Buttons!

Hi button lovers of the world!

Through Heather's blog I arrived at Sugar*sugar where the lovely miss Analise asked whether we could show our buttons to the world. Well, being a button addict myself, I couldn't resist of course. One sign of my button addiction: I once went to Amsterdam by train (1.5 hrs) to buy heart shaped mother of pearl buttons. I needed them so bad to finish a pincushion.

It all started at my grandmothers'. When I visited her I loved to play with:

Those shiny black glass buttons. I used to play 'shop' with them.

Since I'm reading and lurking an awfull lot of American blogs, I have noticed that your buttons are far more colourful than ours. When I buy a box of buttons the vast majority of them is grey or brownish. That's also the case with our button cards:

Very to the point huh? No playing children or lovely ladies...I guess that's typical Dutch. Even nowadays there still aren't many people who buy beautiful and expensive buttons. The market is a typical place to buy such supplies.

But I still managed to collect these:

Well ladies for every 100 grey/brown dutch buttons there is one red one. So take your calculators please, to calculate my total amount of buttons...

Ok, I'm not playing a fair game as I buy vintage buttons loose sometimes. For my dutch readers: the Noordermark(e)t in Amsterdam is a great place to buy vintage buttons but the best is 'De Winkel' (Vrouw Juttenland 39) in Delft. I only have to warn you (probably an addict yourself). Don't fall apart when you see what they have done there with all vintage buttons on cards:

They just cut old cards in half or in more pieces AND they write prices on the face of the cards with black markers. I couldn't believe my eyes and of course I couldn't keep my mouth shut either. Someone has to save what's left of the diminishing button-on-card population. So I asked whether it please could be possible to write the price on the back of the card, preferably with pencil. The lady laughed loudly...Why on earth? They were pricing the buttons this way for more than 20 years now and NO ONE she repeated NO ONE did ever mind...I should almost boycot that place, but they have amazing glass buttons:

So lets skip the greys and the browns. I sometimes use them with old fashioned rope to pack something a little bit old fashioned.

If there is 1 red button on 100 grey/brownish oned, pink is even more rare. I guess 1 on every 200.

Mother of pearl, one of my old time favorites, is quite common, except for the heart shaped ones, but you know now that you can find them on the Noordermarket in Amsterdam.

And here some blue buttons. I have added the biggest blue one because its a typical one. My mother who was often sewing clothes used this one on a jacket for herself. In the sixties she used to wear costumes (jacket and skirt) complete with gloves, grace kelly bag and high heels. I can see her image vividly just when I look at that peculiar button. My parents' button box is like a photo album to me!

Like this one: a carved peach stone given to me to my neighbour Mrs. Trense. She was a very sweet old lady, who used to give me all kind of treasures. Like empty Avon bottles and boxes. I cherish her memory.

I remember those green ones, they were typical childrens buttons in the sixties.


Later on these childrens buttons arrived here. Of course I like everything. No limits for LiLi M. again.

Well I'm off to see the worlds most beautiful buttons now. I just wonder is there any blogger out there who buys just as many buttons as necessary, not just one for pleasure only? Have a nice week!