick, to the Buttonmobile!!!

Thursday evening: ::stare:: What the hell do I do with this and why the hell did I order it.

[bigdamnbuttons]

One thing about button machines: the good ones are expensive.  To get set up in a single size can run $350-500.  Another thing about them: if you want a fast, reliable one that doesn't cost a kidney, they come in one size fits one.  

Because of that, I've only been offering one size--2.25", a size picked because my first market was the local con circuit, where 2.25" was the most popular size.  But in the next few weeks, I'll begin to offer 1.25" buttons!  I'd like to have a 1" machine by next spring, but we'll have to see how this does first.

The photos above show the difference between these button sizes.  The table grid is in 1" squares.  The 2.25" is roughly the size of a soda can or the bottom of a Red Solo Cup, the 1.25" is about the size of a quarter, and the 1" is about the size of a nickel.  (For you non-Yanks, an American quarter is about the size of a Canadian quarter. You're welcome.)

Many of my buttons won't translate well into 1.25", while some designs will probably work best in that size.  I'm looking forward to giving it a try, and I may have a Grab Bag O' Fails sale to pawn off find homes for some of the uglies.

I may also be asking for a few guinea pigs. Sometimes it's easier to challenge myself by using someone else's directions, so if anyone has anything they'd like to see on a button--your art, a photo you took--let me know. There might be a free button or two (or three) in it for you!  (Though I'm always open to new catalog additions, this is NOT a solicitation for them; they'd just be a test run.)

tl;dr version: I have a new button machine coming in and will finally be able to make small buttons!

A big thanks to sacari and veloursrose for their advice on picking out the best punch/cutter for my needs.  Go look at their awesome stuff!