Button Bonanza

 Just before we left on vacation I was the lucky winner of three button auctions on eBay.  The photos were very poor but I could spot enough interesting buttons that I was able to recognize it was a "real" button box that had been separated into three different tins to make it more saleable.  I contacted the seller and asked if they would omit the tins and combine shipping then I bid ruthlessly to win them.  I shouldn't give away my strategy but I have had good luck bidding on these lots where the seller clearly isn't a button person.  Sorry about the garish red background but this is post-cleaning and I lay them out on a towel to dry.

 A few of the carved MOP buttons I pulled from the pile.  You can click the pictures bigger.

 Clear glass, leather and some china buttons up at the top.

 Wooden buttons, bone underwear buttons and some metal.  I still haven't really figured out why underwear buttons have those big holes.  I know it has something to do with twill tape but don't really understand how they were used.

 Dyed MOP buttons.

 Colorful plastic buckles.

 Interesting plastic buttons.

 Even MORE interesting plastic buttons.

 Uniform buttons and other metals.

 Glass buttons and a sweet little orange china.  The button in the lower right looks like cloth but it is glass.

Vegetable ivory and the two in the lower left corner are a couple of the best Tight Tops I have found.  I probably paid a little much since easily half of them will go into my personal collection and not be resold on Etsy but somebody has to rescue them and appreciate them - right??

Now About That Big Jar Of Buttons

 I know those button-lovers among you want to see what was in that big gallon jar I bought at Pirates' Plunder.  Caution - I took a lot of pictures!
The jar is what caught my eye.  The buttons were so colorful that my first reaction was it was not a "real" button box and just a bunch of already picked over modern buttons.  I spotted a few interesting ones and figured the bright colors would be nice in the button lots for my Etsy store so I went for it.

 Once I started poking and sorting it quickly became apparent that what I bought was someones button collection.  All were clean, few threads and little button box junk.  Yes, there were many sets and what I consider ordinary plastics but there was also an astounding variety of interesting plastics, metal, glass, china, MOP, etc. These pictures are the buttons I picked out for my personal collection.  There are a lot of pictures so I will keep the commentary to a minimum.

 I rarely find china stencils so I was thrilled to discover these.  Those two metal buttons are fire department uniform buttons.  One clearly has a broken shank but gets to stay anyway!  That white button above the turquoise rhinestone is rubber and quite flexible.  I occasionally find black rubber buttons but this is the first white one I have found.

 You can click these pictures bigger for a closer look.  There are three really pretty paperweight buttons and on the far left there are two whistles.

 I am trying to figure out if there is a way to rescue those black glass buttons at the top of this picture.  They have fabric inserts in the center and the inserts are in very bad condition.  I tried washing one and the fabric came out.  Future project sitting right next to those tiny black rhinestones I'm trying to rescue.  Someday I will accept that I cannot save everything.  Really.

 The square green button is a hollow cube shape.  The glow bubble below it is one of the nicest I have found.

 That white glass button has a scuffed up little black bear on it.  This was a fun lot to sort and a break from my button "ritual" since no denture tablets were required - LOL!
I hope you are enjoying your Labor Day weekend.  Be safe and have fun!

 

Better Living Through Plastics

 Sweet Amy over at IntoVintage sent me a welcome heads-up today to let me know the National Button Society is holding their annual convention right here in Portland this year. That got me thinking that I haven't done a button post in a while.  Caution...  many photos ahead!

 You have all seen this big jar sitting on the back of my workbench in the background of other posts.  This is where I keep the pretty plastic "keepers".  No, I am not a collector, I am an accumulator!

 I spilled them out on the work table and worked at turning them right side up until my back got tired from stooping so I'm sure some are still wrong side up. You can click the pictures to get a better look.

 This new camera will probably even reveal a few that could stand a little cleaning.  I usually wash my buttons after I sort them but now and then I just toss one in the jar.

 The screen on the camera flips every which way so I flipped it up and held the camera out in front of me, above the buttons.  Hopefully I got them all without too many overlaps.  It was a new way to take pictures.  There is a lot of that going on around here lately.

 I should have a contest to guess how many buttons are in the jar, but then I would have to count them.  Maybe the contest should be how many times I would lose count and have to start over!

 Okay, I'm going to stop babbling and just let you enjoy the pictures......

It has been a while since I joined the Show And Tell Friday party over at My Romantic Home so be sure to click the link and be inspired!

Sparkly Things

 Sharing more button love today with my little collection of glass rhinestone buttons.  I keep them separated from the plastic rhinestone buttons for no good reason other than that is how I do it.

 If you look close you will realize some of them are missing rhinestones.  I save them anyway and repair them as I find rhinestones in the correct size.  I have purchased loose rhinestone assortments on eBay but I also save the random ones I find in the bottom of vintage button boxes.  They just sit in a pretty little tin, patiently waiting to find their soul-mate. You haven't finished sorting a vintage tin of buttons until you have picked up every single piece, one by one, and looked at both sides.  You never know what treasure might be hiding at the bottom with the pins and lint.

 Can you imagine a coat with a row of those big blue ones down the front?  Now that is some BLING!

I promised to continue showing my button collections (and I remembered!) so I am linking up with Cindy's Show And Tell Friday at My Romantic Home again today.

Vintage Metal Button Collection

 I did get out last weekend for a tiny bit of junk shopping but I got home and put it all away before it occurred to me that I hadn't taken any pictures.  I'm blaming it on the mouth surgery.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it!
Since I don't have any new junk to show and I know that a lot of you share my love of buttons I thought I should start doing a button collection post every now so this the first in a series.  If I can remember.

 This wonderful old plastic jewelry box holds my favorite metal buttons plus some special vegetable ivory buttons.

 Click the pictures bigger so you can get a good look. Doesn't it remind you of a treasure chest?

 Look closely in the upper right compartment and you can see a couple of vegetable ivory whistles.  For those of you who aren't familiar with buttons, a "whistle" has one hole on the front and two holes on the back. There are all sorts of cut steels in the front compartments.  Cut steels are old Victorian buttons.

 The bottom is filled with a variety of larger buttons.  I don't collect according to any specific category or criteria.  I just keep the ones that look unusual to my eyes.

 I can't imagine how many thousands of buttons have passed through my hands in my lifetime, probably millions.  When eBay first launched, in the early 1990s, I was a button seller.  Gosh would I love to have some of THOSE buttons back!  I never hit the Mother Lode by finding something like a Gay 90s or anything like, but I've temporarily owned some pretty cool buttons.

 When I stopped selling them on eBay I started saving the ones I really liked and that has grown into several random collections like this one.  No matter how many times I have seen them, they still delight me every time I open the lid!

I am linking up for Show and Tell Friday over at My Romantic Home.  Cindy throws the best parties so be sure to stop by and mingle a little!