I have more buttons than the average person…that’s an indisputable fact! I love buttons and I like to have them on hand so when I need something I don’t have to run to town. I have lots of storage containers designated for them, organizing them by style, novelty, plastic, 6mm, 4mm micro, antique/vintage, glass, etc. I just have a lot of buttons!!
I’ll get them all organized, and think they are fine…then I’ll get more and they just end up being put in a plastic ziplock bag. Whenever I need something, I have to dig through the bag and it really wasn’t very time efficient, so I today I decided to do a little organizing… I started with the ones I call my “brooch” buttons. They are the ones I use at the necklines of my Civil War dresses and I also use them on the Skinny Scarves that we sell in our Etsy shop.
This is what I was dealing with…
[If you click on any picture it will enlarge]
…and all dumped out…
I took everything off the cards and out of the ziplock bags…and this was my trash…what a conglomeration…
I had picked up these 2 storage containers at Wal Mart in the fishing section… I think they were $3.84 each.
I began sorting and putting “like” buttons in the sections…rhinestone, vintage, gold, silver, etc… and this is what I ended up with…
Here’s a close up of each side.
In another of my containers I noticed I had all my plastic 6mm buttons in about 20 different compartments. I decided I could put them on large safety pins and they could all be placed in the same compartment… talk about a space saver!!
They are very easy to see at a glance and I know they are all the same size, just different colors! Now I have so much room in several of my containers I’m going to organize my other buttons… but not today…I’ve worked on them already about 3 hours or so… I want to sew something…
Now, who is going to be brave enough to tell me, “NO MORE BUTTONS?”
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Not me! You go, girl !!!
Oh good…since Susette was first and she said I could still buy buttons, I’ll “HAVE” to go by what she says…
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
Me either, Jeanne! The more the merrier!! I know what you mean about organizing things. I also have two of those fishing containers for my dolls little things, bit and bobs, and they are very handy! I also have the problem of organizing my things, everything has a place, then you get MORE things, and where do those go, since you are already filled up? Oh well, I could have bigger problems in my life, so I’ll just let it go at that!! But I can see how very easy it is for you to find things now, what a great job you did!
Oh YAY…again… Linda agrees with Susette…
Thanks for your compliments on my “organizing” of the buttons… now to get my sewing room back in order..I’ve turned it into chaos…for some reason. I’m switching things around again and that always gets me in trouble…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
I will have to send you pictures of MY button collection. I started sorting them years ago and believe me you will be so glad you did this…now you have room for more buttons!
HI April,
I guess if you sew… buttons are a must and the more we have, the happier we are! I have SO many containers full of them… this was just a start…
Thanks April,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne I love buttons too and well……I just love all supplies and notions! I have my buttons organized in clear divided boxes as well and it makes it so easy to pick just the right one for the outfit. You have some beautiful buttons and I would NEVER tell you no more buttons!!!
God Bless
Marsha
OH good…Marsha agrees with Linda and Susette… I can still buy more buttons if I want to…
I’m doing some rearranging in my sewing room and hopefully it will be put back in order soon… it’s a disaster right now…stuff is everywhere…
Every so often I have to purge the stuff I don’t really need… it was time…
Thanks Marsha,
Blessings, Jeanne
Never have too many buttons!! I have 5 of those divided boxes plus 10 mason jars sorted by color and then my antique button collection which numbers?????? – who knows! You are a real seamstress if you have LOTS of buttons…… and lace and piping and ribbon and thread…. when I had my shop out in Tonopah, Nevada and no store for hundreds of miles and the only seamstress for the same – you collected. Now I am back east with a store only 3 miles away, I can’t seem to part with them. Never know when you’ll need something. No Jeanne you DO NOT have too many buttons!!
OH Anita, I like your line about “you are a real seamstress if you have LOTS of buttons…” and I couldn’t agree more. It sounds like you could give me a run for my money with your button collection. But I might have you beat on trims and laces… :o)
Thanks Anita,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a great job you did. You are always organized and with sewing notions, that’s the only way to go.
