• 60 pictures
  • Checked October 2026

Button Art Ideas

Three button pictures per press: the outline to draw, the buttons that fill it and what goes round it.

Button Art Ideas

Show all 60
  1. A lavender field of purple buttons in slanting rowsRule slanting green pen stems. Small purple buttons climb each stem, smallest at the top. A wash of pale yellow behind.
  2. A cherry-blossom bough of pink and white buttons on a painted branchPaint one dark branch across the corner. Pink and white buttons in clusters, tiny ones at the tips.
  3. A colored-in diamond kite trailing a wavy glued thread strung with small buttonsDraw a diamond and color its four parts. Glue a wavy thread from its foot and space small buttons along it.

Next step Flowers to draw firstSkies and planets to draw

All 60 pictures

Trees and flowers 12

  • A button bouquet tied with a real ribbon bow Draw stems that cross at one point. Mixed buttons cluster above, large in the middle. Glue a bow where they cross.
  • A cactus of green buttons in a painted pot with one pink button flower Draw a tall oval and two arms. Greens in two sizes, small along the edges. Paint the pot terracotta.
  • A cherry-blossom bough of pink and white buttons on a painted branch Paint one dark branch across the corner. Pink and white buttons in clusters, tiny ones at the tips.
  • A dandelion globe of white buttons with a few floating away Draw a stalk and a circle. White and clear buttons, small at the edge. Three drift toward a corner on pen lines.
  • A lavender field of purple buttons in slanting rows Rule slanting green pen stems. Small purple buttons climb each stem, smallest at the top. A wash of pale yellow behind.
  • A mophead bloom of overlapped blue and violet buttons with two felt leaves Draw a half circle on a stem. Blues and purples overlapped, largest low in the middle. Two felt leaves beside it.
  • A ring of buttons in three greens, big and small mixed, dotted with trios of red ones Draw two circles, one inside the other. Fill the ring with greens, large and small mixed. Red berries in threes.
  • A sunflower with painted petals round a disc of dark buttons, big ones at its heart Draw a circle and paint yellow petals round it. Brown and black buttons, large in the center, small at the rim.
  • A topiary of three button balls on one straight painted trunk Draw three circles up a line. Each ball is greens, largest button central. Paint the trunk and a square pot.
  • A tree whose leafy top is green buttons crowded round the biggest one, above a painted trunk Draw the trunk and a cloud shape. Greens in three sizes, largest in the middle. Paint a strip of grass.
  • An autumn button tree with a few buttons falling to the ground Draw trunk and bare branches. Red, orange and yellow buttons, small at the branch tips. Three more drift below.
  • Seven pen-drawn stems in a vase, each topped by a small button stacked on a large one Draw a vase and seven stems in green pen. A different bright button tops each stem; stack a small one on a large.

Initials, hearts and numbers 12

  • A button heart that shades from deep red at its point to pale pink at the top Draw the heart. Sort the buttons dark to light and fill from the point upward. Leave the canvas bare.
  • A child's age numeral in bright buttons for a birthday Draw the numeral fat enough for two buttons side by side. Mixed brights. Pen a row of candles above it.
  • A field of mixed buttons crowding up to the edge of an empty heart shape Draw the heart, then fill everything outside it. Mixed colors, small buttons tight against the heart's line.
  • A heart of red buttons on white card, largest in the middle Draw the heart lightly. Reds in three sizes, big at the center and small round the edge. Nothing else on the card.
  • A monogram of white buttons on dark linen Stretch linen over the frame's backing. Chalk the letters. White and pearl buttons, small ones on the thin strokes.
  • A music note of black buttons with a painted staff behind it Paint five thin lines. Draw the note over them: a large button for its head, small ones up the stem.
  • A name written in button dots, one row of small buttons to a stroke Pencil the name in tall capitals. Small buttons of one color, touching. Paint a pale band behind the name.
  • A star outlined in buttons and left empty inside Draw a five-point star. One row of small gold or yellow buttons along the line only. The inside stays plain card.
  • A wide block capital packed with buttons from one color family, large down each stroke Draw the letter as a wide block capital. One color family, large buttons down the strokes, small ones in the corners.
  • A year in numerals with a different button color for each digit Draw four block numerals. One color per digit, large buttons in the wide parts. A pen line under all four.
  • An ampersand in black buttons with a single red one Trace a printed ampersand. Black buttons in two sizes; the red one sits where the strokes cross.
  • The word HI in giant letters of yellow buttons on a card for a friend Draw two block letters that fill the card. Yellows in two sizes. Pen short rays round the letters.

