i love buttons. they are little pieces of people's lives. and i'm guilty of still sewing buttons on stuff, and using the button collection to match them. i have jet buttons that were on my grandmother's dress when she was a teen, back in victorian times. there's a button off my mom's favorite pink apron, a button off my favorite blouse, off my dad's PJs, teeny ones off my baby dresses. they strike a chord in my hands, too--it's a tactile thing. looking in my mom's button tin when i was little was one of my favorite rainy day things to do. there was a smell from the bakeite and celluloid buttons that still reminds me of rainy days and the button tin.
i have bottles from garage sales, my mom's old tin, some i purchased new, others that the grandsons have found and brought to me.and now i have a granddaughter who is four, and just the right age to introduce to the buttons. i think she'll enjoy them as much as she does seashells, fairies, and stickers.