the last of the stock from the last of gloucester's fabric and notions store.
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Vintage Buttons!
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 elli01930 |
Vintage Buttons! |
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(05/13/08 04:21 PM) |
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 Evelyn |
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(05/13/08 04:52 PM) Administrator |
They just don't make 'em like that anymore. I'm reminded that I have a large box full of buttons that my grandmother and mother had saved. I'd
bet some of them are 80 years old or more. I can't bring myself to get rid of them. Keep thinking about creative ways to use them. Any ideas?
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Gypsy |
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(05/13/08 04:57 PM) |
Ohhhhhhhh, ellie!!! If there is anything I love it is vintage buttons. These are a few from my collection:
Are those yours???
True art is moral: it seeks to edify life, not to debase it, to hold off, at least
for a little while, the twilight of the gods and of us.
- John Gardner The Old Mermaid's Tale: The Video | In Memory of Mark S. Williams | Sponsored by Parlez-Moi Blog |
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elli01930 |
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(05/13/08 04:59 PM) |
start by separating the plastic from the metal buttons. sort out the glass buttons. look at the picture buttons. sort them by color, shape, etc. and just start
making yourself a good old button covered wall hanging that you can put keys on, and figure out various ways to hang other treasures using the button loop. an
immediate thought is to punch a hole in fun pictures, recipes, etc, slip yarn through the hole punch, tie into a loop and hang off one of the buttons.
or, how about up-dating this winter's beret for next winter: cover with your favorite buttons. do not store your buttons in air tight containers, some will start to rot. |
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Evelyn |
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(05/13/08 05:01 PM) Administrator |
Great ideas and advice, ellie! Thanks. I should start by sorting.
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Gypsy |
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(05/13/08 05:03 PM) |
My grandmother sorted them and strung them on crochet thread. I still have the ball of blue crochet thread she used and I use it when I decide to string a few
together.
I don't know what I am ever going to do with them but I love them just the same....
True art is moral: it seeks to edify life, not to debase it, to hold off, at least
for a little while, the twilight of the gods and of us.
- John Gardner The Old Mermaid's Tale: The Video | In Memory of Mark S. Williams | Sponsored by Parlez-Moi Blog |
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elli01930 |
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(05/13/08 05:56 PM) |
Gypsy: I wish these were my buttons! These are just a small selection of the backstock that Bananas uses to replace buttons on the vintage clothing. Some of
these buttons are worth more than the clothes we put them on! I just started researching buttons a week ago, and have been obsessed since. We have just
released a few sets (mostly pairs and singles) for sale, that were selected from our 'pick drawers'. We have not sold buttons before, so this is a new
step. We decided to research and select a few, as we have been asked for buttons by our customers. We are trying to price them for the button collectors, not
the dealers, so the prices may or may not be high. I think we have priced them fairly. but, none of the buttons in these pics are for sale. We do not know
enough yet.
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elli01930 |
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(05/13/08 05:57 PM) |
oh, and gypsy: I love your collection. butoon envy going on here. you should hang them on a pin board, they would look so pretty!
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star squiggle |
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(05/13/08 06:09 PM) |
cover a throw pillow with the odd ones...
I'd rather laugh with
the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun... |
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Sunny by the Sea |
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(05/13/08 07:18 PM) |
Bakelite (spelling?) items like buttons can fetch a pretty penny to the right buyer.
Vintage buttons are also very desirable! Back in the day when I was working w/ some vintage items, I can tell you that I sold many of them at a very decent price. Check out ebay. Thoughts regarding not selling them and displaying them can also be found on art-oddities sites. Just do some general Googling to see what others have done! Good for you guys! If nothing else, they are just fun to look through every now and then! 
"Be the Sun that Shines so Bold and Bright; Not the moon that borrows someone else's light."
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Sunny by the Sea |
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(05/13/08 07:20 PM) |
Eli, Richard has one heck of a selection of old buttons, but he generally keeps them for his
seamstress to utilize when necessary. I've just drooled over that collection - amazing!!!
"Be the Sun that Shines so Bold and Bright; Not the moon that borrows someone else's light."
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elli01930 |
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(05/13/08 08:25 PM) |
Sunny: you are correct, the buttons are kept for the seamstress. and guess who that has been lately.
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sakioki8 |
Try this | ||
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(05/13/08 09:50 PM) |
I just love these - I'm going to give it a try.
 
Somebody knock me out and wake me up in time for the first frost, please.
