Buttons For Sale

Sorting through the buttons in Grandmother's button box has been a pleasant activity, almost meditative. Brown ones here, black ones there. And white ones - the most plentiful - right there. Once I had them sorted by color, I sorted them by number of holes, and then by size. Finally, I've been able to put families of buttons together.

On the one hand, it's kind of nice to have my little buttons all sorted out and in shiny ziptop bags. They look so neat and orderly, ready to head off to their new homes. But as I'm listing them, I'm getting nostalgic. Nostalgic over buttons I've never even seen? Yeah.

I'm feeling a little guilty for not keeping them and putting them to good use. Good use? Really? Although I was once a darn good seamstress, I haven't sewn in easily a decade. How on earth could I use up hundreds of buttons? And I have my own collection growing in my sewing box upstairs should a button go missing from some of my clothing.

And what about making something with them? They're great for altered art projects or collage. So, yes, I may keep some. But I'm putting the rest in the shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageOpal?section_id=7277910

Please take a look. Photographing them has actually been fun. I'm finding they have wonderful character all their own. I'm getting some photos with nice abstract qualities.

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