Animals 12

  • A bee line of yellow buttons with black thread stripes Draw a looping dotted flight path. Wind black thread through each yellow button's holes. Pen the wings.
  • A button fish whose scales overlap from tail to head Draw the fish. Start at the tail and overlap each button on the last. Small at the tail, large mid-body. Paint water.
  • A caterpillar of green buttons in a wavy line with pen legs Draw a wave. Green buttons along it, the head button largest. Pen two legs under each and a pair of feelers.
  • A framed butterfly with matching buttons on both sides, the largest nearest its pen-drawn body Draw the wings. Every button on the left gets a twin on the right, large near the body. A pen body between.
  • A painted giraffe whose spots are brown buttons, large on the body and small up the neck Paint a yellow giraffe. Brown buttons in three sizes, largest on the body. Pen the mane, eye and hooves.
  • A peacock with a fan of blue and green buttons, each topped by a smaller one Draw the body and a wide fan. Stack a small button on each large one. Paint the body blue.
  • A row of button birds on a wire with pen beaks and legs Rule a sagging line. Five buttons sit on it, each a different blue. Pen a beak, an eye and two legs on each.
  • A sheep with a fleece of white and cream buttons and black pen legs Draw a cloud shape. Whites and creams, large in the middle. Pen four legs and glue a black felt face on.
  • A snail shell coiled from buttons, the largest at the outer end and the smallest in the center Draw the spiral. Largest button at the outside end, smallest at the center. Pen the body and two eye stalks.
  • A turtle with a shell of brown buttons and a green felt head Draw a dome. One large button in the middle, a ring of medium ones, small ones at the rim. Felt head and feet.
  • A whale in blue and gray buttons, big along its back, blowing a spray of tiny ones Draw the whale. Blues and grays, large along the back, small at the tail. Paint the sea below it.
  • An owl with two large button eyes ringed by tiny buttons Draw an owl shape on brown card. Two big buttons, a ring of tiny ones round each. Pen the feathers and feet.

Seasons and holidays 12

  • A Christmas tree of green buttons in a triangle with a star button on top Draw a tall triangle. Rows of greens, small at the top and large at the base. A few red ones as ornaments.
  • A firework whose sparks are buttons strung along painted lines, the largest at the hub Paint thin lines out from one point on a dark ground. Buttons along each line, large near the center, small at the tips.
  • A holiday bauble of buttons hanging from a drawn ribbon Draw a circle and a ribbon to the top edge. Reds and golds, large in the middle. A real bow at the cap.
  • A mitten of red buttons with a cuff of white ones and a loop of ribbon Draw a mitten with a line across its wrist. Reds above, large in the palm; whites below. Ribbon loop at the cuff.
  • A ribbed pumpkin laid in rows of orange buttons and topped by one green toggle Draw a wide oval with ribs. Oranges in rows that follow the ribs, small at the edges. Paint a dark ground.
  • A six-armed flake of pearl buttons, big at the hub and tiny at the tips, on navy backing Rule three crossing lines. White buttons along each, large at the center and small at the tips.
  • A snowman of three white-button circles with a ribbon scarf Draw three circles. Whites and creams, large in each middle. Glue a ribbon scarf and pen the arms.
  • A turkey with a tail fan of fall-colored buttons Draw a brown card body and a half circle behind it. Red, orange and gold buttons in arcs, largest outside.
  • An Easter egg striped in bands of pastel buttons Draw an egg and four bands across it. One pastel per band, small buttons where the egg narrows.
  • An open umbrella in pen, kept dry in a shower of blue buttons large and small Draw the umbrella in pen and color it. Blue buttons fall round it but not under it, large and small mixed.
  • One tree in four seasons: four quarters of a canvas, four button colors Draw the same tree four times. Pink, green, orange, then white buttons. Paint each quarter's sky.
  • Three heart-shaped leaves of green buttons on a pen stalk, with small buttons round each edge Draw three heart-shaped leaves and a stalk. Greens in two sizes, small along the edges. Pen the stalk.

