Welcome to The Button Blog
by American Button Machines!

We are so glad that you have decided to join us at The Button Blog, where our goal is very simple: to celebrate the wonderful world of buttons.

Please, browse The Button Blog to learn more about making buttons, and to discover the many varied uses of a button machine and the myriad novelty items that you can create with your own button maker.

***Featured Product: 1" Ponytail Sets

You asked and American Button Machines listened, and we are now proud to announce our brand yaba-daba-new 1" ponytail sets, which have never before been available for purchase anywhere.

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Recent Posts

B2S Tip for Teachers: Teach Business and Have Fun with…Buttons!

As you are probably aware, it is now September. This means a number of things: in most areas of the country it means that leaves will start changing colors; it also means that both college and professional football are set to begin new seasons while baseball winds another long one down; it also means that shorts and tank tops are replaced by jeans and wind breakers.

And, most importantly, it means that kids are back to school. (Hence the “B2S” in the title…our attempt to start the next “LOL” or “BTW”. So pass it on…)

Another year of school starting means that teachers across the country are looking for new classroom activities that can not only hold students’ attention but also teach them valuable lessons. For any teachers out there looking for an innovate way to teach math, teamwork, business concepts, and even simple economics, we have the perfect idea.

Yep, you guessed it: buttons! (What were you expecting? Textbooks? Ha!)

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So Many Options with 6″ Buttons

One of the most commonly asked – and important – questions that we get from potential button makers is: what size button is right for our project? It’s a great question. With so many different button size options available, it can be hard to narrow it down and choose the one that perfectly fits your particular project.

While the 2.25″ button is the most common and versatile button size that we sell, it is just one of many. In today’s post we are going to talk about a button size that doesn’t get enough credit or pub; but hey, even big buttons need love too.

So here are a variety of uses for the 6″ button.

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Announcing our first ever Twitter contest!

Some 702 tweets ago (as of this post) we launched our Twitter account: @ABMachines. Since our first tweet, we have been privileged enough to be followed by more 3,000 button, craft, and smiley face enthusiasts.

We would be lying if we said that we expected to achieve that kind of following in such a short amount of time, and we certainly are honored and humbled by it. As you know if you follow us, we look at it as a responsibility to tweet and retweet useful content regularly and to respond to any messages you send us via Twtter.

And today, we are excited to announce that, as a thank you and show of appreciation, we are going to give all of our Twitter followers the opportunity receive a discount on their next purchase of a button making system from ABM.

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Sports Photo Buttons – Why Sports Buttons are Great Fundraisers for High Schools

In an article earlier today, we discussed some creative fundraising ideas for schools. The response to this post was so positive that we wanted to break out a few of the ideas and deal with them individually. So today we are going to discuss the wonderful world of sports photo buttons; and specifically, why sports buttons are great fundraisers for high schools.

If you have ever gone to a high school football or basketball game, you have probably seen multitudes of women covered in decorative photo buttons. Typically, the buttons will have either the school logo, or pictures of athletes or cheerleaders, which are presumably their children. The photo buttons are usually brightly colored and feature close-up shots of the athletes and are a great way to show support for a school or child.

What many savvy high school athletic departments have found out, but that others may not realize, is that these sports photo buttons are easy and cheap to make and can return a very nice ROI as a fundraising product.

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Creative Fundraising Ideas for Schools: Personalized Buttons and Novelty Items

One of the greatest and most rewarding uses of a button machine is the creation of novelty items that can be an excellent addition to your list of creative fundraising ideas. Many schools, from the elementary level all the way up to high schools and colleges, have made the relatively small investment in a button machine to create personalized promotional buttons for clubs, causes, and classes.

American Button Machines has published an extensive feature article about using a button machine to create pinback buttons for promotional and fundraising purposes. So why is purchasing a button machine and making your own novelty buttons an excellent creative fundraising idea?

Let’s count the ways.

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Customer Spotlight: Monkey Threads

We’ve got a quick new Customer Spotlight entry for you today, and it comes courtesy of Twitter.

As I try do at least once every week, I logged in today to see if anyone had messaged us or if anyone had any button making-related questions I could answer. Much to my excitement, there were a few messages. (This is typically what happens, but it’s still exciting every time! And that’s why you should follow us.)

One of the messages was from Twitter user @MonkeyThreads and said the following:

@ABMACHINES I worked my machine making 100 wedding favors. http://www.etsy.com/listing/37116137/bottle-opener-i-heart-my-wife-225-inches

Naturally I clicked on the link, and what I found was, indeed, quite the wedding favor!

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Button Maker Price Comparison: American All-in-One Kits v Chinese 3-in-1 Button Makers

Welcome back for post #2 in our weeklong series discussing American-made button maker kits and Chinese-made button maker kits. Yesterday we provided an overview and debunked a few myths about Chinese 3-in-1 button machines. Today we are going to do a button maker price comparison, contrasting the costs of Chinese-made button makers to the costs of our American-made button makers.

First, let’s take a look at the hard costs as we dig into this button maker price comparison.

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How to Start a Button Business

Given the current economic situation, many families are forced to cut back on their spending while they try to come up with some ways to make extra income. One easy way to supplement an income for a very small investment is for a family to start their very own button making business.

The small investment for a button making system and the necessary supplies can allow an entrepreneurially minded family to easily start their own button business making pinback buttons. Pinback buttons are extremely versatile and have an enormous popularity. From campaign buttons to concert souvenirs, pinback buttons are a popular novelty item. » read more

Button shows that not even the stench of death can deter one happy bride

By the time their wedding day comes around, most women have dreamt about it and visualized it over and over and over again.

The dress, and the ring, and the cake, and the music, and the invitations, and the flower girls, and, oh yeah!, even the groom…for most brides (and certainly for whoever is in charge of planning the wedding) that special day is one for which all the t’s must be crossed, the i’s must be dotted, and even the tiniest curveball can be cause for concern and consternation.

So you might that think that even the most even-keeled bride would turn into a bridezilla if they had to deal with what Jessica Zabala feared she would have to deal with on her wedding day.

And what is that, you ask? Oh nothing…nothing at all…just the smell of death emanating from across the street, nefariously infiltrating the noses of everyone in its vicinity.

Ms. Zabala’s reaction? Wear a button that says “I Love Lois” in honor of the famous “Corpse Flower” from whence the smell was wafting.

» read more

Our Pledge: When you buy from ABM, you’re buying quality button parts

It is July 22nd, 2010. Do you know what that means? It’s officially Reiterate Our Pledge to Our Customers Day at American Button Machines.

If it sounds like we just made that up a couple of seconds ago, you would be both right and wrong.

Is today actually Reiterate Our Pledge to Our Customers Day at ABM? Sure it is. The tricky part is that, to us, every day is Reiterate Our Pledge to Our Customers Day.

And our pledge to our customers is very simple: when you buy a button machine or any button making supplies from us, we pledge to you that you are buying the highest quality button parts available. Bar none.

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