My new necklace

I just finished a steampunk necklace on commission, and now I'm going to keep it. Sorry, Charmaine, hate to break it to you this way, but I like it too much to give it up (let's see if she can track me down).

Charmaine, aka High Desert Diva, sent me some of her grandmother's Victorian buttons, including a beautiful large black mourning button with crepe and beads. She also sent a box full of clock parts, and using some of those and some of my own, I put together a design for her to approve. The finished piece, above, is pretty much the same, with extra reinforcement in the back and a black leather cord.

It's going to look so good on me.

Celluloid buttons in black and cream

I just got in this exciting batch of celluloid buttons--this is about half of them, but some of the more interesting. My kids of course think I'm nuts for getting into this stuff, but look at them! Some are beautiful, some are totally hilarious. I've already decided on one combination for making a button pin (the modern-looking zig zag button near the top left, placed on top of a black button with a beautiful border). What I haven't decided is whether to sell it or not--may need to keep it for myself this time. The others I'll take my time with.

Now, does this remind anybody of the I Spy books? You have to have kids to know them, but I love them too--it's like looking through an antique shop. OK, find the button that's shaped like penne pasta. Now find the one that looks like a pause button on your DVD player.