Balloons, rainbows and skies 12

  • A bubble wand with clear buttons floating up from it Draw the wand in pen at the bottom corner. Clear and pale blue buttons rise from it, small first, larger higher.
  • A bunch of button balloons with thread strings gathered at one point Mark the gathering point low on the backing. Bright buttons above, largest highest. Glue a thread from each.
  • A colored-in diamond kite trailing a wavy glued thread strung with small buttons Draw a diamond and color its four parts. Glue a wavy thread from its foot and space small buttons along it.
  • A night sky with one large white button moon and tiny pearl-button stars Paint the canvas navy. One big button high on one side; scatter the tiny ones unevenly.
  • A packed disc of yellow buttons throwing eight short rays of three orange ones each Draw a circle and eight rays. Yellows packed in the disc, large central. Three small oranges per ray.
  • A rain cloud of gray buttons with blue button drops on threads Draw a cloud. Grays in three sizes. Hang each blue button on a thread glued under the cloud's edge.
  • A row of invented planets from buttons of different sizes Rule a faint line. Seven buttons along it, no two alike. Pen a ring round one. Black backing.
  • A shooting star: one big button with a tail of shrinking buttons Draw a curved line. The largest button leads; each one behind is smaller. Dark backing.
  • A striped flying balloon in rows of buttons, small at top and bottom, over a pen-drawn basket Draw the balloon and its stripes. One color per stripe, small at the top and bottom. Pen basket and ropes.
  • A sunset in level rows of buttons from yellow through orange to purple Rule faint rows. One color to a row, same size along it. Paint a dark strip of land at the foot.
  • A V of flying geese in small white buttons, the leader one size larger, over pen-drawn hills Rule a faint V on blue card. Small white buttons along both arms, a larger one at the point. Pen low hills below.
  • Six curved rows of buttons, a color to each row, landing on a cotton-ball cloud at each end Draw six arcs. One color per arc, the same size along each. Glue a cotton ball at both ends.

How it works

Each of these 60 button art ideas starts with a drawn outline, then says which buttons fill it and what goes round it. Buttons are small parts, so an adult stays close when young children join in.

Read the full guide

Canvas button art ideas

On some of the On canvas pictures the ground is painted first: a navy night sky for one large white button moon, a dark ground for a firework with button sparks. On card and In a frame hold the rest.

Large in the middle, small at the edge

Most hints sort the buttons by size. The largest sit in the middle of a shape and the smallest follow its edge, where they keep to the drawn line. A small button stacked on a large one makes a flower.

Questions and answers

What is button art?

A picture in which buttons fill a drawn outline in place of paint: a tree's leafy top, an initial, the scales of a fish. Whatever is round the buttons is painted or drawn.

What are simple button art ideas?

A heart of red buttons on white card, a caterpillar of green buttons in a wavy line with pen legs, and a star outlined in buttons and left empty inside each need one outline and one color family.

What can I make with buttons as a gift?

Initials, hearts and numbers holds 12, most of them for a named person: a wide block capital packed with one color family, a year with a different color for each digit, a monogram of white buttons on dark linen in a frame.

What do you need for button art?

Buttons sorted by color and size, a pencil for the outline, a glue whose label says it holds buttons to your base, and the base itself: a canvas, a sheet of card or the backing of a frame.

More tools

Show 4 more

Browse Drawing Ideas