Sunday, April 5, 2009

Buttons, Buttons, I've Got the Buttons!

So my Matt spent practically the entire day slaving over the computer--he formatted my laptop, reinstalled Windows, reinstalled all my software programs, futzed over drivers that wouldn't install correctly, futzed some more--rendering my computer and himself virtually useless in all other regards all day, during a month in which I have online grades to record, book proposals to write, blogs to post in, an etsy shop to update, research to do, and finally, FINALLY everything is reinstalled and I'm back in the game.

And if the internet is acting wonky again (which was the ORIGINAL PROBLEM, remember?), well, for now I'm inclined just to overlook it and be grateful for what I have.

In other, CRAFTY news for a change, I've been reading and re-reading , and whining to everyone I see all about how in all the other crafty blogs I read, everyone in those blogs is just swimming in vintage buttons, and I have like five buttons, total, that I ripped off of an old Gap shirt (from Goodwill, of course, not The Gap, not that you care) of Matt's before transitioning it into a dishrag.

I couldn't stand it anymore. In a shocking move and a nail-bitingly tense auction, I bought over two pounds of buttons on ebay: This auction actually went a little higher than most of the vintage button auctions tend to do, because of two reasons:

1) The seller, who clearly had no idea of the awesomeness of what she was selling, just sort of mentioned in passing that most of these used to be her grandmother's buttons (DING! DING! DING! DING!)

2) In the sort-of blurry photo of a bunch of the buttons spilled out of the Ziploc bag onto a table, you could see studded all over the pile beauties like these: And now they're mine, ALL MINE!!!

Come on, even if you're not one of my crafty friends, you gotta love a shot like this one:P.S. Check out my shout-outs on Craftzine and Recycled Crafts! Remember, only make plant markers out of vinyl miniblinds that were made after 1996, or you and your loved ones will all die of lead poisoning.

4 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 6, 2009 at 12:51 PM

    Is it weird to have button envy because I have it too! I do have a lot of buttons, actually...some I've bought, and some inherited, and it's not like I do much with them, but it's like fabric and yarn for me: I HAVE to have it. You totally scored, lady!

    And congrats on your shout-outs!!

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  2. cakeApril 6, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    i am so happy that you got such a great button stash. i lucked into a jar full at a junk store in berea, KY a few years ago. then cosmo received his great,
    great-grandmother's button collection (as a gift from his grandma).

    i can't really use them in crafting projects though. they are cosmo's. he likes to play with them, sort them, pour them etc. and i'm afraid i'll end up using one of his favorites, and he'll be devastated.

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  3. julieApril 7, 2009 at 8:18 PM

    I sort of forgot to tell you that I entered a low-ball bid on another auction of 2+ pounds of buttons--and I won it for 99 cents!

    So I went from, like, five buttons to over four pounds of buttons in a week.

    I have so many awesome project ideas in my head right now, it's not even funny.

    Well, if you could look into my head and not have to BE in my head, you'd probably find it funny.

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  4. Momma JorjeSeptember 16, 2011 at 12:14 AM

    I'd be interested to see what you've done with all these buttons. I *love* buttons! I have a collection that I've inherited here and there but I also have a suggestion on where to find good selection for cheap: Estate Sales! I've gotten some awesome finds that way!

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