Tag Archive | celluloid buttons

National BUTTON WEEK, Day 6!!!

Mar18

In honor of National Button week March 13-19, 2023 I thought that I would share a few of my favorite buttons, and buttons, and lots and lots of buttons. Today, I want to share a few pieces from my collection of novelty buttons. Sometimes these types of buttons are referred to as realistics or goofies.

Button Cards

Realistic buttons were designed to look like the actual shape of the item, and have been around since the 18th century. The first two examples above were probably made during the 1940’s. The last card would be considered as a novelty button, as it is not depicting a specific shape, but I think that they are fun!

Realistic, Goofie, and Novelty Buttons

Realistic, goofie and novelty buttons, can be found made from a variety of materials such as glass, celluloid, wood, Bakelite, and other materials.

Top two rows believed to be Marion Weeber Welsh Designs
Fruit Shaped Buttons

Fruit shapes seemed to be very popular. The artist Marion Weeber Welsh specialized in designing celluloid buttons that resembled fruits and vegetables as well as other imagery.

Sweet Button Groups

Often buttons came in a grouping of similar images, such as the first card with the green accessory shaped buttons. I had to search to collect all of the same buttons in red, as seen in the second card. As you can see from the last card apparently the set was also available in white, navy, and crimson. I included the umbrella, just because it should be shown, no idea what group it might have been a part of!

Recommended Reading

Hope that you enjoyed looking! Happy stitching! ~Christen

Friday’s Favorites: Numbers and Measures

Dec30
Measuring Up
Measuring Up Montage

The montage has a collection of a few of my favorite things. The jewelry pieces are just fun, with both new and old typewriter keys, and charms. The dog tags belonged to my mom’s dog when she was growing up, my dad won the medal in a model airplane contest for one of his own designs. Other images are my dad’s actual dog tags from WWII, coins (from my grandpa), a wooden nickel I got a Knot’s Berry Farm as a kid and more buttons.

Shown here is the bracelet close-up. I started with a very well loved, tape measure that belonged to my Grandmother. I paired it with grosgrain ribbon and a few buttons that I found at the thrift store. The small button at the right has my mom’s initials on it. When I found it I thought must save this for just the right project, I think that I did!

The first bracelet was found on eBay, it was made with vintage typewriter keys. The necklace is made from new two-hole beads, with typewriter symbols, that have been strung on a rayon cord. The last bracelet, is made from new charms, that are attached to a vintage chain bracelet.

Favorite collection of measuring devices

Numbers can be viewed differently by the way you present them, such as “I HAVE 5 weeds!”, or “I only have five weeds…”; vice versa: “I only have five roses…” or “I HAVE 5 roses!”… you get the point. Numbers can also relate to how much money you have, or how wide you are by the inches on the tape measure, or the accumulation of years that equal your life.

Measuring up can mean quite a few things as well. With New Year’s Eve looming, and resolution lists waiting to be written, for me it means gauging my accomplishments, successes and triumphs. Did I spend my time wisely, did I make a difference, did I contribute?

Whatever your answers are to these questions, I hope that you enjoy the days, hours, and minutes to come! Be happy creating or be happy creatively! Enjoy- Christen

National BUTTON WEEK Day 5!!!

Mar19

Here are a few images of more buttons!

These are a few wall hangings that I have made using buttons. These are all featured in The Embroidery Book, by C&T Publishing.

Bouncing Button Balloons

This wall hanging is randomly strip pieced with scraps of silk, moire, and bengaline fabrics, with accents of vintage lace fabric. Their are vintage celluloid buttons with a few fabric buttons mixed in. The embroidery is worked in perle cotton and seed beads.

Rustic Door

For this piece I choose batik fabrics that varied from rust to brown. I found these wonderful blue buffed celluloid buttons, which I paired with brass buttons, buckles and both vintage and new keys. The rust and vintage blue ribbons just keep the colors flowing.

