Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Give Me An Inch--And A GIVEAWAY!

Stupendous holiday, we had.  Hoping the same for you.  All illnesses seem to have passed, and I have learned a valuable lesson: if I take a break from blogging, it is exceptionally hard to return.  So here I am, in the nick of time, ready to saddle up this horse for another year.


Christmas saw our family of five renting an SUV and traveling to my mother, then my in-laws', then home for my father to visit at our house, all in the space of 5 days.  Hectic doesn't even begin.  But our children were showered with amazing gifts, and we two were drenched by our families' generosity, and it was wonderful as always to have those days away together.  Sleep schedules be damned, right?

Aside from all the Christmas booty that awaited us with each visit, I was crazy delighted to sit and watch my husband and his mother go through some old things she's collected over the years.  Not because I cared all that deeply whether he found the grade school photo album he's sure she's got stashed away, but because in my mother-in-law's house there are many rooms--and many closets.  And much to my father-in-law's frustration, they are all FULL TO THE RAFTERS with items his wife has been keeping for more years than anyone can count, lots of them passed down to her from her mother who has been keeping them..well, since she was alive.

Out of the chaos (which included two pillow cases full of "ironing" that my mother-in-law admitted were two years old!) were these treasures:

Handed down from her mother, to my mother-in-law who doesn't sew but couldn't bear to ditch them.  And now, with just a nod and a word, they are MINE!  Mwah-ha-ha!!


And, if you play your cards right, some of them could be YOURS!  


In celebration of the dawning New Year, I'm paying these beauties forward and giving away THREE GRAB BAGS of vintage buttons, still on the cards.  All the grab bags are assorted, my pick, but they'll all be equally awesome.  Some of the cards are torn and incomplete--I'll hang on to those and only send y'all complete cards with fantastic illustrations like this:


And this:
Leave a note in the comments with your New Year's wish, and I'll use the random number generator to pick THREE winners on Friday, January 2.  Feel free to enter as often as you like, as long as you include a new wish for the New Year each time you enter.  Winners will be posted before Alabama plays in their bowl game Friday night.

Roll Tide, people, and good luck!

108 comments:

Anonymous said...

How wonderful! My wish for the new year is that our new president helps get this country back on it's feet.
Sandra

alce said...

How sweet of you to do this! I have some vintage Workbaskets and pattern books that are duplicates, and I should do the same thing.

Anyway, my big wish for 2009 is to get a job and achieve some sort of financial independence.

alce said...

But a more topical wish is to do much more sewing and put a big dent in my fabric stash!

angie said...

woo-hoo! beautiful buttons...and how kind of you to share some with us! thank you! one of my new year's wishes is to actually start selling some of the things that i make. i've been saying i'd do that for a few years now. :) it's time to take action! wish me luck. ~ angie

dana said...

You are too cool to share. For sure I want in! Fun giveaway. And Happy New Year!

Vicki W said...

What a great find! My wish for the New Year is to finish a lot of my UFO projects!

Meghan said...

Ooh...I wish a happy, healthy year for my family. A generic wish, I know, but heartfelt. :)

Meghan said...

Oh yes. And I also wish that I end up a better sewer by the end of next year!

Anonymous said...

I saw this on the wardrobe refashion site...what a neat giveaway!! Anyway my wish for the next year is to find a way to climb out of debt without giving up to many freedoms and to live completely within our means....

Janet McKinney said...

My wish for this year is that I may win a giveaway or two...
Janet McK

Anonymous said...

I,too, saw this on Wardrobe Refashion. Oh. My. God. Those are some great buttons.

My wish for the New Year is to find a JOB.

You're awesome to offer these!

Miscellany Mom said...

What an amazing find!! My main wish for the new year is to adopt my second child!!

Miscellany Mom said...

Another new year wish is to improve my sewing skills! I am a newbie to all of this but I have found my favorite hobby so I want to be good at it!

Myra said...

Please enter my name. I love those.

Miscellany Mom said...

ok... last one (even though I could go on and on and REALLY want some of that awesome booty)...