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Dun Fudgin |
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(05/13/08 10:11 PM) |
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Gypsy |
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(05/14/08 09:12 AM) |
Other than using a couple here and there on the little bags that I make I haven't used many. I did make a black silk shantung jacket and use some buttons
with dragonflies on them just like the one in the photo above only with a black background instead of pink. But that's about it. I rarely wear jewelry so I
guess I'll just keep them until one of my nieces inherits them...
LOVE your photo, Dun!
True art is moral: it seeks to edify life, not to debase it, to hold off, at least
for a little while, the twilight of the gods and of us.
- John Gardner The Old Mermaid's Tale: The Video | In Memory of Mark S. Williams | Sponsored by Parlez-Moi Blog |
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KalesyGal |
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(05/14/08 09:42 AM) |
Did I hear that Bananas is releasing some buttons for sale? I have a limited button collection but it's something I've loved ever since I was a kid.
There used to be a great button store in Freeport, ME, but it closed a few years ago. I've been longing for another place to pick up the little beauties
ever since but haven't found any that's truly satisfied me.....
One thing I love to do with my buttons ia make Christmas tree ornaments. Sew sparkly ones onto stiffened material for some lovely and inexpensive decorations. |
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Gypsy |
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(05/14/08 10:50 AM) |
Bakelite (spelling?) items like buttons can fetch a pretty penny to the right buyer. I was just cruising eBay and there are lots and lots of vintage buttons there. About a year or so ago there was someone selling huge lots of Czech glass buttons from an old factory in Prague that shut down. They always went for more than I could afford but they certainly were beautiful!!! I guess they are all gone now because I don't see that vendor listed any more.
True art is moral: it seeks to edify life, not to debase it, to hold off, at least
for a little while, the twilight of the gods and of us.
- John Gardner The Old Mermaid's Tale: The Video | In Memory of Mark S. Williams | Sponsored by Parlez-Moi Blog |
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oakarina |
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(05/14/08 11:23 AM) |
If buttons could talk. tsk,tsk... Didn't want to be reminded, but where IS that Victorian button collection? Came with a furnished very old Gloucester
house, but has never had the attention it needs. Old square tin box, 4" deep, X 12 " square, with bent lid. Completly full of buttons. Only know
that one family's sister, a dressmaker,1890's-1920's, used to go to Europe, frequently, to buy fabric, "notions," etc. for making hats,
gowns, etc. for Cape Ann women, during the Edwardian era, when Queen Victoria was the Queen of England. and Edward was her consort. The Gloucester dressmaker
had a married Gloucester boyfriend, who tagged along for the voyages, a secret still kept in the button box. Shhh
Last Edited By: oakarina
05/14/08 11:29 AM.
Edited 1 times.
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Gypsy |
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(05/14/08 12:39 PM) |
oakarina, when my Great-Aunt Mary died her son, my cousin John, gave me her sewing basket. It was so wonderful. Some of the buttons in my collection are hers
and I still use her little needle-case which she embroidered herself.
I often wonder if future generations will love these things as much as we do...
True art is moral: it seeks to edify life, not to debase it, to hold off, at least
for a little while, the twilight of the gods and of us.
- John Gardner The Old Mermaid's Tale: The Video | In Memory of Mark S. Williams | Sponsored by Parlez-Moi Blog |
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oakarina |
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(05/14/08 01:36 PM) |
Probably not, but we won't care then, Gypsy. We can only do what we CAN do. I'm so pleased that my mother's old Singer peddle driven sewing
machine, which had been lost in the depths of an old earthen cellar, is now owned by my neice, who is my mother's first grandchild. She does arts and
crafts with country people in the South, and creates markets for them for their handmade wares, in high end US markets, among customers willing to pay
"one of a kind," very high prices. The old Singer was a wedding present to my mother and father, in the late 20's, from my grandmother and
grandfather. My mother and her sisters used to sew our Easter outfits on it, and here it is, still in the family, and still used frequently.
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Gypsy |
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(05/14/08 01:48 PM) |
I have an old Singer Featherweight that belonged to one of my aunts. I've made several quilts on it but now it needs some work. I never know whether to try
to fins a repair person for it or just give it away.
Sigh....
True art is moral: it seeks to edify life, not to debase it, to hold off, at least
for a little while, the twilight of the gods and of us.
- John Gardner The Old Mermaid's Tale: The Video | In Memory of Mark S. Williams | Sponsored by Parlez-Moi Blog |
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