Unbuttoned

Shoe boxes, rusted cookie tins, and glass jars - from what I've seen, these seem to have been the preferred time capsules that our mothers (and their mothers, and their mothers) fancied to hold their sewing supplies. Especially their button collections! I remember my mother peddling away on her loud, whirring machine while I sneaked away with her round tin full of these tiny, wonderful, colorful things. After dumping them out into a heaping mound in the middle of the living room floor, I'd rake my fingers through them, claiming my favorites.

My fiance presented me with a red shoebox soon after his grandmother (love her heart) reluctantly settled in a nursing home last year. He &his family took on the daunting task of cleaning out her empty, lonesome house and he rescued some of her belongings for me to keep. Needless to say, I teared up when I opened the box and discovered her button collection! I found decorative homes for them in jars and let them liven up the kitchen window sill with nostalgia for awhile, until I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

Opening a bottle of Mod Podge and grabbing an old magazine from the bookshelf is really all it takes to keep me busy. I used a large greeting card sized piece of cardboard to mount this collage on, which also gives it a little dimension. Pizza box lids are the perfect weight for little projects like these and are easy to store once you've cut them into squares. I tuck mine in the back of books to keep their shape &if you're a lover of ACEO cards, cardboard makes a great sturdy backing!