I wish (for my best friend who is single) for her to find the love of her life this year.

ikkinlala said...

My wish for the new year is that I'll be able to find a job (I just finished university).

Anonymous said...

I'm here from WR too, drooling over those electric blue buttons. Wish for 2009? Hmmm, I wish for fewer frustrations, more laughs, and no car accidents.

Unknown said...

Pretty Jane,

This is a wonderful give away. My wish for 2009 is to learn to sew more clothing. I want to branch out and learn to sew part of my wardrobe

Meghan said...

Wonderful! My wish this year is to continue to find happiness in my daily life.

Anonymous said...

those are so great how lucky you are to receive sucha wonderful handmedown
well my years wish is that the recession is lifted and everyone will be able to be somewhat financially stable again and also that president obama does lift the war and the worry of america
also for my own personal wish is that my bf and I will get our own place, and that my etsy shop will bring in a good flow of money and lots of happy toys and tools into peoples homes ^_^

Anonymous said...

i'd like to use up my fabric stash into usable items for me and my family.

cpullum said...

My New Year's wish! I want good health next year and I need to get out of debt!!
Carla
cpullum(at)yahoo(dot)com

2WeeMonsters said...

Also here from WR. Thanks for the giveaway!! My wish for the new year is to make 100% of my new clothes (that'll probably mean no new clothes for me, ha, ha!)

Suzan said...

Beautiful buttons - my wish is to continue to enjoy the house remodel we're doing.

Coli said...

My New Years wish is to get a job and finally pay my mom back for all the fabric she's ever bought me. I wonder how long that will take. :) Amazing buttons!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful way to spread the love! You've inspired me to do some giveaways of my own. My wish for 2009 is to become more self sufficient - making all my clothes and trying to grow as much food as I can in our small, somewhat dark apartment! Happy New Year to you and yours.

Christy said...

one wish is to learn to cook and cook healthy. it is hard to be inspired when you live alone. also, i am having giveaways all this week on my blog - http://columbialily.blogspot.com, stop on by!

Christy said...

I would also wish for a date. =)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for paying it forward! I love vintage buttons:)

My wish for this year is to make more art. My husband and I are collaborating on a few projects and I would like to see at least one complete (preferably 2) by the end of 09.

Bec said...

Wow, how wonderful of your mother in law to pass these on to you! I've been thinking about my wish for 2009 today, as it is new year's eve here today, and I've decided I want to focus on consumption today. Basically I was to consume less, and where consumption is necessary, for it to be mindful and ethical. Not sure how easy it will be, but I'm excited about giving it a go. Happy New Year to you :)

Josiah said...

Whoo Hoo!~Thanks for the opportunity!~Wishing True Grace and Peace!

Knit - R - Done said...

My wish is that Sgt. Husband comes home safely this year. Happy New Year!

Running Amok With An Ax said...

My wish for the new year is to be more thoughtful about everything I do and how it affects the world around me

Trish said...

gorgeous buttons--thank you for being so generous. I think the world needs more jobs, so that is my wish.

Anonymous said...

Oooh Yesssss Buttons! Please?

My wish is that Light surrounds us all as we find what gives us Joy and revel in it.

Tess
Teach Only Love
Be Only Love

Melody said...

My New's Years wish is that my country(the US) and it's people will be loving and giving to others than they were before the econmic meltdown.

Anonymous said...

Yayyyy! Buttons Yessss!

My wish is that we all find what gives us Joy and revel in it. ( I thought I posted this already but it didn't show so sorry if I duplicated. Oh the joy of technology! LOL)

Tess
Teach Only Love
Be Only Love

Anonymous said...

Oh those are awesome~ My wish for the new year is for my daughter and I to continue to be happy and healthy! :)

Anonymous said...

Those are great buttons! And I LOVE buttons.
My wish for the new year is to get back into some sort of shape. I've really let things slide since baby 3.

Georgie said...

My wish is for my family to find more joy in each other's company.

Anonymous said...

How wonderful of your MIL to pass these on to you and how wonderful of YOU to share some with us! Thank you!!

