7/1/14

Button Sickness...A Real and Present Danger

The condition of my button collection is in danger of becoming a 'sick, rusty, foul-smelling mess!  So says an expert and professional button collector.  Yes, there is such a thing as professional button collectors....I am not one...but I might be if even one of my 'Old Buttons' would be worth anything near what some of the professionals get for theirs.

About my 'Sick Buttons'.  I feel terrible....who knew that a Mason Jar would act as a petri dish when mixing metal and plastic buttons together.  My prized celluloids....by now they surely have a bad case of asthmatic-celluloiditis   All these years they  have been stored in closed glass jars or sealed Ziploc bags when they should have been in an open container so they could breathe.

Here's the thing...buttons are made of many different materials.  Some of those materials aren't compatible, especially plastics and celluloids from the early 20th Century with metals. 

The Button Pros recommend that you mount and display your collection on 'Acid-Free' mat board, and if you plan to enter them in a 'Button Competition' the display board must measure 9x12.   Okay!  Button Competition, huh...I love a competition....so you can just imagine how 'I've Got This'.  NOT!!!

However, I am learning a lot about how to get the buttons I don't use in 'Button Jewelry' making ready to sell.  Yes, I am downsizing again, and selling buttons.  Need some or just WANT some?  I'll tell you about my 'Sell It or Else' plan in another post.  Right now I'll show you a sample of my brilliant 'Button Mason Jar' marketing plan.  It is 'Safe' and 'Breathable'.

  Cute, huh? 
I'm not sure I have followed all the specifics of displaying prized buttons, but I'm not going to enter them in a competition, so this will do.  I have used acid free card stock and scrapbook paper as well as cotton crochet thread to stitch them in the Mason Jar. 
 
The 'Button Pros' suggest 'Specializing' in just a few types of buttons if you want to become a
 'Button-O-Fishy-AhNaDoe' with a manageable collection. 
Not happenin' here!!! 
I'm way past Specializing...unless I can find a cure for 'Asthmatic-Celluloiditis'!

1 comment:

  1. My buttons are all in Mason jars and old mayo jars, mixed together. Oh well, I'll never make 'professional' in button collecting. I even have a mason jar lamp that is full of buttons.

    ReplyDelete

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