Here's an update, a question, and a reply to hybrid8's post over in Projects.

I've been talking with my molding company to finalize the costs for the button project. It lost a month due to vacations (not mine) and having to wait my turn with the colorant company. We are still moving forward and I'm getting more ideas for how we can have fun with this project (more on that below).

I mentioned making a small run of solid black buttons and crystal clear buttons along with the colored ones. However, the cost of the project needs to be trimmed, so I will most likely have to cut black from the production schedule.

However, I do plan to make a full run of clear buttons which could serve as a starting point for experimentation and customization. I want them to be cheaper than the other sets to enable you to try different modifications with less worry. They could satisfy many previously requested features:

Paint them black, chrome, or whatever.
And mask off shapes to remain clear so light could pass through.
Or make them solid and drill pinholes for light.
Custom color the inside with a marker or translucent paint (if it exists).
Coat the inside with UV reactive material?
Cloudy, milky, mirrored?! Anything you can imagine!

I plan to make a spot on the website to house your photos of your creative modifications. Show off your work, share your ideas with others, etc. And if you come up with a humorous / clever way to arrange the buttons (ie: the Super Nintendo Set and the forthcoming Christmas Tree Set), send a photo for the humor gallery. This photo stuff is just an idea for now, but it could be fun.

So, what do you think of the clear sets, painting them to get black, and modifying them to get whatever you want? I will be getting 10 sets of clear to verify that the mold is correct, so we'll see how they look at that time. The less productive October did hurt the production schedule, but we're still moving forward toward the deadline of "as soon as possible." Thanks for your patience with this project!