I suspect every grandmother has one - the button box. The box or tin may look different but for children it is filled with fun buttons and things to play with. My grandmother's box has a dragon on it. It had shirt buttons to coat buttons in it. Rarely anything fancy, and nothing valuable, of course. But great fun to slide your fingers through and find matching buttons. Ours also had some curtain pins (watch out for those sharp points) and a medal of the Virgin Mary. Some buttons were from her mother. I have it now and share with my children. It's a little low now as buttons have gone for various projects like button bracelets.
At the thrift store I bought a bag of old mixed buttons from, I suspect, someone else's button box. I feel funny about opening the package and adding them to the 'original' collection. Will I lose contact with my grandmother and great-grandmother? Or is it the idea of a button box that is important?
In thinking of this this morning, I smile as I recall I am well into making my own button box stash: these buttons are the extras attached to purchases from Macy's, Coldwater Creek, Talbot's. Plus ones saved from thrift store purchases that are cut up for crafts.
See Coloradolady's blog for more vintage thingys! Always some wonderful contributions.
Viridian
21 comments:
Love your button box!
I love old buttons. And to keep them in the button box would be so cool!
Jocelyn
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/
I never actually collected buttons, but I have a jar of mostly white buttons I bought once, and a tin of buttons I cut off old clothes before I threw away the clothes (mostly white shirt buttons).
Oh yeah, I have a problem with buttons that has gone beyond my grandmas button box!
I spy with my little eye - I see something RED!
I wouldn't mix them - keep your grandma's memories separate. Find another cute container for the thrift shop ones.
I absolutely ADORE old buttons! And they seem to land in the most wonderful of old containers, too! This is great!
I wish I had my Grandmother's button box. I remember playing with them. I now have a round tin of buttons which I purchased at an auction. Thanks for sharing!
Living it up at Lakewood,
Cindy
Wonderful button box!
I think I would keep the buttons separate...as you said you're already well on your way to your own button box collection-now all you need to do is find a box, fill it with buttons, wait 40 years and it will be a vintage button box too. :)
I love old buttons. Maybe you could take the rest of your Family buttons out of the box and them in a pretty jar for display. Then you can put the thrift store buttons in the box for use.
I think every house had a button tin when I was growing up. Such a thrifty habit.
I have my Mom's buttons that I kept in a jar for a long time and added to as often as I could. Then, I bought a tin at an estate sale and added out buttons to theirs. Didn't think about mixing them. Love your tin. Mine is much plainer. Lane
I love old buttons. I have a jar of them that were my mothers. I like shabby cottage style too, and use the white ones a lot for decorating. I put a lot of the white ones in pretty dishes or jars for display. I want to make a wreath out of the white ones too.
Debbie
I am fortunate enough to have my grandmother's button box (tin) and also my husband's grandmother's button box. I also feel I can't put "new" buttons in them...I guess I don't want to mix the buttons. It's truly a treasure!
My daughter is fascinated by our button box (well, mostly with the buttons inside of it)--this one is much prettier than the one we use!
My grandma used a See's Candy box. I wish I knew where it was now...such a treasure you have!
Happy VTT!
Pam
I just had this conversation actually with my daughter....She FORBID me to add my "buttons" from my personal collection to any vintage buttons I purchase...she said it would not be the same.....
Have a great VTT and a wonderful weekend.
I have a button box similar to yours...it wasn't my grandma's but belonged to a friend of my mother. She didn't need it anymore and gave it to my mom (who does a lot sewing - at 80 years of age). My mom has collected her own stash of buttons over the years (and I have stolen from her stash) so she gave the button box to me....it has been very useful for all of my crafty projects. Thanks for sharing your button box.
Jane
Oh you are so right about that feeling of running your fingers through the buttons - it all comes back to me now. Of course now I have a button collection of my own :-) but unfortunately there is not much vintage about it :-(
I have buttons from several sources-I think it's ok!
What a charming box, with the scary-looking dragon---but see---he's smiling.
I think in terms of our own house---we have some family things, and lots of other things which were owned by people we'll never see, never know. We picked them up as we found them, and love them all. The mingling would just round out the having of it, I think, just as all our treasures sit together in a pleasant whole.
SO LOVELY !!!!! Are you selling? And here are other treasures from the button box: http://fashionableearth.org/blog/2009/11/06/button-box-treasures/
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