A delightful post, Rebecca. My parents had a huge tin of buttons too I used to love rummaging through them, especially the military ones. Love the drawings. Thanks for the shout out
aww this, this is everything - “Tray of sorted buttons admired ✓ “ ✨ I have a jar of buttons - it’s very beautiful like an ornament of tiny multi shaped memories.
Love this a lot: the simple but beautiful illustrations, the idea of repurposing an old book, sharing old collections and memories, then commemorating them in artwork. Looking forward to what comes up next!
Thank you so much, Bryn! I've really enjoyed exploring my memories of the button tin both in words and art, and I've some ideas of what else I might look at!
Love this Rebecca! Buttons are mesmerising-I agree. And I’m pretty sure I had the same ‘chore’ to do when I was young. Best chore ever!
Many thanks for the link too 😌.
I’m really looking forward to seeing your repurposed book art. What a fabulous idea! One of my favourite art classes when I was in school was to take a photo from a magazine, paste it in the middle of a big sheet of paper and then carry on with whatever was started in the photo onto the rest of the paper. I guess it is similar to a writing prompt.
Thanks, Jo! And LOL - yes, the ubiquitous Quality Street tin! I was surprised when Mum and I dug it out the other day - QS tins these days seem to be much bigger than this one!
I love things in tins, Amie! And - ooooh - sketching as marginalia! I love your art - your micromashup Bean boots sketch was gorgeous! Linking it here for others to check out!
When I was in 8th grade (Year 9), my teacher sent my best friend and me into the teachers’ workroom during an entire day to sort out an enormous box of postage stamps. We thought we were just lucky (at that moment, we both had an interest in stamp collecting) and her favourites, but she was just buying a few hours of silence.
Oh Bryan, I LOVE this! Fair enough that your teacher had just been buying your silence, but how wonderful that it was with a task you both really enjoyed!
Gorgeous, Rebecca. I'm so excited to see more of your art, and even more excited to know there's more on the way! I also had a button collection growing up...not sure where they are now, but probably in my Mom's basement. I'd never thought to draw them!
That's really kind of you, Jillian - thank you! I love that you had buttons, too! I was at my parents' house today, actually, going through some stuff - THE most precious, precious things - friends - who are threadbare and losing their stuffing....! I'm feeling slightly heartbroken now.
I fully lolled at the moment the penny dropped. 😂Also, I still have a tin of random childhood treasures (pogs? ✔️ Six piece puzzle cube with one side missing? ✔️) and all my old books from when I was a kid, which finally make sense in their new home on my son’s shelves. My partner despairs at the clutter but I ignore him. ☺️ Nostalgia is oxygen.
LOL - thanks, Jill! 'Nostalgia is oxygen' - you're so right! There are so many things that as a midlife adult I wish I'd taken better care of. And that doesn't even mean I don't have clutter - I have plenty of clutter - just not the precious things I wish I'd kept!
I love the illustration--the close-ups of the buttons sprinkled throughout your remembrances. And then to get to the end and find the buttons were sketched in an old book...genius! There is simply something about an old button tin, isn’t there? I have a small jar of buttons as well as a large jar of coins and other items in my office. When the grandkids come over, they love sorting the items from these jars, especially the coins by year. In the end, they all go back into the jar, but the art of sorting is a soothing one for them (and if I think about it, it was for me too when I was a child).
Now you’ve got me thinking about those old things from my past--a good writing prompt!
Old button tins are fabulous - Mum and I found more than one, actually, last week - one tin was full of Grandma's buttons! I wonder if she'd ever been asked to sort them? I'd better ask! You're right - it's a very soothing way to pass the time.
Great post that brought back so many memories...thank you for that!
I remember being given the job of 'licking and sticking' S & H Green Stamps into the booklets that (once filled) were redeemed for various products. Can you imagine people doing that now? Mom also had me ironing Dad's handkerchiefs once she finished his shirts. A heavy, very hot iron seems kind've risky for a little kid, but...it was the early 70s. Things were different then.
