I spent this morning starting to pack away my pottery so I can make room for Halloween stuff. It feels weird to actually "pack" it up and not just put it in a rubbermaid bin for awhile, knowing that the next time I see it we won't be in our little house here anymore.
But life goes on and my little boy wants to put a sign on our front door that reads "Halloween Headquarters", so I figure I had better get to gettin' on the Halloween front. (He's cute, isn't he? LOL)
He and Daddy spent Saturday morning working on the golf holes for his rapidly approaching number five burfday (mini golf in the yard this year), so I went yard saling by myself.
The pickings were slim. I was standing at the last sale when I saw a woman carrying around two strawberry containers full of buttons. I overheard the conversation, which went something like this:
"I have all these buttons and I don't know what to do with them. My girlfriend said someone would buy them."
"Yea, I think someone will."
(Insert me waiting patiently for her to drop the buttons already!)
As soon as they were on the table they were mine, all mine!
So, what did my $2 buy me?



Now why didn't I take a photo of my button jar for you? Silly me. It is completely full now!
Not too shabby for $2, eh? (Sterling silver, 14K and opals more than cover the cost of the buttons.)
*Old plastic buttons can degrade. They become discolored and look crazed like old pottery. They also get brittle. Some of the older plastics really really smell bad when buttons are "diseased." (DO NOT confuse that smell with the smell of bakelite.) If you have buttons like that you should throw them away and not keep them with your button collection. I have heard it can spread to the other buttons. Googling isn't much help, but they ladies who told me that know their stuff, so I believe it. :-)
What an awesome score! Thanks for sharing all the detailed pics - they were fun to look at! I love those little bluebird buttons too. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome button haul!
ReplyDeleteWho would have thunk that buttons can be "diseased" and spread it to others....Wow...the things I learn on blogs! Great, great haul of buttons!
ReplyDeleteHUGE score. I always find the buttons on cards and not many like this with a ton of variety.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find! I love those keys!
ReplyDeleteI hope the stuff with the house is going better! That sounds tough...
Oh, Drool. :) I had never heard of underwear buttons so I Googled and I have some of those! I never would have guessed, so thanks for the education!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE buttons,especially old and big buttons. I use them on my fabric flowers. So if you have some your wanting to sale,yell at me.
ReplyDelete$2!!! WOW if I could get that lucky.
:)Lisa
Would it be wrong to offer to trade one of my children for one of those bluebird buttons? OK, both of my children for one of those bluebird buttons? They're old enough to babysit, and strong enough to move furniture ... OK, I guess it is wrong. But those are lovely buttons, and a great haul. And yes, there's nothing like that smelly button smell. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteI'd have been most excited to get that conglomerate of itty bitty treasures. I'm jealous. Going through a bag or box of buttons is so much fun! You did great!
ReplyDeleteI love sorting buttons, very therapeutic and a little like treasure hunting, but in my pj's!
ReplyDeleteGreat find!
Wow! You really scored today... loved the pics. I am amazed at all of the non button treasures that came with your buttons.
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow! How fun to find that sterling thimble lurking in there! Take good care of it!!!
ReplyDeleteJackpot! I think they keys are great! I NEVER find buttons either!
ReplyDeleteYou got buttons then ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for button jars FOREVER! They are so over priced here. Or you don't see them. I never knew they could get a disease. Now if I ever find any I will know what to do
ReplyDeleteFabulous!! I do love buttons :) I never find interesting crap in with the buttons I buy - just loose bits of thread and random bits of plastic normally!
ReplyDeleteI scored some fabulous old buttons a while ago and some of the ones I wasn't crazy about we glued to thumb tacks and use on our cork board. We made some little flowers, , stacked a few...everyone that sees them goes crzy for them!
ReplyDeletedrooling some more. seriously, we need to swap some things. i have one of those lavendar feedsacks set aside for you :-)
ReplyDeletemy son is totally into halloween too.
what a great catch. i have a bar that needs a skeleton key just like the one on the left. i suppose i need to hit up some thrift shops.
ReplyDeleteWOW!! You hit the jackpot with that button buy! You have some "ab*fab" collectible ones there...Wow, again! *elaine*
ReplyDelete