Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

I remember when I was a little girl, I loved going to Grandma’s house. My Grandma could do anything! She cooked, she made cakes, and she could sew. She could sew the most amazing things! She sewed Barbie doll clothes that she sold at Christmastime to have money so she could buy gifts for her family. Maybe that’s where my entrepreneurial spirit comes from. I loved her!

One thing I remember very well is her button tin. The tin was full to the brim with buttons of all kinds, sizes, and colors. I could pick through and look at them all day long! Grandma was a woman of modest means and like many others of her generation, she saved everything. My Grandma was a master recycler! When an article of clothing no longer served that purpose, she would take all the buttons off and put them in her button tin. There were lots of ordinary white buttons in the tin from all the everyday shirts mixed in with big colorful buttons, they may have come from coats or fancy dresses. I can only imagine how old some of the buttons must have been!

I don’t know what happened to Grandma’s button tin. I do know that whoever was blessed with it has a treasure!

I’m a Grandma now and I got to thinking one day that I needed to organize my buttons. Yes, of course I have a button tin! I’ve had it for many years. I’m sure I got it shortly after I was married. I have no idea what was originally in it (fruitcake or cookies, maybe?) and it is not a very attractive tin as you can see below. I’ve been collecting buttons in this tin ever since. I even have some recycled buttons in it.

I also have a ton of buttons that I have accumulated over the years for my crafts. They are so colorful! I love color; color makes me happy! I wanted to find a way to bring all that color out of the cabinet and into view so I got some small glass jars and thought I could use them to store my craft buttons. One afternoon when my grandkiddos were here I invited them to help me sort all my craft buttons by color. It was no surprise that they all decided to join in. Everyone had fun, and even my son and his wife couldn’t resist the fun.

The jars were filling up so some colors had to go into 2 jars. Eventually the jars will sit on shelves but there are more buttons to sort first. I love that I can easily see what I have when I’m looking for a button and it makes me happy that they add color to my studio!

You may be wondering about my button tin? Am I replacing it with pretty button-filled glass jars? No, I’m not replacing the button tin. I think I’ll keep it because sometimes you just need to pick through a bunch of buttons, feeling the materials; wood, plastic, glass, and listening to the buttons click and clack as they move around banging into each other and against the tin. It’s quite relaxing, and for me it brings memories of spending time with my Grandma and playing in her button tin! Maybe someday my grandchildren will pick through a button tin and think about spending time with me.

Til next time. Be You and Be Happy!