I really love buttons...when I was a really tiny person, I "collected" them, meaning that my mom would let me choose 10 loose buttons from this big bin at the store. Digging my fingers into the huge sea of little candy-ish plastic and glass discs, Amelie-style, was one of the most satisfying and wonderful sensations.
I found this sweet Japanese book via the wonderful Molly Chicken blog, and it is available for order here. What a beautiful little volume it is...and it makes me want to just hoard all of my special vintage buttons in glass cases and shadow-boxes!
Don't those little animal shapes just kill you? Who am I kidding, they ALL kill me.
The cherry pie from yesterday was really tasty. Thanks for all the cute comments about that apron! My best friend Sarah gave it to me before she moved away to Brooklyn a few years ago. It is the perfect apron for protecting from flour and the like, while still being adorable. I love baking so much these days...though today I think I'm going to make a big pot of chicken soup with rice, ala Maurice Sendak. It is one of my favorite winter-foods.
A few links:
- This hilarious and wonderful series of short animations, Making Fiends, which was found via BoingBoing. It is really clever and adorable. I read on the site that it is being picked up by Nickelodeon soon! It reminded me of what it felt like to discover Teen Girl Squad way back when.
- Revamp Vintage, which is vintage reproduction clothing. So cute! I'm thinking of having them make a few simple 1940's style day dresses for me. Between them and Remix, I feel very happy. Very happy indeed.
Comments (38)
Those buttons are so cute, I love the little green ones! And how can you go wrong with Chicken Soup with Rice?
Erin · January 16, 2007 at 03:02 PM
Thank you for the great links! I love that there are companies out there reproducing vintage styles - duh, I had no idea they were so accessible!
Jennifer · January 16, 2007 at 03:04 PM
Thanks for the Revamp Vintage link...want the "Darla" frock desperately now...love your blog - I ordered two of your prints recently and adore them (Typewriter girl and the Knitting girl)...Thanks for sharing your lovelies with all of us!
Karen June · January 16, 2007 at 03:47 PM
I love Revamp and Remix.
I visit often.
I am also a HUGE button lover. What it the name of that lovely book?
Cheers
Nancy · January 16, 2007 at 03:47 PM
Great book. I've also been thinking about putting some of my vintage buttons into a shadow box, so I can look at them all the time. I don't know why I like them so much, but I do. I'm told that there will be another vintage button swap in a few months. Yay!
julia · January 16, 2007 at 04:05 PM
i love button memories of childhood...i still have a little yellow animal covered box with buttons i used to play with ay my grnadmother's. she had many wonderfully odd collections, but the not so odd buttons were my favorite.
i'm making soup today too. mine is lemony quinoa wit artichoke hearts...
risa · January 16, 2007 at 04:07 PM
Making Fiends. Good times. Good times.
Sarah · January 16, 2007 at 04:08 PM
I think I love buttons more than you!If I posted photos of all my collection you would think I was do-lally!I still sometimes just spend a hour or two 'sorting them out'.Some of my buttons do get used but not many!That book is going on my wishlist xxx
Kristy · January 16, 2007 at 04:49 PM
I love buttons, especially big, plastic and brightly colored buttons. What I love to do with buttons is take a hot glue gun and glue a round magnet to them so that I can put things all over my fridge and have them held up with big, bright buttons. I think it looks so cute. :)
tiffany · January 16, 2007 at 07:28 PM
A WHOLE book of buttons??? Pictures and pictures of whimsical, colorful buttones?! *swoon* Oh my goodness, that really is tempting! :D Speaking of buttons I have to tell you I used your idea of adhering buttons to push-pins for hanging up my necklace collection--and its so much fun to put those to some use (besides just sitting in a jar or perched around my vintage tea cups looking pretty...). :D
Casey · January 16, 2007 at 07:32 PM
I'm with you on the button obsession too!!
Becki · January 16, 2007 at 08:38 PM
Hi Emily!