Another wish for the new year I have is to make a schedule and stick to it. I usually do whatever, but I think my kids would do a lot better if there was a schedule.

livebird said...

Oooooh. Buttons.

My wish for the new year is to find the ovaries to ditch the job I don't like, take a huge risk, and embark upon a new business venture.

Chris Ready said...

oh, these buttons are so fun! thanks! my new year's wish is...to be more motivated and find a little extra time to work on my craft and art ideas

Lory said...

Those buttons are fantastic, lucky you! And lucky us, that you're so kind to share some of your treasures. :):):)

Hmm, my only wish is to spend more quality time with mom. I know, it's a simple wish, but one that means a lot.

Happy New Year to you and your family.

Hugs,
Lory

Michal Wright-Ward said...

wow, lucky you! my wish for 2009 is to advance my creative career by switching from production work to artistic (i work in television). and to find more time to spend with my amazing hubby and the new sewing machine he bought me for Christmas!
i also wish for peace in the middle east, but i'm a realistic gal. : )

twirl said...

I'm new to refashion. I stopped sewing years ago and bought clothes. Now I can't...I won't toss them. My wish is to create a new me, pass it on to others and vanish nicks and stains in beautiful clothes. You were the first website that I found for refashioning. Thank you for this site.
Lydia

twirl said...

Also I'm going to aid a friend in writing a book about adoption. My wish is that this book aids in pairing perfect perants and lots of children that need homes in this country. People don't have to go to other countries to find beautiful children!
Lydia

Shell said...

how wonderfully kind of you to share! I'd happily take odd buttons, there's so many uses for the odd ones as well as the matching sets.

my wish for 2009 is for my little girls health. she's been so sick in 08 and I can't bare to see her continue that way.

May everyone's 09 be full of wonderful memories xx

Shell said...

my only wish for myself for 09 is to find the confidence to sell some of my work.. (again, selling work will help my little girl by being easier able to afford to travel for her treatment)

Thanks for the chance to enter your giveaway. May you have a splendid 2009 :)

Anonymous said...

What fabulous buttons - and it's incredibly generous of you to share the button love - thank you. My wish for the New Year is that I can weather out the coming recession (I'm in the UK) without too much stress, and to finally get to grips with sewing a zippered purse! Hope you have a great New Year.

Anonymous said...

oh my goodness... My New Year's wish, here in England is to use what I have, whether talents or fabric stash!

What a fabulous collection and the graphics on the card are a treat!

Bridget said...

I'm wishing for good health in 2009! (oh, and to get some vintage buttons!)

beccy said...

What a wonderful giveaway! My wish, echoed by lots of people I suspect, is to get rid of my stash by making lots of lovely things... so I can buy more stash!

Anonymous said...

These are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!
My wish for the new year is that more people in my life will begin to understand and respect recycled and handmade products! I want to spread the handmade "bug" as far as I can this year!

Anonymous said...

Oh I thought of another one :)
My wish is for this 'slump' in the economy to bring some good to us all - and what I mean by that is that it will teach people to straighten out their priorities, waste less, re-use more, and learn how to use what they have. Then once the economy rises again, we'll all come out of this better and smarter and more efficient people!

liz said...

lovely buttons - count me in!

my wish for the new year is to live more simply - less 'things', more focus, more love, more of the good stuff.
:)

Cheri said...

Happy New Year! How nice of you to share!

My wish for the new year is to spend more time with my eight month old grandson who unfortunately lives 900 miles away.

Julie R. said...

Gorgeous buttons. The Movie Buttons are amazing.

My wish is to get myself more organized in the New Year and dig out. I'm ashamed to admit I have some garbage bags of my own to deal with...

Angela Pea said...

I wish continued good health for my friend r.a.'s Mom as she fights her battle with breast cancer.

JBlank said...

What an awesome find. My wish for the new year is for everyone to get to sew as much as they want to in 2009.

Media Diva said...

What pretty buttons!

My wish for the new year is to do more home cooking.

Su said...

Awesome giveaway....!

My wish for 2009 is for my family to be healthy.

Su

LuLu_Ann said...

