Tuesday Treasures...Buttons

A few years ago my mom found some buttons that had belonged to her grandmother. They were fancy buttons and simple buttons, buttons her grandmother had cut off of shirts and coats, buttons still on the cards from the Five and Dime.

Mom used these buttons to make the sweetest little button bouquets. She made one for her, and then one for her sister and then several of her nieces. Next, she started buying buttons to make button bouquets for gifts. Soon other people started bringing her buttons to make them bouquets.

Each flower a little stack of buttons wired together and planted in the holes of a salt shaker was a treasure. 

While the button flowers bloomed, so did my mother's button collection. She hunted and shopped. She read and  researched. She cleaned and sorted. Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!

It seemed nearly daily the packages of buttons arrived or she was coming home from some little out of the way shop with buttons.

This might sound like a bad thing, but it wasn't. If anyone can find a gem it is my mom! A gem and a deal!

Then surrounded by all these beautiful buttons, she started creating things other than button bouquets, but alas there are still to many buttons to use - realistically, anyway. She has been generous and offered to make some of her wonderful buttons available through my etsy shop, The Things I am Made of.

I hope you will enjoy today's treasury, as well. The uses for buttons is never ending and certainly inspiring. And nothing says you have to make a coat to chose the buttons. Why not switch out the buttons on an old coat or sweater or dress and breath a little new life into them.