Grandmother's Button Box

My grandmother kept a button box. Whenever a piece of clothing became too worn out to continue wearing, she would snip the buttons off and toss them in the button box she kept by her sewing chair. 

She made all the clothing for the family - herself, her husband, and their 8 daughters. Whenever she needed a button, she found it in her button box.

Over a lifetime, she accumulated a huge assortment of buttons - mostly black, white, and brown. Very few colorful or fancy buttons, which probably says something about her.

This box was full to overflowing when I found it in the basement. I wish I'd thought to take a photo of it before I emptied it, but alas I did not. And I'm not putting everything back in!

It had a few things other than buttons, too: my grandfather's pipe and the bowtie he wore with this work uniform. A couple old bus tokens. A marble. Two dice - one very old and one very new. A religious medal. Interesting everyday things that reveal little bits of who these people were.

I'm sorting the buttons by color, size, and style. The ones I cannot use myself are listed in our Etsy shop. They're perfect for creating authentic vintage outfits, should you choose. Or for creating collage or mixed media art.

Either way, I think my grandmother would be pleased to know that her buttons are being put to good use.

See our buttons here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageOpal