Original image 

http://truebluemeandyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/button-tree.jpg

End result:

 

     This was a project I found while browsing Pinterest.  There were no real instructions on how to make this, but it seemed self explanatory.  Basically, all you need are wire cutters, pliers, thick bendable wire, buttons, something to hold the tree up (I used a wooden spool and wrapped thread around it, but anything would work), and beads for the birds beak and tail.  First, I started by wrapping the thread around the spool.  I then began making the tree by twisting a length of wire until I had a couple of inches left on the other end.  I put the first button on by going up through the back of the button and down through the top, then twisting it down towards the trunk.  I repeated this process for all the buttons, moving up and down on the trunk until the tree seemed full enough.  Finally, I made the bird by continuing the button wrapping process to put two buttons together to make the body and head of the bird and twisting the ends into curly cues with beads for the tail, and adding a triangular shaped bead on the opposite end for the bird's beak.  I put a small amount of glue in the whole on the spool to help keep the tree in it and let it dry.  

     

     Overall, I'd say that this project was a success; it didn't take a terribly long time to complete and was fairly easy despite the lack of directions I had access to when making it.