Lady Bird 2

This piece started with a crazy pieced base of cotton prints, I added in lace and ribbon as accents. The embroidery is worked with perle cotton and cotton threads. The embellishments include vintage and new buttons, ribbonwork vignettes and garden tools.

Mystic Twilight

The base of this piece started with strip-pieced batik fabrics, that were machine quilted to resemble the wood grain of a fence. I chose clear glass buttons in a variety of sizes for the flower centers, and clear painted back buttons for the accents. The embroidery is worked in both perle cotton and cotton floss, with beads added in for accents.

The Village Sleeps Tonight

The base of this piece is synthetic felt, the pre-cut houses are made from a rayon/wool blend felt that was a gift from Barbara at Joggles.com. I added in a dyed rick rack border, and stitched the details with both solid and variegated perle cotton #8. The buttons are all new, except for the four large buttons in the corners, and the one in middle of the center house.

Hope that you enjoyed looking! Happy stitching! ~Christen

Day 31 of FLOWERS GALORE!

May31

Day 31 of FLOWERS GALORE!

vintage buttons, vintage hanky

vintage buttons, felt heart

This is an ensemble I made with some of my favorite buttons. The white buttons in the necklace were from my friend Phred, with the remainder of the buttons primarily celluloid and Bakelite. These are stitched down onto a vintage jacquard ribbon base. The bracelet on the left is made from vintage Czech glass buttons using a bead woven stitch. The bracelet on the right is made from celluloid flower charms, new plastic sunflower buttons, and acrylic leaves connected to a celluloid chain. The vintage clip-on earrings are made from plastic with a little bit of bling.  I made the pin in high school, so it too is vintage!

Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!

Friday’s Favorites: Mother of Pearl part 2

Feb5

necklace made from vintage and new mother of pearl buttons

Enchanted Butterflies

Friday’s Favorites is continuing this month with Mother of pearl. This week I want to show you jewelry that I have made with MOP buttons, charms and beads.

Enchanted Butterflies is an adaptation of my “Entwined Treasures” pattern. The base is created by entwining and stitching silk cords, into a base. This base is then embellished with buttons and charms, and the beads are attached with the peyote stitch.

ribbon bracelets stitched with vintage mother of pearl buttons

Mother of Pearl Button Bracelets

Button bracelets have been around for many decades. You may have one of those cuff bracelets that your mom made with an elastic crochet or stretchy gimp base that is encrusted with vintage buttons and beads.
These two bracelets here are a take-off on those original bracelets.
I chose to use a ribbon for the base (because I don’t like the elastic), using a button for the closure. The top bracelet, which is a sample of my “Klimpt Kollage Kuff” pattern, is encrusted with buttons, while the buttons are stitched in a design on the bottom bracelet.

vintage tie neckpiece

Hopscotch

The neck-piece here is made from the tie that my dad wore at his wedding. The buttons are vintage carved Mother of pearl with celluloid discs.
The pin base is a wide ribbon, encrusted with Mother of pearl buttons and buckles, celluloid buttons, and roses that I made from gimp and vintage zippers.

necklace strand made from amethyst and mother of pearl buttons

Pearl's Delight

This necklace incorporates small mother of pearl buttons with beads, strung on #10 Soft Flex.. The beads are amethyst, fresh water pearls, mother of pearl and seed beads. This necklace and the bracelets below were created to wear with “Pearl’s Delight” jacket ensemble, that is covered in vintage lace and vintage Mother of pearl buttons.

bracelets made from mother of pearl buttons

Mother of Pearl Bracelets

These bracelets are all made from vintage Mother of pearl buttons. The top and bottom bracelets are samples from my “Bohemian Button Bracelet” pattern, these are strung on Soft Flex as the necklace above. The middle bracelet is a sample of my “Button Bracelet” pattern using the peyote stitch.

mother of pearl buttons

Vintage at Heart

These are two pins that I made using vintage Mother of pearl buttons. The pin on the left is made from muslin fabric and is covered with buttons. The pin to the right is made from silk fabric with a piece of vintage lace, the buttons are all carved.

