I'm Kaylah. thrifting queen. 
All of my buttons were won at auctions. Store bought buttons are ridiculously over priced! Plus these ones have character, ya know what I mean? Before I had them someone else loved them, sorted them and ran their fingers through them.
Before I attended auctions my dad would bring me home containers full of them, but late last year at one that I went to we hit the jackpot! The lady must have really been into sewing because there was tons of buttons, supplies and patterns. I brought home all the buttons as well as a big box full of miscellaneous supplies.
I love sorting through them, it's one of my favorite things to do. I love finding ones with intricate designs on them. I love running my fingers through them and feeling them move. Okay, am I starting to sound creepy now? I don't even care, I love buttons.
Here are a few of my favorites. I like wooden buttons the most! I went though most of the containers I have and picked out the wooden buttons to keep in a special baggy so I know where they all are.
xoxo
I love all the buttons :D My grandma had tons of buttons, some that I'm using even up to today :)
ReplyDeleteThere are only two major button factories left. :(
ReplyDeleteThat pink floral button is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteMmm buttons are one of my addictions! I'm glad I'm not the only one with an excessive collection. I've started incorporating them in my jewellery (mostly so I can justify buying more!)
ReplyDeleteI used to play HOURS with buttons as a little girl! They were little characters in a bakery, in a castle, soldiers etc :)
ReplyDeleteHa...I also find myself going through buttons when I'm making something and decide, Nope - I just can't part with that one.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young my mom had a tin full of buttons. It wasn't a huge collection - but I loved going through them all - the different textures and materials. Not too creepy, no. :) The carved wooden ones are my favorite too.
I don't have childhood memories of buttons, but a while ago I received all my grandmothers buttons. My collection isn't as big as yours, but buttons are just great.
ReplyDeleteFOR SURE, I DO! i am a button freak as well. i used to LOVE sorting them out by color. possible early signs of OCD? lol. now i keep mine in old milk jars along the top of my bookcase so i can look at them all the time!
ReplyDeleteI unofficially collect buttons...I love how smooth they feel when you run your hands through them! I'm glad I'm not the only one with containers of buttons sitting around!
ReplyDeletei understand your love of buttons. they are so fun to sort through.
ReplyDeleteI love that big pink one with the flowers on it! I have a button collection, too, I love colorful vintage buttons with designs.
ReplyDeleteMy mom sews a lot. She used to have a big blue tin full of them.
ReplyDeleteI totally love the same thing! I like the way a collection of buttons feels when you run your hand over them. :) I love when my family saves buttons just for me, I think it's just adorable.
ReplyDeleteLove and Turtledoves,
Jaco
oh i have a button collection too but it's no where near as big as yours!and yeah i love going through my mums collection x
ReplyDeleteEver since I was really young I've had a collection of buttons. It was like a treasure chest! I loved (and still do) sorting them and finding ones I hadn't even noticed before. Sometimes I pick on to sew on a project, but when it's too pretty I always think I'll spoil it because I can only use it on one item;)
ReplyDeleteOh man I love your collection! I also love to collect buttons, even though I know I won't use most of them for anything I just HAVE TO HAVE THEM, especially vintage buttons.
ReplyDeleteI'm just starting to 'collect' buttons.. but i already have a big crush on the wooden ones, and flowery ones. I eve pick up buttons from the ground sometimes when I see one.. your collections is really big and INSPIRING! :)
ReplyDeletexxxx
i absolutely loved digging through all my mom and grandmother's buttons. i have a nice collection myself now. i never have to look far to replace a button and they are wonderful for crafting! i love that pink floral one of yours a lot!
ReplyDeletesarah
love it!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite childhood memories is playing with my mom's button jar. It would occupy me for hours. I wish I had that jar now!
ReplyDeleteLoooooooooooved the feel of buttons as my hands dug through the boxes that my grandma had! :)
ReplyDeleteI want buttons!!!!
ReplyDeleteI need to start collecting them!
my mom was awesome at sewing but we never had big collections of buttons.
ReplyDeleteI do remember sitting on the floor and looking through books of crochet patterns and begging her to crochet me dolls (these weird half barbie half crochet creations)
As I was reading this, I kept thinking about a container of buttons my grandma had before she passed away. I remember going to her house and digging through all of them - it was so much fun! And I agree, I love the feeling of buttons passing through my fingers!
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed by your giant collection! I have a very small box of buttons, but I'm slowly adding to it. Some of my favorite memories as a kid are of going through my mom's button tin - she had some great old ones in there from her grandmother.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger I used to love going through my Grandma's buttons!! I also had this book called "Buster Loves Buttons" hah! It was great.
ReplyDeleteyes, that is most definitely an impressive collection and what an awesome one! you have every button...like you worked at a button factory ;)
ReplyDeletexo,
cb
Oh, yes! My mum had a huge tin of buttons and my sister and I used to empty them out and make pictures with them on the floor.
ReplyDeleteWOW that pink one with five flowers is sooo pretty!!
ReplyDeletemy mom has a big tin of buttons, and some of them were shapes like little witches and elephants, etc. so instead of playing with my stuffed toys, i would sometimes play with the buttons and make up little stories, ahahah. it was really fun!
Third picture down in the round tin I see buttons I have. I get that same thought you have about not wanting to use them on something to sell.. It's just too pretty and unique not to keep for yourself. I hit the jackpot when my boyfriend came home with a big tub FULL of buttons. Finally went through them all and somewhat organized them. Love your collection even though I'm sure you are only showing part of it. There are so many different kinds it's UNREAL. No memories of my grandmas buttons.. for the most part her deal was making quilts and crocheting. I have many memories of that.
