Ribbons and Buttons...Oh My!

Photo credit: Lara Hata, via Country Living

Ribbons and buttons. Oh, how I love them! It's funny how a beautiful piece of ribbon or a unique button can give a little thrill. I once read that buttons are like confectionery for adults - that really resonated with me! That was in Jane Brocket's book, "The Gentle Art of Domesticity". She went on to talk about the sad decline in the number of button shops. Can you imagine - shops that only stock buttons! Not online stores, but real, honest-to-goodness physical stores that are piled from floor to ceiling with beautiful buttons!That is the sort of shop that I could spend hours and hours in, and I am NOT much of a shopper.

These shops DO still exist, apparently, as I found out while looking for pics for this post. I wish Brisbane had some...

Ok, pulling myself out of my daydreaming here. I remember the excitement whenever Mum would get out her button tin for some terribly practical purpose like trying to find a replacement button for a lost one on some trousers. I LOVED trawling through that tin, picking up any that caught my eye, examining them closely, and secretly hoping Mum would say 'you can have that one if you like'. Not that I had any plan in mind for it. I just LIKED it. 

My ribbons on paddle-pop stick bobbins

And ribbons! What joy when a present came wrapped in a bit of REAL ribbon, not just some curling plastic stuff. It was often just as much of a gift as what was inside. That reminds me of a very sweet moment on the second season of BBC TV version of Lark Rise to Candleford, when Robert Timmins buys his wife Emma a piece of ribbon - as I remember it, it was a very romantic gesture, an extravagance they could not afford, but spoke volumes of his love for her.

I have my very own ribbon and button stashes now. Most of my buttons came from op-shops, and many of my ribbons were saved from gifts. For Christmas, my hubby bought me some buttons - does he know me or what? I recently stole his collection of paddle-pop sticks to wind my bits of ribbon on, as they were all jumbled up and making a big mess. The paddle-pop sticks worked a treat, as you can see above!

I used to store my buttons in old jars, which looks so cute, but I find it is not very practical. I like to rifle through the buttons when choosing them for projects, so a shallow container suits better. Or a series of shallow containers with buttons sorted in colours.

Fun, fun, fun! Doesn't this just make you wanna go do some craft??