Vintage Mother of pearl buttons are still around in some abundance, what will you make with them?
Enjoy what you do, it’s good for you! Christen

Sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Sep8

Sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

My favorite time of day is the morning, so fresh, so full of possibilities.

When our relatives lived in Corrales New Mexico this magnificent range was to the east of their home. I am usually up very early, and I would sit with my morning coffee at the oak table, in front of the huge glass window with the view of these mountains in front of me.

We visited during the summer and the fall, but I would have to say that my favorite time of year was winter. The view between the bare branches of the tree in their backyard, the open field with mist rising off the chaparral and behind these the view of sunrise over the snow capped mountain in all of it’s glory.

Lovely.

The background of this wall-hanging is machine strip pieced, the rays machine appliqued, and the bottom strip machine crazy pieced. The entire piece was machine quilted. The rays have hand embroidered details and the vintage shisha mirrors are hand embroidered. The rays are adorned with vintage apple juice celluloid buttons. Dimensions 20″ W X 10″ L.

Enjoy whatever time of day is your favorite! Happy Stitching! ~Christen

Friday’s Favorites: Celluloid Buttons

Sep4

Celluloid Buttons

Celluloid Buttons

Today we will talk about the celluloid button. This necklace is part of an ensemble “Deco Drama” that I just finished. The base of the necklace is a vintage French ombre ribbon, ruched, with a silk cord stitched for the tie. As you can see celluloid was definitely the theme here, using many of my favorite types of celluloid button.

Celluloid was invented in the 1870’s and was one of the most versatile and the first of the man-made plastics. This lightweight material is thinner than Bakelite, though some of the same techniques could be used such as molding, stamping and machine tooling; but unlike Bakelite buttons they could also be created by pulling, hollow blowing, and extruding. The coloring of the celluloid button was often more diverse than that of the autumn and vibrant coloring of the Bakelite buttons. The versatility of celluloid made it extremely popular with manufacturer’s, however the serious drawback to this material was that it is flammable! For further reading may I suggest a book I use frequently: Button Button Identification & Price Guide by Peggy Ann Osborne.

bracelets made from vintage celluloid buttons

bracelets made from vintage celluloid buttons

Here are a series of bracelets that feature vintage celluloid, Bakelite and glass buttons. I made these over the summer using simple sewing techniques and materials so that the buttons would shine as the stars that they are!

  • The first bracelet base is vintage picot edged grosgrain ribbon. The buttons that I used are celluloid “glow bubbles”, tight-tops and a few brown Bakelite.
  • The second bracelet base is vintage cotton grosgrain ribbon. The heart shaped buttons are Bakelite and the cream colored buttons are celluloid.
  • The third bracelet base is taffeta ribbon with a strip of grosgrain ribbon stitched down the center. The incredible green buttons are vintage celluloid “glow bubbles” and the black buttons are carved celluloid.

ribbon bracelet

ribbon bracelet

This last bracelet is made using grosgrain ribbon and an old measuring tape. These were woven together and backed with interfacing. I then stitched vintage glass, celluloid and Bakelite buttons for decoration. I stitched snaps down for the closure.

Deco Decadence

Deco Decadence

This brooch was made to be worn with “Melon Balls“ jewelry ensemble and Hat, which is made using a variety of vintage and new buttons and beads in colors of melon and black.

The pin boasts a lovely display of “buffed celluloid” buttons. I just adore the black and tan combination. It took many years to collect the right sizes and colors for this brooch. The ribbon worked flowers are made from a vintage ribbed cotton ribbon and the leaves are from a taffeta ribbon.

The ribbon buttons and flowers are attached to florist wire wrapped in sating ribbon, and sit in a vintage jacquard ribbon vase. A pin back is stitched to the back of the vase.

So what is in your button box and need help with identifying what’s in there? Christen

Friday’s Favorites: Whistle Buttons

Jul10

a collection of whistle buttons

a collection of whistle buttons

I love buttons, old, new, nice, not so nice, clean or grungy; with holes or with shanks; glass, rubber, celluloid, Bakelite, shell, composition, plastic, horn, or bone.