Gosh, we had something similar over here in the early 80s, I think - Green Shield stamps from the garage - they would give Dad pages and pages of the things every time he filled up with petrol, and it was up to us to stick them in. Goodness knows why we never used a damp sponge - they tasted disgusting! I can't remember ever redeeming them for anything, but I expect we did. I think there was a dodgy set of plates, cups and saucers which might have landed in our kitchen, maybe?
And yes, the ironing! My brother and I started our ironing careers pretty young - when we were little one of us would spray the hankies, tea towels and pillow cases when they came out of the dryer, and then we'd take turns to iron them. Ironing is still something I really enjoy, actually - not just flat square stuff any more, though - I did eventually graduate to shirts, trousers and the like! 🤣
A delightful post, Rebecca. My parents had a huge tin of buttons too I used to love rummaging through them, especially the military ones. Love the drawings. Thanks for the shout out
Thanks, Terry! Military buttons are amazing - the metal buttons in the tin always seemed to be the most precious.
Indeed!
aww this, this is everything - “Tray of sorted buttons admired ✓ “ ✨ I have a jar of buttons - it’s very beautiful like an ornament of tiny multi shaped memories.
Thanks, Claire! I love how you call your buttons 'tiny multi shaped memories' - that's a wonderful way to look at them!
Love this a lot: the simple but beautiful illustrations, the idea of repurposing an old book, sharing old collections and memories, then commemorating them in artwork. Looking forward to what comes up next!
Thank you so much, Bryn! I've really enjoyed exploring my memories of the button tin both in words and art, and I've some ideas of what else I might look at!
Love this Rebecca! Buttons are mesmerising-I agree. And I’m pretty sure I had the same ‘chore’ to do when I was young. Best chore ever!
Many thanks for the link too 😌.
I’m really looking forward to seeing your repurposed book art. What a fabulous idea! One of my favourite art classes when I was in school was to take a photo from a magazine, paste it in the middle of a big sheet of paper and then carry on with whatever was started in the photo onto the rest of the paper. I guess it is similar to a writing prompt.
Happy Saturday!
Thanks so much, Sabrina - and for your post which had set me off down memory lane!
I love the sound of that art class - what a great idea!
It was always a Quality Street tin - we had that same one! Lovely post - thank you.
Thanks, Jo! And LOL - yes, the ubiquitous Quality Street tin! I was surprised when Mum and I dug it out the other day - QS tins these days seem to be much bigger than this one!
Yup. My mom had that tin! Used as a “on the go” sewing kit.
Sketching as marginalia: such a clever idea. Which I will try.
I love things in tins, Amie! And - ooooh - sketching as marginalia! I love your art - your micromashup Bean boots sketch was gorgeous! Linking it here for others to check out!
https://morningpagemashup.substack.com/p/sketchbook-stories-the-bean-boots
Ahh this is so good!! Pressing all the right buttons!
Thanks so much, Aoife - and LOL, all the right buttons....!!!!
I think those buttons are lovely
Thanks, Tom! Had fun getting arty, albeit in rather scribbly fashion!
When I was in 8th grade (Year 9), my teacher sent my best friend and me into the teachers’ workroom during an entire day to sort out an enormous box of postage stamps. We thought we were just lucky (at that moment, we both had an interest in stamp collecting) and her favourites, but she was just buying a few hours of silence.
Oh Bryan, I LOVE this! Fair enough that your teacher had just been buying your silence, but how wonderful that it was with a task you both really enjoyed!
Someone I know used to buy silence by sending a pupil to the woodwork teacher to ask for a long weight.
GROAN! 🤣
Thank goodness you didn’t grow up in the age of Velcro! Your mom might have gone mad without a reliable button break for wee Rebecca.
