I was recently given a very generous gift: the button collection that belonged to a friend's mother.
I am sure anyone with a crafty bent, or who is like myself, quite possibly part magpie, can imagine the afternoon I spent spreading them all out, stacking, sorting and admiring. The experience positively brought out the Gollum in me. My precious!
Among the notables (pictured below) were Bakelite, glass and metal filigree (possibly Edwardian??), which was my fav. *sigh* So sparkly...
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| My Vintage button collection - One thing is fer sure, they don't make 'em like they used to! |
Because I make historical costumes I am sure I'll be able to make good use of these tiny treasures.
But true to the nature of button collections there were a lot of singles. It got me wondering, what else can you make with buttons?
Here are a few cool things I found via the interwebs.
Almost Unschoolers: Clothespin Button Racer: Clothespin Button Racer
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Source: Izzwizz Creations |
Decorate Cards - this tutorial also shows you how to turn plain buttons into decorative ones!
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| source: The Dreamstress |
The Dreamstress has an excellent tut on aging modern metal buttons
Lilly Pilly Blog - Make a Button Necklace
If anyone else has some clever ideas for button up-cycling please let me know :)
Wow - those buttons are so beautiful. I don't have any upcycling tips, but just have to say that necklace is pretty great and those toy cars are such a good idea.
ReplyDeleteyeah, I am totally making those cars!
DeleteOoh! So pretty. I love the Bakelite ones.
ReplyDeleteI really love the texture of them, colours hmmm, maybe not so much, but clearly I will be all set if I ever need to make a St Patricks day outfit ;)
DeleteHmm, buttons. I have the habit of buying those 200-gram bags containing odds and ends buttons at the fabric store. :)
ReplyDeleteWHat?! OMG where do you live to offer such treasures? actually seriuosly, I will need your advice as I am going to the UK / Europe very soon, Squeee
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