My wish for 2009 is for America and the world to have peace. I'm from Alabama, so I hope they win!
I also am trying to be more green and consume less. I keep up with wardrobe refashion and have unofficially been pledged for 2 months. I love it! Next go round I plan to sign up for real...

Ritsumei said...

Those are some great buttons! What a generous thing to do with your Mom's stash!

My wish for the new year is that I'll get pregnant... and stay that way for the whole 9 months.

Ritsumei said...

I also wish that we'll find a new job for my husband soon. And that it'll be a good one. The one he has is not a good environment!

Ritsumei said...

Another New Year's wish is that we'll finally get my student loans paid off: it's only been about 10 years!!

Anonymous said...

My 2009 wish is for the ability to focus on the things I'm passionate about -- my textile work, my writing, and my family -- not necessarily in that order.

PumpkinNiki said...

I have been trapped without the internet for a while due to moving, and without my precious sewing machine that broke just before my wedding in Oct. 2008. I finally now have both again. And am realizing I forgot what's where on here anymore! LOL So it took me awhile to find the comment button. LOL

My wish for this year is to find a place that feels like home instead of just somewhere I happen to live at.

i_b_erin said...

I wish for 2009 what we all need:
Love well, and be loved.

Buttons would help me feel the love! Enjoying your blog, thanks for sharing!
Erin

PumpkinNiki said...

You said we could enter as many times as we like, right? Well, here's another wish:

That our new president understands the importance of our mother earth, and does all in his power to do good for her.

PumpkinNiki said...

I have so many wishes, I could be here all day! LOL But I'll stop at 3.

I wish for so many people to receive the knowledge it takes to get themselves out of the bad situations they are in. And for the courage to use that knowledge.

Alissa @ Creative With Kids said...

I wish for husband to be healthy!

Thanks for the giveaway!

Anonymous said...

My New Year's wish is the same every year - more time for me!! More timne to quilt, more time to read, time enough to start my own blog!
Love your buttons and thanks for sharing.
Sue Cahill (sbonetsue at yahoo dot com)

Anonymous said...

Came here from Wardrobe Refashion for a chance at those BUTTONS!!! :) What a fabulous gift, and how generous of you to share the love.

I promise, if I am picked to receive a grab bag of antique button goodness, to use them for special, special garments and use the backing cards for artwork. Or just use the whole kit and kaboodle as an awesome decorative accent in my sewing studio! :D

bofill said...

What a wonderful, inspiring thing to do for the new year! My wish is to do more of these 'pay it forward' types of things myself.

Anonymous said...

Happy 2009!

My personl New Years wish is to do lots more sewing!

My wish for the country is to get back on our feet, and get folks back to work again.

My wish to you, is another year of a wonderful blog!

kitmacdonald@cox.net

mlheran said...

Oh WOW, what a wonderful assortment! One of my favorite "toys" as a child was my grandma's button tin -it was packed to the rim with loose buttons (some new and some salvaged from older garments). Seeing old buttons always brings a warm feeling to my heart, so thank you for sharing the pics!

My main wish for the new year is to always keep my priorities straight. They may change from day to day, but I need to keep what's important always in the forefront!

Saralyn said...

Wow! I drool!
My New Year's wish is to become a more humble person who loves greatly.

Anonymous said...

Could you imagine if they did movie buttons now? those are fantastic! thanks for the opportunity...

Tina @ www.commoncentshome.blogspot.com said...

I wish to live a simple happy life this year. Thanks for the great give-away!

Anne K. said...

Fabulous buttons! So sweet of you! My wish is that we all go back to a simpler, made-do-with-what-we-have, recycling and reusing, greener lifestyle. Happy 2009!!!

jessica said...

Wow, how pretty! My wish for 2009 is to feel more confident in making my own way in this world, and for happiness for all my friends.

nikko said...

Found you via Wardrobe Refashion.

What beautiful buttons! My wish is to be happy and enjoy my life -- and find more time to sew. ;o)

Anonymous said...

Great buttons! Thank you for entering me in your giveaway! My wish for the new year is that my family will be happy, healthy, and financially secure.

