Button Shadowboxes

I have a new obsession--well, one of several new. A while back, I picked up a button-filled shadow box at the thrift store. I've never made a secret of my love for buttons and the shadow box was reasonably priced so of course I had to have it. It's now hanging in my office. (I have no bare wall space in my studio!)

This isn't the greatest pic in the world. Today's rainy so I don't have the best light, but maybe you can get an idea.

Since I have such a large collection of old buttons, I decided to make a shadow box using some of mine. This is what I came up with.

I used some scrapbook paper as a backing and a regimented display style. Now I'm think it might be too regimented. This one, though, will remain as is. It's my next one I'm fretting over now.

While I was in Fredericksburg a few weeks back, I found an empty shadow box at a thrift store. (Living in the country means I don't have a large number of places to look for them.) It was obviously vintage--probably '70s--but I thought I could make it work.

The above was my first mock-up, before I realized the frame is supposed to be horizontal. It wouldn't be that hard to shift around, and it's not too very regimented.

Still, I tried this positioning: a spray of mother-of-pearl buttons. (Again, remember the lighting. I didn't want to get out my tripod or my natural light. Forgive, please.) This is using the same scrapbook page as the first sample, a paper I intend to be the backing of the final product.

Here I tried grouping the buttons in a bird pattern. All of these are shell/MOP. (The white pattern is underneath on this test run so if I choose this the blue paper will show between the buttons.)

My final mock-up: I replaced the dark shell eye button with a blue plastic, which I think I like the look of better. (The blue is vintage--probably from the late '80s, early '90s, but it's not as old as the others.)

Shall I go regimented, random, or pattern? Or shall I mimic the design of the first? It would be easy enough to copy that randomness. Can you even tell the last two mock-ups are birds?

I'd love to hear your comments, thoughts, ideas. Thanks in advance.