I love your dolls! They are just precious! Do you always wear dresses? You have a really unique style and I love your silhouette drawings too!
Shannon · January 16, 2007 at 08:39 PM
Oh my!! Where do I begin. I am on overload..So much eye candy. Whew...
Vanessa · January 16, 2007 at 08:50 PM
You have got to love the vintage bathing suits!
Tiffany Harvey · January 16, 2007 at 09:32 PM
Don't you love Molly Chicken? She's always good enough to post the new Cotton Paper issue and any good japanese crafting.
kiwi · January 16, 2007 at 10:19 PM
Amelie, Maurice Sendak, aprons, buttons, and pie! Life IS good!
Jane · January 16, 2007 at 11:48 PM
Just got my treasures!!!! Your originals are unreal. Your prints are pretty amazing, but seeing the original is magic!!!I am thrilled beyond belief. You are so very talented. very very.
Vanessa · January 17, 2007 at 12:57 AM
I have jars and jars of buttons sitting in my apartment and my moms' house. Whenever I walk around the city and seea button store I get completely overwhelmed want to own everything!
I don't know what it is about these little things, maybe it is the variety.
Jessica · January 17, 2007 at 07:58 AM
hello!
i find vintage buttons at a local bead store- apparently the owner used to collect vintage buttons and she's thinning out her stash. i think it's beadfarm.com, in virginia.
also, when you make your chicken soup with rice, do you sing the song?
lisa · January 17, 2007 at 08:13 AM
Wow I ADORE buttons! I thought that first picture was some kind of buttonified window shade at first - you accidentally inspired another project for my list, thankyou!
cassie · January 17, 2007 at 08:34 AM
I strangely posted about buttons yesterday too! Such simple delights!
Janet · January 17, 2007 at 08:52 AM
oh those buttons are killing me, too! i just love having them in a big jar on my desk to look at. and my kids love swirling their fingers around in the jar...
found this link this morning via "2lb elephants" blog and thought of you. you've probably already discovered it, but just in case:
http://www.juliemorstad.com/
molly · January 17, 2007 at 08:56 AM
I already commented but is the book called Buttons? I can't find it. And, I meant to say before that I too love Remix and Revamp. You and I have many similar tastes and interests.
Nancy · January 17, 2007 at 09:47 AM
Buttons! I absolutely love buttons too. I just blogged about my new jar of vintage buttons the other day! What a coincidence. :)
Chicken soup is also one of my favorite winter meals. If you're willing to try a new version of chicken soup, I highly recommend Real Simple's Mexican Chicken Soup:http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1151479
(Sorry for the long URL)
It's really really good. Especially with those yummy avocados! MMMMM :)
Tomoe · January 17, 2007 at 10:45 AM
I adore buttons also!!! I use to love going through my grandmas huge tin of buttons and stringing them onto yarn and making gorgeous "necklaces"!! haah!
Ok so I am sad, my birthday was last week and I did not receive a gift from a favorite family memeber of mine.(who always gets me exactly what I want, and the perfect card to go with it I might add)
Anyways ,when I got home last night there was an opened brown envelope with the cutest little hedgehog stamp on it......! I immediately knew it was from The fabulous Emily of the black apple!! Laying under the envelope was a complete set of Black Apple ,Alice in wonderland print set! My heart raced and I jumped for joy! (Mind you I was so excited that I did not look at who the envelope was addressed to) So, as I was about to do the happy dance for my new present....my sister walks into the room and says "ooh did you see the alice in wonderland prints my boyfriend sent me?"he got them from ETSY" I just stood there...in disbelief! They weren't for me at all! I was upset and angry! Right in front of me at my fingertips were 4 amazing prints of work from my hero , Emily-The Black Apple. And they were not intendid for me at all. My heart sank, I said "yeah cool, they're great, really nice" and walked away with a cut in my heart and a tear in my eye.
