Sorting Buttons

The buttons from the box I bought last weekend had some nice surprises.  There were all kinds - plastic, metal, wood, leather, glass, and I think even maybe some bakelite, but I'm not sure about that yet.

There were some very old and some very new ones in there which was also a nice surprise.

These Mother of Pearl ones were an example of new and old - the backs of the ones on the left showed considerable wear and expose the layers of color.  It was nice to find so many of the larger ones in the same size.  The larger ones were bigger than a quarter.

These glass buttons remind me of the buttons in my grandmother's button box that I used to play with as a child.  The one with the stones in it is plastic but the stones are very sparkly.

I love the pattern on these metal ones.  Again, a lot of the same size.

These are some more of the metal ones.  The buttons on the left look a little art deco to me.  Wonder how old they really are?

There was an interesting assortment of both wood and leather buttons.  Probably some of these were from old coats or maybe a kilt.

Then, of course there were the colored ones - these pink ones again reminding me of childhood.

It seems you always find a surprise tucked in with button collections.  For the most part I have found that there usually are metal findings in there like snaps and hook and eyes - maybe some pins and needles.  The surprise I found this time were these little cameos flat against the bottom of the container.  They were almost impossible to pick out of the box - had to dampen my finger so they would stick to it.  They would fit on the face of a penny. 

I have a couple of projects in mind for some of these.  When they come to fruition will be the big question.