It's the little things

It's more than a little embarrassing that I've spent the entire afternoon getting enjoyment from the most mundane of tasks: sorting buttons.


But I love buttons.

No, really. I love buttons. Probably a little too much. (Confession: those pictured above are only the ones that made the cut. I had to weed out many that just weren't interesting enough.)

I think it dates back to when I used to visit my Granny and we would play this little game, "Odds or Evens?" She would drag out all of her old buttons -- VINTAGE buttons. Buttons she's had for more years than I've been alive. We'd take turns grabbing a few buttons in one hand and making the other guess if the number of buttons inside was an odd number or an even number. Not exactly Cranium, is it? But we got hours of enjoyment from that little game, and I probably got nearly as much enjoyment from studying each of the buttons and, once in a while, asking my grandmother where one particular button had come from. Most of the time, she didn't remember. But every so often, there was a story there.

Now when my daughters visit her house, they play with those same buttons. I've already staked my claim that she is never to throw those buttons away. Those are among the only possessions of hers that I absolutely MUST have someday.

But for now, I have my own little collection. It's more colorful than Granny's, but not nearly as interesting. Some will be used on pages. But mostly, they'll brighten my craft room and remind me of my childhood and Granny's house.

7 comments:

Rene' said...

beautiful! But, more beautiful than those gorgeous button jars is the story of your Granny's buttons. I hoped you've scrapped about them...I got chill bumps just reading about them. And, I hope you do end up with those treasures one day. Until then, enjoy watching your daughters share a little history with you and Granny!

Scrappy Love,
Rene'

mustangkayla said...

What a great memory! Love all the buttons! I can get much pleasure from such a simple task too! I love to sort and organize my scrappy supplies!

Kim said...

Funny that you should post this....my mom died last year very unexpectedly at the age of 60. She was a crafter, and a master quilter....she had jars of buttons EVERYWHERE. And those were the things that I asked for...her jars of buttons. I look at them everyday and think of her.

Can you tell me where you found those jars? I love them.

Firenze said...

Ooooo the jars are so pretty! I love buttons too, but am hard pressed to use them on my cards as I don't want to give them away :)
Helen
Firenze Cards

Unknown said...

What a great memory! I remember my mom having a button jar, but I don't know what happened to it. Unfortunately it probably got pitched during a move. I do hope you do a page about that memory!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I have two tin tubs of old buttons that belonged to my grandmother. My grandmother passed away 30 years ago so you can imagine how old they are. The best part is just the other day my 16 year old daughter was going through them and asking questions of where some of them came from. I was so surprised that I could still remember when my grandmother used to tell me the stories of where she got them. Until now I never thought about scarping about them. Thanks for the inspiration to save another memory of the past.

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