Twas a sad sad day my friends..
-Sarah
Heavyeyeliner · January 17, 2007 at 10:52 AM
i used to collect buttons when i was a kid too - i wish i still had the collection now when i could truly appreciate them!
dandelion · January 17, 2007 at 12:48 PM
I only just saw Amelie for the first time recently. (can you believe it) I LOVED it so much! I think I'm already ready to see it again.
My mom has always had a big tin of buttons in her sewing room. I still go there first when I need just the right one!
Thanks for the links! I'm off to check them out.
Diane Duda · January 17, 2007 at 01:36 PM
ok.
buttons: the last pic that had them
looking like sweet toothsome candy
with a pastel peppermint in the middle...
ahhhhh.
i so covet.
and that cartoon: i love that...love it.
too, too funny.
and note to myself: i need to watch amelie.
gkgirl · January 17, 2007 at 04:53 PM
What is the name of the button book? I MUST have it!
sherry · January 17, 2007 at 05:14 PM
Oh I will have to tell my friend heather about that button book, she would die!!! So cool.
I loved buttons when I was small, my mom owuld put buttons that fell off of things in her jewelry box until things could be mended...I would sneak and look through all the lovely things in there, and to me at such a young age there was no difference between the buttons and the jewels...they were all just part of the delicious treasure.
stilettoheights · January 17, 2007 at 06:30 PM
I got my very FIRST print from you in the mail yesterday, and I can't even begin to tell you how INLOVE I am with it. Precious thing that it is. It's hung where all can see (especially me). I couldn't stop grinning. It's beautiful! Please keep up the good work.
Sasha · January 17, 2007 at 07:55 PM
I met a woman at a fair a while ago who made things out of buttons. I was dead broke, but managed $10 for a little button hair slide which I adore. She told me that lots and lots of people love buttons. her theory was that everyone had something as a child - if it wasn't buttons it was beads or even lego blocks - something small and bright that they played with.
I have the same mother/childhood/treat associations with buttons. Now I love them for all kinds of reasons, I love the colours and styles and what old buttons represent. But the reason that I love them the most is exactly that Amelie-style texture and sound sensation of dipping my tiny hands eagerly into the button jar and squoonching them around. My most nostalgic memory...
Kate · January 18, 2007 at 02:59 AM
Hi!
Found your blog a while ago and thought I'd better say Hi!
Love buttons too, had a huge box of them when I was little.
Erica
Erica · January 18, 2007 at 03:55 AM
I just want to let you know how much I enjoy your blog. It is well written, the pics are great and I get lots of inspiration.
I have realeased my inner crafster as of late and it involves buttons...lots and lots of buttons. I cannot use all of them for the brooches I make. I have since been googling other ideas to use the buttons I don't use on the brooches.
Anywho....another story for another time. Thanks for the blog!
Cindy · January 18, 2007 at 08:41 AM
I just got some of those little deer buttons in ohio last weekend! I can't bear to use them, I think that I have to hang them up and stare at them all the time.
lorelei · January 19, 2007 at 11:11 AM
i love your blog and i too, love buttons. i have been searching your links to order that wonderful little volume, but am not sure which one it is. maybe i'm just a little slow... but do you have the isbn perchance? thanks!
cate · January 20, 2007 at 09:28 PM
I don't know if you will read this post (It's March now), but if you are ever in NYC, there is a wonderful little store on 62nd (I think) near Lexington called Tender Buttons. It is a tiny little shoebox-shaped store full of incredible buttons, vintage and otherwise. It's really worth seeking out. I think they have a location in Chicago as well. Cheers!
sharon · March 06, 2007 at 10:59 PM
hi i think your work is beautiful. i love the buttons and am currently completing a projecy for my degree on them. but i'm having real trouble finding the beautiful book you posted. could you let me know what it is called and the isbn if possible. thank you!
noodles · October 09, 2007 at 10:34 AM