Saturday, October 1, 2011

Small, bright and useful.

Following on from my tin post of earlier this week, it got me to thinkin' about button tins......when l was a kid it'd be great when Mum was sewing cos' she'd pull the tins out and l remember the fun of running my fingers through the buttons and letting them drop all over the floor, (not so great having to pick 'em all up), they were all shapes and sizes and sometimes l'd get the (important) job of finding her matching one/s. 



Having a button container is an absolute necessity for us crafters and l can remember back in the day my Mum would add to her collection by cutting the buttons (and zips) from any worn or outgrown clothing......rarely did she have to go and buy them. 



These buttons are vintage plastic but you may be able to see the bright green domed ones with white squares....they're lucite and are probably 50's.


Metal, acrylic, glass, shell and wood. Buttons of all types make for an interesting collection.


If you're out opshopping..... the cheap clothing rack/table can also be a great source for the button collector as often this is where the wornout or frumpy old clothes are, but the buttons on them are sometimes awesome.


l've also noticed that opshops don't always have their buttons out where you can see them...so you might need to ask for someone to pull their stash and show you. They're still generally dirt cheap and if you know what you're looking for even bakelite/lucite and glass ones can be picked up for a sweet song.




According to wiki.... the oldest button ever found was 5000 years ago it was a curved shell and found in the Indus Valley (Pakistan), but it wasn't until the 13th Century in Germany that buttons were used regularly for fastening clothing.....800 years and still going strong.



l found these lovely old hand painted 'flapper girls' that date back to the 20's in a library book.




l thought this white jacket with its plastic buckle was a great find this morning. lt looks  70's to me and cost a dollar as did the vintage plastic necklace.(70's maybe)
Right - Same jacket but different necklace. This one is made from wood and ribbon.(late 70's maybe). 





Not sure who had the most patience here....the applier or the applied. wendymag via pinterest.

Hope your weekend is wonderful, thanks for stopping by.

Til next time,
Bron.


4 comments:

  1. Gorgeous buttons Bron, and what a great tip about checking the cheap clothes rack. I would have never thought of that.

    I have quite a bit of catching to do it seems. Hope all has been well, Tam x

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  2. Welcome back Tam, hope you had a wonderful trip, and that the jet lag's not hitting you all too hard.

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  3. What beautiful buttons! Especially the clear ones and the black ones too.
    Beth x

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  4. Leave it up to you to make a collection of buttons look like a treasure trove! Love it!

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