ReplyDeleteYes! My grandma had old cake tins full of old buttons. I used to play with them, sort them, find matching ones, and yes..bite them. Not sure why!! I would love to start a button collection.
ReplyDeleteI was given my Great Grandma's button collection and fell in love. I am trying to design the perfect button tattoo! I love the wooden buttons as well, but I am a sucker for the metal ones and my absolute favorites are bone buttons. There's something so strange and mysterious about buttons carved of bone. I have some whale bone ones, which are a distinctive almost brown color over time, and I love them. I can't figure out what I want to use them for, so they are set aside with other buttons I can't bear to part with.
ReplyDeleteI have my Grandmother's one tupperware cup of buttons that my mom gave me. One of my treasured items.
ReplyDeleteI think we have some buttons that match! :] i love buttons! i love the nose they make when your sorting through them. :]
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful collection! I love collecting buttons and using them for creative projects. Not only for clothes and stuff, but I also like to glue them onto paper and make collages this way. I only wished I had as many buttons as you do...
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome collection!
ReplyDeleteI have just been given my Grandmother's old sewing box, but I haven't had a chance to go through all her old buttons yet... There's something very personal about a button collection, I think.
this has to be your loveliest collection!
ReplyDeletesmall but oh so full of life.. you're absolutely right, i spent so much of my childhood playing in my grandma's buttons and organizing them by how pretty they were, i'm actually planning my first tattoo to be a classic button. great stuff!
x
alina
akeytome.blogspot.com
Awesome post DS. My wife has a bunch of buttons that use to belong to her great grandmother that she just loves. All of the many different buttons are really great to look at in the jar. I found a great metal button with paisley design on it I carry in my pocket as a good luck charm. I have had it for about three years now.
ReplyDelete:O
ReplyDeleteI would kill for your buttons! They are amazing :)
-www.sophia-coia.blogspot.com/
I love buttons! They're like little treasures! Actually i have quite the button collection myself too!
ReplyDeleteMy dad actually had a button collection that I would sort through. Not because he did any sewing but because they came from our family's button factory. True story. My great-great grandfather moved to Iowa from Austria and started a button factory in Muscatine. I guess it's still operational and distant, distant cousins still own and operate it (I've never been). Every time I think about it, I want to sing the button factory song ("Hi. My name is Joe, and I work in a button factory..." Ironically, Joe is also a family name).
ReplyDeleteAll of those buttons are lovely!! I had a button collection growing up. My favorites were the metal ones with 'coats of arms' on them. I used to pretend they were a royal person's coins, and they'd come back to claim them. Haha!
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew where that huge trove of buttons is now, I need some for things I have to sew!
Wow, and I thought I had a lot of buttons! I loved going trough my grandmother and mothers drawers filled with buttons when I was little. I still love it XD
ReplyDeleteYES! My grandma had the most amazing button collection while I was a kid and I continued that tradition for no reason other than that I ADORE buttons!!!! :) I love your button collection, amazing!
ReplyDeleteit's a collection! :D i love buttons too, and I actually did used to go through my nan's sewing box when I was a kid. I still remember the feel of the box and the smell... loved it! Luckily she's still alive and I may have to ask if I can go through it again! :D xxx
ReplyDeleteOh man, my grandma had a huge hat bok full of buttons! When I was a kid I loved playing with them and I loved the way they smelled (weird, I know). Since she passed away I don't know if the box is still there. I think I might go see one day...
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny! I was just thinking about how I was accidentally starting to have a button collection. Not nearly as awesome as yours yet... mostly all spares from clothes I bought.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma had buttons that she let me play in. She taught me that the old glass ones are the nicest and plastic ones are cheap. To tell what they're made of, tap them on your teeth (glass clinks)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love your blog! It's so inspirational and colourful. =]
ReplyDeleteMy grandma used to give me a big jar of buttons and some thread when I was little and let me make necklaces out of them. I was always so upset that I had to put all the buttons back in the jar when I went home.
I don't comment very often, but I really do love this blog.
ReplyDeleteWood buttons are wonderful. I plan on using loads of them when I redecorate my kitchen.
I also have a love of buttons. My great grandma used to have a huge collection and I remember going through them and maybe even pocketing a few for myself when I was younger ;). She also had this amazing dollhouse with fun little tables and a mini dollhouse sized gumball machine. I wish I had her buttons and gumball machine now. Thanks for this awesome post, it brought back some great memories.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great collection. I too collect buttons, but only started recently so mine is no way near as impressive as yours! One day though...
ReplyDeleteMy mom collected buttons when I was growing up, and I LOVED playing with them! Now I have most of the collection, and I love the memories associated with them. Occasionally I'll go digging through a container and come upon a certain button that triggers a really strong memory. There are some that I would never use, but others I like to use in projects where I'll see them all the time. :)
ReplyDeleteLovely photos!!
Elle, interesting! I didn't know that! :)
ReplyDeleteI like all the buttons! :)
ReplyDeleteI used to go round to this old lady's house when I was little & while my mum was having a coffee with her she's let me go through her button tin & sort them, I did the same at my gran's house too. I always remember she had some tiny pink square buttons & I used to love them.
ReplyDeletehaha My sister asked me wth are you doing, as we were going through a tub of buttons I kept tapping some on my teeth. I keep my black glass ones in a seprate bag and will not use them.. way to pretty.
ReplyDeleteI love this! My mom always collected buttons and some of my earliest memories are of playing with a huge jar of them. I collect them now too, and prefer older ones. I also prefer 4 holes over 2. No idea why ha!
ReplyDelete