CQ Crazy

Link


On another site where I tend to lurk,the discussion on the storage of buttons came up,and I thought you may be interested to read what others say and do!



On Behalf Of Ola Mallard
Subject: Re: [CQembellishers] storing buttons


Please remember to separate buttons by materials - metal shouldn't be
stored
with plastic etc. Unless you don't mind that they will deteriote.
Especially
antique buttons. The newer "metals" are mainly metallized plastic.

On behalf of Katherine Smith:
RE: storing buttons

I'm glad Ola brought up the very important tip that buttons should be
separated by the type of material they are. Here are some of my
experiences/tips:

Metal buttons (REAL metal) mixed with celluloid or Bakelite buttons
will
cause the bakelites and celluloids to disintegrate and the metal
buttons to
tarnish - sometimes beyond salvation.

Bakelite buttons stored with plastic buttons will cause the Bakelite
buttons
to disintegrate or "rot".

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO I PUT ANYTHING (OTHER THAN GLASS BUTTONS AND
PEARL
BUTTONS) IN ANYTHING OTHER THAN A GLASS JAR. While my mother used a
button
tin, and I've purchased tins of buttons, the metal can react with
certain
types of buttons. Tightly closed glass jars, though, will/can cause
buttons
to mold and rust. (I have about 6 LARGE jars of various kinds of
buttons I
won at a country auction that are STILL in the closed jars I got them
in
because they smell moldy and musty and have turned green. I hope to be
able
to wash them some day, when I have NOTHING else to do.)

READ ON--->

I separate my buttons by 1) type of material; then by 2) color. My
plastic
buttons - those I'm relatively sure are plastic and not bakelite or
celluloid - are in large, wide-mouth canning jars with tulle over the
opening, secured by the appropriate "ring" lid. This way the buttons
can
breathe. I also store my wood, composition, leather, fabric/fiber,
bone/horn/antler buttons this way. You don't have to go out and spend
alot
of $$ on jars - many of my jars are the "mason" jars that spaghetti
sauce
and fruit came in. They're meant to be reused! I use the "Bonne
Maman"
jelly jars for buttons or colors I have is smaller quantities. (I
never
seem to have enough purple or orange buttons, for some reason...) I
will
close these jars tight with their metal lids if the buttons ARE NOT
plastic
or metal, Bakelite or celluloid. ****This way I decrease the risk of
the
plastic buttons "gassing off" in an enclosed space and causing chemical
changes in them, in case I missed a Bakelite or celluloid in that jar,
or
the types of plastic react adversely.*** Important safety tip!

Now, for my glass and Mother of Pearls----> because I love them SO
much and
love to run my hands through them and look at them in the privacy of my
studio space like some grizzled miser, I went out and bought many of
those
Plano deep, divided tackle boxes that come with moveable dividers.
(They're
about $5-$6 each.) I keep all the glass buttons together, sorted by
size and
color. I sort the pearls by size, number of holes, and style - with the
most
beautifully carved one separate from the "shirt" or common
two-or-four-hole
round ones.

I also have one box of "precious-to-me" buttons - enamel buttons whose
paint
I don't want to get chipped off with careless, forgetful handling - as
well
as other delicate buttons (the few hand-painted china button I own, for
example).

For advice on cleaning buttons I go to

http://www.tias.com/articles/buttons/archives/98_04_05/articles.html
for
probably more information than you want, but IMO the best resource for
information

http://www.buttonimages.com/collector_info/cleaning.htm for a briefer
tutorial