This is a collection of my favorite style of button, which are the whistle buttons. The construction is such that there is a large hole in the front and you can see the two or four holes through this that you use to sew them onto the garment.

This collection here pretty much runs the gamut on the type of materials that can be found with this style. Some of the fancier are of course the composition buttons that are inlaid with abalone or mother of pearl.

Here is a great blog Button Floozies. You will also find and interesting pdf to download on Piecework Magazine’s website, Great-Aunt Belle’s Buttons.

Happy day to you, have fun collecting, and enjoy what you do! Christen

Lothlorien Twilight

Jul10

Lothlorien Twighlight

Lothlorien Twilight

“Lothlorien” is where Galadriel lives in J.R.R. Tolkien’s magical world. The cloaks that she and her ladies made, that were given to the “Fellowship of the Ring” were said to have been made with a cloth that reflected the leaf, branch, water and stone of this realm. I felt that the colors that I chose for this piece reflected the same thing. Hopefully the magic will be reflected here too!

embroidered center

embroidered center

The background is a vintage embroidered silk purse, probably from China. The purse itself was too delicate to be used as such, so I have tried to preserve it’s beauty, and add it to my collection of art. Each piece of embroidery is comprised of single “Peking or Chinese Knot”, incredible in itself the work that went into each piece! These were each stitched separately then attached by hand to the brown silk. The rows of gold work that attached each design had come apart so I hand stitched these back in place first before I added in my own embellishments.

Then it was time to add in some of my own work. I beaded three dragonflies that have a dentalium shell body that is beaded and wings that are beaded. I made several sets of brick stitched leaves and interspersed them through the sections of flowers. I also beaded a few vines of brick stitched leaves.

beadedcenter

embellished and beaded center

I hand stitched several butterflies from French wire ribbon, and added dentalium shell bodies which are beaded. I also made hand stitched flowers from grosgrain ribbon that I stitched with vintage celluloid button centers. I antiqued both the flowers and butterfly bodies with copper fabric paint.

Several more flowers were made from silk bias ribbon and vintage velvet ribbon. These have beaded centers and are interspersed between the butterflies and larger flowers.

I used many vintage buttons that I have collected over the years including carved Tahiti shell, “tinnies” and celluloid which were used around the outer edges. Several new dragonfly and butterfly buttons and charms were also found to complete the theme.

Full wall hanging

Full wall hanging

I had a wonderful time collecting all of these treasures, then finding a home for them to reside.

The last item I found at Maureen’s Vintage Acquisitions was the mini quilt hanger with the dragonfly on the top! Perfection!

I hope that you enjoy what you do, have fun today and do take a look at the other entries for this challenge, they are all unique and incredible!

Happy stitching, collecting and treasure what gifts you have! Enjoy! ~Christen

Bonnie & Clyde- Vintage Collage Jewelry Ensembl

Jun10

Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie and Clyde

This neck piece started with a vintage tie stolen from my husband’s closet (he won’t miss it) that is from the 1930’s and an incredible set of vintage celluloid buttons known as “glow bubbles” dating from the 1920’s.

I first fell in love with these buttons because of the colors! Notice the green glow in the bracelet, and the large button in the center of the flower. The buttons are made with a metal base, layered with a piece of shiny foil or tin, then covered with a “bubble” of celluloid that was hollow, semi transparent and often had a geometric design.

I also used matte olive green celluloid buttons in the oval shape (shown around the flower petals). The black buttons are a molded tin, painted black.

The bracelet boasts the “cat’s eye glow bubbles” stitched onto a ribbon bracelet. The other bangle is a green and black swirl I bought at Coldwater Creek’s outlet store.

I wear this set with a vintage silk vest (also from my husbands closet) and a pair of fabulous vintage glass earrings that had belonged to my grandmother.

Quite the “bees knees”!

Happy stitching, enjoy- Christen