Anonymous said...

Thank you - such generosity! My new year's wish is pretty simple: more time to sew the things that are pictures inside my head.

nettie said...

How fabulous for you to find a button stash like that! My New Year's wish is to organise my sewing room to allow the creative energy to flow more freely.

Betty Jo said...

Lovely giveaway...vintage buttons on cards...YUM.
My wish for 2009 is continued health and happiness for my family and friends. And time to have FUN.Having fun is the best medicine.
xx Betty Jo

Jen said...

What a great giveaway! You're a doll!

My wish -- after a quick visit to the thrift store yesterday -- is that all of us stop shopping so much and start refashioning and reusing more.

Happy New Year! 2009 Blessings!

Erin said...

Cool buttons! My wish is to keep losing weight!

Anonymous said...

It's so wonderful to read everyone's wish. My wish is that my family get together this year!

La Pluma said...

I have been enjoying your blog immensely! How great that you rescued all these buttons from the trash. Thanks for sharing the wealth.

My wish for 2009 is to finally embrace my creativity.

Celeste said...

I wish to worry less!!

please email me if I win:
celeste@mail4me.com

Anonymous said...

My wish is that everyone here get their wish!

Katie said...

Lucky, lucky you...what beautiful buttons!

My wish is to make as many happy memories with my family as possible this year.

Belinda Y said...

Thank you for the wonderful giveaway! My wish for 2009 is that I keep up with my exercise program (just started last week!)

Diana D said...

My wish is to stay with it and enjoy everyday as though it was my last. I've been planning to do some project with buttons. Perhaps if I was the winner of the giveaway I'd finally be inspired.

dianad8008 AT gmail Dot com

Luck Happens said...

I'm a fellow Alabama girl...but an LSU grad (so no Roll Tide for me!) My New Years wish would be for less drama in 2009...this year has been tough, real tough. Thanks for sharing! I'm an avid crocheter and I'm always needing buttons.

kellifrobinson2 AT gmail DOT com

Anonymous said...

I'm coming out of the woodworks for this one :)
My greatest wish for 2009 is to (dare to) FALL IN LOVE AGAIN after I've had such a hard job getting over the humiliation someone put me through in 2007-2008.

Thanks for entering me in the giveaway!

xxx
Eve

koekoeksdozeke AT hotmail DOT com

Anonymous said...

I wish, for the New Years, that I gain stability both financially and academically. I imagine it's a common wish right now in the US. I wish for discovery and potential and success, for creativity and kindness, for energy and health and lots of ice cream.

Yes.

corvus.melloriATgmailDOTcom

Anonymous said...

My new years wish is a baby! :) And buttons of course!

Anonymous said...

What an awesome giveaway! My wish for this year is to find land so that my Fiance and I can build ourselves a cob house and grow our own food :) Happy new year!

Anonymous said...

MY wish is for happiness and freedom

carrie said...

I wish for blessings on all nations and for good times to come as our country heads down a new and exciting path.

Carol said...

What wonderful buttons you have received. My wish for the New Year is that people will stop killing and hurting each other all over the world and that we will learn to live in peace. I know that sounds like a wank, but it's what I really feel right now.

frankie said...

I wish that in 2009 my life will be full of more warm-hearted people like yourself. I just joined freecycle.org and Wardrobe Refashion so my wish is likely to come true, and hopefully I can bring a little sparkle to other strangers' lives also.

In karma fashion, I will send you a couple of the things I am making with my current ribbon/button/fabric scrap stash. I am very excited to share some of my projects!

annasoc said...

Wish for all of us in the coming New Year: that the country unites behind Barack Obama's presidency and we all work together to solve some of the great problems facing us.
Personal wish: that I live a more frugal and mindful life.
Anna

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful find! My new year wish is to make myself - my health, my hobbies, my sanity - a priority.

frankie said...

Another wish: that I will be firm enough with myself to devote enough time to the people/activities/causes in my life that are most important, and that I will learn to recognize and escape from the less important things that so often take over.

My family, friends, charities, music and rowing are all up there. Yes.