DON'T MISS:
Wow, is anything better?? I think most button collectors have
their first memorable, tactile and visual experience with buttons as children, playing
with the buttons in mommy's button jar or tin. For some, the fascination is
lifelong. For others, it wanes and is picked up as an adult. I rediscovered
buttons from my dollmaking--I started to search for very tiny glass, mother-of-pearl and
metal buttons for my doll costumes, and before you knew it, I was searching for them in
large sizes, too, both to collect and to incorporate as part of my
Victorian Ribbonwork. If you are new to buttons
(because, for instance, you just stumbled here on your way from Barbie or
miniature bears) then I hope to impart my love of buttons to you!
BUTTONS IN THE SPOTLIGHT--Pearls, Vegetable Ivory, Celluolid and Composition!
The buttons I am showing this
month are from a lovely lot of buttons that I was lucky enough to obtain. The
buttons are from an estate sale in rural Pennsylvania. They were sold to me in a
dirty, disheveled lot; I had little hope for them when I opened up the package.
Well, when I started to clean the buttons, I was amazed to find that they had obviously
belonged to a collector--all the buttons were of four materials--old pearls, vegetable
ivory, composition and celluloids!! Most of them were pearls, and amazing pearls at
that--carved, smoky pearls, handpainted pearls, pearls with estrucheons, and even one
cameo!! I have chosen some selections to share with you on my page.
CLICK ON THE
PEARL BUTTONS PICTURE TO VISIT WITH MORE OF THIS WONDERFUL LOT!!
What can you do with your stash of vintage buttons? Well, you can card sort them by type, and attach them with wires to cards, like serious collectors do. For more info on serious collecting, contact the National Button Society, Ms. Lois Pool, Secretary, at 2733 Juno Place, Akron, Ohio 44333-4137). Or, you can keep buttons sorted by type in containers or printers trays (if they are not very fragile or expensive!) Don't store buttons in metal containers, which can have a bad reaction with certain types of buttons. AND, if you are a creative type, you can incorporate the buttons in Victorian ribbonwork, or in doll costuming--but, please, DON'T ruin the buttons when you incorporate them into creative work. There are many ways to attach the buttons using their shanks; there is nothing worse than seeing a 100-year old antique button pulled apart to use in a piece of modern jewelry!