LOL, Peter!!! Funnily enough, Mum was at school with the daughter of the Velcro inventor! #claimtofame
Yeah, well, MY parents went to high school with Dr. Suess! So there.
Reckon you've got the edge there, then! 🤣
Well I taught in a school where a mad axeman had been a pupil. Does that count for anything?
I think I prefer more innocent claims to 'fame', Terry!
🫣
Gorgeous, Rebecca. I'm so excited to see more of your art, and even more excited to know there's more on the way! I also had a button collection growing up...not sure where they are now, but probably in my Mom's basement. I'd never thought to draw them!
That's really kind of you, Jillian - thank you! I love that you had buttons, too! I was at my parents' house today, actually, going through some stuff - THE most precious, precious things - friends - who are threadbare and losing their stuffing....! I'm feeling slightly heartbroken now.
Rebecca, Jillian liked MY art so I'm not sure her liking yours is much of a recommendation 😂
🤣 Well, I like YOUR art too, Terry! 🤣
I rest my case
I love your art Rebecca! The colors jump right off the page. I can't wait to see what is next. 👍
That's really kind, Matt - thank you!
I fully lolled at the moment the penny dropped. 😂Also, I still have a tin of random childhood treasures (pogs? ✔️ Six piece puzzle cube with one side missing? ✔️) and all my old books from when I was a kid, which finally make sense in their new home on my son’s shelves. My partner despairs at the clutter but I ignore him. ☺️ Nostalgia is oxygen.
LOL - thanks, Jill! 'Nostalgia is oxygen' - you're so right! There are so many things that as a midlife adult I wish I'd taken better care of. And that doesn't even mean I don't have clutter - I have plenty of clutter - just not the precious things I wish I'd kept!
I love the illustration--the close-ups of the buttons sprinkled throughout your remembrances. And then to get to the end and find the buttons were sketched in an old book...genius! There is simply something about an old button tin, isn’t there? I have a small jar of buttons as well as a large jar of coins and other items in my office. When the grandkids come over, they love sorting the items from these jars, especially the coins by year. In the end, they all go back into the jar, but the art of sorting is a soothing one for them (and if I think about it, it was for me too when I was a child).
Now you’ve got me thinking about those old things from my past--a good writing prompt!
That's so kind - thank you, Holly!
Old button tins are fabulous - Mum and I found more than one, actually, last week - one tin was full of Grandma's buttons! I wonder if she'd ever been asked to sort them? I'd better ask! You're right - it's a very soothing way to pass the time.
There is something oddly meditative and satisfying about jobs like that... Love the drawings :-)
I think you're right, Jacquie, and even today I think there's a place in my life for a button tin to sort! And thank you so much, that's very kind. 😊
Great post that brought back so many memories...thank you for that!
I remember being given the job of 'licking and sticking' S & H Green Stamps into the booklets that (once filled) were redeemed for various products. Can you imagine people doing that now? Mom also had me ironing Dad's handkerchiefs once she finished his shirts. A heavy, very hot iron seems kind've risky for a little kid, but...it was the early 70s. Things were different then.
Thanks so much, Ms W!
Gosh, we had something similar over here in the early 80s, I think - Green Shield stamps from the garage - they would give Dad pages and pages of the things every time he filled up with petrol, and it was up to us to stick them in. Goodness knows why we never used a damp sponge - they tasted disgusting! I can't remember ever redeeming them for anything, but I expect we did. I think there was a dodgy set of plates, cups and saucers which might have landed in our kitchen, maybe?
And yes, the ironing! My brother and I started our ironing careers pretty young - when we were little one of us would spray the hankies, tea towels and pillow cases when they came out of the dryer, and then we'd take turns to iron them. Ironing is still something I really enjoy, actually - not just flat square stuff any more, though - I did eventually graduate to shirts, trousers and the like! 🤣
Love this post. Such a cute story! 💟
Thank you, Sue! I really enjoyed exploring this memory! 😊