The Search Continues

I've been collecting buttons for years. I have a few special ones--one striking one made of ivory and carved with a dragon--but mostly I've just picked up whatever whenever wherever. Lately, since I've been making flowers, I'm more interested in vintage rhinestone, and OMG those things are expensive! Yesterday I missed out on a bunch from eBay, and I'm kicking myself for it now. As I was heading out for lunch with friends, I checked the auction, thinking I might bid ten bucks higher than what the top bid was--the last time I'd looked it was up to $35 and the auction would end while I was gone. But the bid was up to $55! That's for a lot of an indeterminate number of buttons; it was just called a "huge" collection. And yeah, I know you'd pay at least a couple of bucks apiece new, and there was a good bunch of them, but I guess I'm just a cheap-o. More than $60 for supplies? And who knows if I'll ever even sell another brooch? I just couldn't make myself bid on it.

The auction ended at $56.25. Wouldn't you know it. Now I've talked myself into thinking that wasn't too much. Where in the heck was my reason yesterday? Oh, well....

In the meantime, I've come up with another way of embellishing my brooches: I'm massing the centers with mounds of plain buttons.

This one I listed a couple of days ago. It's made with that lovely ivory blanket Daisy brought back from NY. (Ignore the red thread. It's caught in the lace, but it's so minute that I can't find it except when I photograph it. You don't know how many pics I've Photo-shopped it out of!)

And this one I listed today. It's made from a boiled wool jacket I felted last winter.

Tomorrow I'll be spending the day in Austin--doctor's appointment--but come Saturday I'm heading out to garage sales. The ones around here are kind of so-so, but you never know when you might stumble on a jar of buttons somewhere.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!