Stay at Home for Shelter in Place

More Buttons, Buttons, Buttons in May, 2020

Most of Canada and North America are under a Shelter in Place mode which means we are concerned with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ottawa Valley Button Club members thought it would be fun and educational to play with our buttons and this is what we have planned. Each day one member will volunteer to find buttons in his/her collection and present it - with description. Members are asked to hunt for some of their own buttons to add to the thread. (Send your submission to [susan@wein.ca] At the end of the day, they will be added to our webpage.

Email Susie Smith with a date that you would like to volunteer.

May 30, 2020

Sue Dickout presents:

Another collection that’s best on an acetate backed card — glass buttons with rosette shanks. You can see I have some ways to go on this one. The card is made by club member, Evelyn Davis.

May 29, 2020

Micheline Gravel presents:

The late Margaret Ruhland was a very accomplished textile artist who created clothing, handbags and jewelry. She worked with hemp to create her clothing designs, but this versatile artist did a lot more than create clothing and jewelry -- she could turn tiny pieces of silk, beads, threads, and other materials into the most delightful little buttons! In 2011, Margaret attended one of our OVBC meetings to demonstrate how she put together her little “creatures”. The amount of work and time that goes into creating one single button called for patience and precision.

Sadly, this gifted artist passed away in 2013.

May 28, 2020

Joanne Irons presents part 2

Welcome to my Garden is an ink and watercolour scribble of my garden in all its glory created in 2001. My arbour, neighbour's pond and ripening veggie patch attract local wildlife and give a lovely place to sit and daydream. Using inexpensive realistic buttons it is a project anyone can create and a great way to use up those piles of "fun" buttons.

May 27, 2020

Joanne Irons presents: (Second vingnette will be presented on May 28.

Apparently at one time in my button life, before I became consumed with button competition, I made button vignettes.

The summer birds was fun to collage that I created in 2009. I picked a piece of tree branch fabric, embroidered various leaves then used JHB birds, flowers & bugs buttons to cover the branches. Then I create a fabric envelope with the branch fabric and a backing of same size white poplin fabric, stick a piece of mat-board inside the "envelop" to stiffen then whip stitch the bottom closed. Easy to frame or display.

May 26, 2020

Micheline Gravel presents:

I purchased this card of buttons on Etsy recently, and just love the whimsical look of the Raggedy Ann/Andy. Each button is hand painted on small mother of pearl buttons.

May 25, 2020

Ariella Hostetter presents:

This set of instructions for a leather button and lace comes from a book by Ernest Thompson Seton called The Book of Woodcraft published in the early 20th Century. The author was a prominent in the Boy Scout movement of America.

May 24, 2020

Susie Smith presents:

Here are the nuts and the bolts of the situation: Please stay safe! (Hey I need to find a lot more)

May 23, 2020

Yes, you are right... this web person was on holiday for a few days as we packed up and moved to the island. Now I am back on Call and ready to see your buttons... so please send them to susie

Today Susan Dickout presents:

I found this yesterday and don’t believe I’ve ever seen it before. It is a picture of my great-grandmother’s class at normal school (teacher training). If I have worked the dates out correctly, it would be 1875-1880 in period. Obviously buttons were very popular that season!

May 17, 2020

Sue Dickout presents:

I’ve just polished and carded these gilt buttons. Evelyn Davies made this acetate backed card which enables you to see the back marks on these. This card looks even better in person!

May 15, 2020

Marion Warburton presents

I bought this button at an auction so don't know where it came from. I would love to hear from anyone who has a similar or knows something about it. The goat and the person's hair are MoP, the person is metal with enamel, the goat's horns and the light coloured ring around the edge look like some kind of plastic as well as the black background. The back appears to be wood.

Joanne Irons suggests: Wondering if Marion Warburton's button is from a zodiac set; possibly Aries (the Ram) or Capricorn (The Goat)?
Nice inlay button design. thanks for sharing. Button On

May 14, 2020

Sue Dickout presents:

Some wallpaper designs. I find these really interesting. The subject matter varies so much and the designs are on so many different types of buttons. The top two are Asian themes on German-made buttons. The central wallpaper is a white metal floral background in a large steel cup. The bottom centre is Asian vegetation and objects on a pad shank button, the bottom left is an Egyptian theme, and the bottom right is high relief floral. Those last two buttons are both Paris backs.

May 13, 2020

How about button room photos...

May 12, 2020

Sue Dickout asks:

What buttons are on this young girl’s dress? Cut steel florets (top button) or paste florets? (Like the centre button but with a central paste instead of the pearl.)

Susie Smith says: They remind me of the program that Micheline and I did on Trims.

May 10, 2020

Happy Mother's Day

Sue Farrah helps us celebrate with these beautiful porcelain studs:

May 9, 2020

Sue Dickout, like so many of us button collectors, has been working on her dimi cards.

May 8, 2020

Marion Burton presents

Micheline Gravel's carved wooden masks made me think of these mostly ebony masks carved in Kenya with just a knife, according to Just Buttons Dec 1967, April 1968, July & August 1971).

May 7, 2020

Susan Dickout presents:

Here are several Japanese enamel buttons on silver. The three small ones are realistic and somewhat three-dimensional. The larger one is a gin bari type enamel of violets. It has a textured silver background which shows through the transparent coloured enamels.

May 6, 2020

Joanne Irons presents:

Here are a few more enamels for your daily button eye candy:

May 5, 2020

Sue Dickout presented this answer for Diane Close who sent a small card of buttons asking if they might be mineral stones.

Sue answered: "It’s hard to tell from the photo whether these are minerals. They could be mineral, glass or celluloid centres. The grey one looks like glass, the turquoise one like a mineral (turquoise or chrysacolla), and the yellow and green ones could be dyed onyx or coloured celluloid or polymer. You need a close up to tell.

If you look through a loupe and there are tiny bubbles, it’s glass. If it has lines or fibres visible, it’s mineral (not all minerals show this). If it has a waxy feel, it’s usually synthetic. Hope this is some help.

May 4, 2020

Joanne Irons presents:

Hi Button dreamers, I wanted to follow up on Sue Dickout's enamels. So here is one of my pretty ones, enjoy

A 3D butterfly from a few angles, great for the insect collector.

May 2, 2020

Micheline Gravel presents:

My last post was on wood buttons carved by St-Jean Port Joli artists. In keeping with this theme, here are 2 mask buttons carved by Carol Young, nee Bagshaw, a member of the Eagle Clan of the Haida Nations of Haida Gwaii. (Queen Charlotte Islands).

This talented artist produced beautiful artwork, but not many buttons. I am very grateful to have these in my collection. Buttons are made of red cedar, and are called Chinnie and Nonnie. The masks measure aprox. 2 & ¼ at widest point.

May 1, 2020

Marion Warburton presents:

Here's some bling; not on the same level as the ones in Epstein and Safro's book "Buttons", but I like them.