Tayo's has always been known for it's amazing button selection. I bought the buttons for my High School Senior year tailoring project there. When I owned Tayo's, we had a huge part of our notions wall that was just buttons - some were $.05 some were $30.00! Lots of them were VERY cool. If there was just 1 button left on a box and we couldn't order any more - I'd often take that button and add it to my 'personal collection'. I have quite a few large pretty apothecary type jars full of buttons...and more buttons on cards, in boxes, in canisters, in ziplocs, and....they're kind of all over my sewing room.
Anyway - I brought home quite a few boxes of 'stuff' from Tayo's when I sold it. Some of it was my previous personal sewing 'stuff' that I wasn't using currently and decided to store down at Tayo's where there was more room. LOTS of that ended up being donated or given away when I left Tayo's....I just didn't need or want it any longer. But I did want to keep some of it and then of course there was other new 'stuff' that I had accumulated over 13 years that I also decided to bring home.
LOTS of boxes of paperwork (another story - Yikes!) and assorted sewing stuff that I now need to find a place for. Today I picked a couple of the boxes and was determined to sort through them and get some of the 'stuff' put away. One box had lots of books and magazines - I put a few of those in a new 'give away' box and then kept most of them. One of the boxes had a bunch of odds and ends....and a shoebox full of BUTTONS!
That almost got me totally distracted! but I tried to stay focused. I put the buckles in one ziploc, the buttons still on cards in another ziploc and the loose miscellaneous buttons in a large ziploc - they really need to be washed and sorted some but I was determined to focus on getting through that entire box and not just spending the day playing with my newfound buttons.
However - one button caught my eye...a little red plastic Dutch Windmill. I couldn't help but grab it out of the miscellaneous pile and then I saw another and....I ended up finding 9 little red plastic Dutch Windmill buttons! I dumped all the other loose buttons in the ziploc and took these cute buttons to the sink - gave them a little bath with soap and a soft toothbrush and I've just been looking at them all day as I pass by them in the kitchen. They make me smile!
I'm trying to think of something to do with them. My Dad comes from Holland and my sisters and I enjoy Dutch 'things'. I have 2 sisters - that would be 3 buttons for each of us....maybe I can figure out something to make for each of us that we'd all enjoy. Not something to actually wear - we're a little too old to be wearing little red plastic Windmill buttons - but maybe something fun or quirky to use around the house. I know my sisters - Heather and Reaka - would get a kick out of 'something' - if I can just come up with the right idea.
OR - my folks have 9 Grandkids - and there are 9 buttons. I could make 'something' for each of the 9 grandkids....but would they even care or would they just think that Mom/Aunt Shenna has come up with another silly doodad that they don't need or want or have any idea of what to do with it.
Oh well - I'll just have to think on it for a while....
I'm also really determined to not 'keep' so much stuff if I'm not going to ever do anything with it. Will my sons or their wives or my grandkids want all this 'stuff'? Definitely NOT! There might be a FEW things that they'd like to have someday - when I'm old and even greyer and gone. But truthfully - they have their own hobbies and interests and 'stuff'....they don't need to be burdened with the idea that someday 'all this' will be theirs to sort through and figure out what on earth they should do with it. (Eric would say 'just set a bomb to the whole thing and have it gone!'....sometimes that's not really such a bad idea - except we do need a house to live in and....)
Anyway - All these buttons that I love.... They really deserve to be enjoyed and appreciated. Now that I'll have time to sew again - I'll use some of them in clothing. But there's a ton that I'll never use in something to wear. I have several sets of button earrings - and I really like to wear them. Maybe I should learn to make some jewelry with some of them. I've seen people take cool buttons and glue them on the top of pretty boxes (like you sometimes also see with shells, etc). I could find some pretty boxes and do something like that with some of them. I've always wanted to make a nice crazy quilt...I could definitely use some of them on that.
This is ONE of my many jars/boxes/cans/etc of buttons - this jar is about 12" tall and has almost 2000 buttons in it....we counted them for a contest a few years ago at Tayo's!9 cute red plastic Dutch Windmill buttons and LOTS and LOTS of other buttons. Anyone have ideas to share? I'd love to hear them!
what a fun post! no ideas yet on the buttons...i'll let you know if i come up with something!
ReplyDeleteThose jars are really pretty - like jars of potpourri or something. Probably would sit nicely on windowsills in the light.
ReplyDeleteWe also had button-mania in the family, we'd never throw out a garment without making sure that it didn't have great buttons.
Glad to be able to follow you here. I think I want to do a one-block wonder quilt soon, so I'll hopefully have pictures.
Do you want my moms little collection of buttons? I am still trying to find ways to use my moms craft stuff. I really miss her.
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