My mother had 2 candy tins she used for buttons. One was a pretty Christmas tin. She let us use the tins as a pirate’s hidden treasure once in awhile. I now have the pretty Christmas tin stored with my Christmas decorations and I display it at Christmas with other keepsakes on top of my kitchen cupboards.
Your button organizing was a great project.
Have a great day!
HI Paula,
I’ve actually bought buttons at yard sales in tins and jars just because I saw a few interesting ones in the lot! I still have a long ways to go with the rest of the buttons but doing what I did yesterday made me feel so good, I’m sure I’ll finish the project sometime…
Blessings, Jeanne
A lot of your buttons look like jewelry, Jeanne, and there are a few I’d like to have. Not necessarily to use, just to look at because they’re so pretty. I wouldn’t have thought of putting the little buttons on safety pins, I bought some little (2″ x 3″?) plastic bags for mine. And guess where I keep them….in bigger plastic bags in a plastic shoe box. What did people do without plastic? I may have to get some of those boxes like you have to replace the plastic shoe boxes I have which are good for storing….one for bags of buttons, one for jewelry findings and beads, one for doll shoes, etc. but not so good for finding things in a hurry.
The photos of the jewelry that Rebecca makes for the scarves are so pretty.
Jeanne, you can always find room for MORE buttons, MORE fabric, MORE lace, etc. We can never have TOO MUCH of the things we like. It’s nice to need a button or whatever and have JUST the right one without going shopping.
HI Jevne,
The nice thing about having the buttons on the safety pins is they are all in one place, and you can see how many you have at just a glance… plus they are super easy to take off the pins. If I had to get into little zip bags I’d go crazy…
You should pick up a few of those containers and see how well you like it. Harbor Freight also has them in their store. I am planning on getting some the next time we go there. Actually they are having a sale on them right now…a 24 compartment box that normally sells for $7.99 is on sale now for $2.99! Do I hear STOCK UP???
Thanks so much for the nice compliments on the scarves… we have 3 new ones that I need to get listed on Etsy…
Thanks Jevne,
Blessings, Jeanne
Ah, buttons… I seem to be the repository for every button in the family. There are buttons from both grandmothers, aunts, mother, mother in law, as well as those picked up along the way. I did try the plastic organizers several years ago, but oops, one fell opened, and I just didn’t have the time to do it over again. Perhaps the beauty in your organization will stir me into action. Have you had any problems with the older buttons reacting to the plastic? I think it imay be the bakelite ones? They also seem to cause the unremovable green tarnish on metal also.
HI Joy,
No, I haven’t had any reactions to any of my old buttons in the plastic containers… maybe mine get stirred more often than yours did… just a thought…
It sounds like you have many many buttons at your house… It’s always nice to get the plastic containers that have the SNAP lids to them.. they just stay closed better… maybe give them a try…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Need more buttons! 🙂
HI Melody,
I could take your comment 2 different ways… you’re giving me the go ahead to buy more buttons OR maybe YOU need more buttons….
Either way, we both need more buttons…eventually…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love your organized buttons although he big old flat can full from my Grandma will stay as is…there is something abut running your fingers through all those buttons and digging to find ” just one more”. The pearl ones have a funny feel and when the lid comes off that tin…something about the smell reminds me of my Grandma!
HI Kathie,
I know just what you mean by digging in old tins filled with buttons. Once we were at a yard sale and my hubby found a tin full of buttons and told the lady, “I’m sure my wife will need these…” Inside the buttons were all in little medicine bottles with the dates still on them… from the late 50’s. I took them out and put them all in the tin and kept them that way for the longest time…
Blessings, Jeanne
Yes! I remember the special feel of running my fingers through a tim button box my mother had.
Jan,
My mom has a jar full of buttons and when I’m at her house, it is fun to dig through it looking for just the right one to use on the project. I made a cushion for her wicker chair out of pillow ticking and we used the buttons from my dad’s Navy Pea coat… It was very sentimental and looked great too…
Blessings, Jeanne
Way to go, Jeanne, I may just try that trick with the safety pins. It makes so much sense…Lynn
HI Lynn,
It really is a space saver and it’s so easy to see how many buttons you have instead of fishing around in the compartment and rounding them up… I just might do it with more of my buttons… the ones that I have lots of…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne