The appeal of buttons is clear. They come in every shape, color and style, from pearly white shirt buttons, to ornate Victorian affairs, to cute fastenings shaped like insects and animals. Any outfit can be updated by adding the right buttons, and sewing them on is one of the easiest types of needlework to learn. And they don’t just belong near buttonholes, either. Clusters of buttons can be used to decorate almost everything, and even on their own in jars they are delightful to handle, play with and admire. Some collect them, but most just lose them. Regardless, nearly everyone seems to love them, or at least regard them with fascination.
In case you may be thinking that buttons do not deserve their own holiday, try to imagine what life would be like without them. Sure, we have zippers and velcro, but could you imagine velcro down the front of your elegant blouse? Of course not!
The History of Button Day
The National Button Society, founded in 1938, established Button Day as a celebration for all who enjoyed collecting and crafting with buttons. Ever since then, Button Day has been celebrated every year on November 16th.
How to Celebrate Button Day
There’s no need to let the buttons on worn-out clothes go to waste! Whenever you can, snip them off, and start a collection this Button Day. In fact, a great place to come across interesting button is at the thrift shop. You may have to cut them off a given piece of clothing, but when you’re getting something unique for your collection, who really cares? The buttons you collect can be used for many different things, like repairing clothes with missing buttons. But that’s not all! Buttons are an excellent source of craft ideas. You’d be amazed at how many delightfully cute gadgets can be made and/or decorated using buttons, such as picture frames, clocks, purses and bags, headbands, costume jewelry, lamp shades, and even shoes! When you decorate with buttons, you can be 100% sure that whatever you make will be completely unique, and that nobody else in the world will have the same look as you do. And if you’re not quite feeling up to arts and crafts, remember that buttons can simply be a joy in and of themselves, if even just to look at. Children can enjoy examining buttons as well, but if you do decide to give your button collection to your child to look at, make sure he or she is old enough to know better than to put them in his or her mouth, because neglecting to do that could result in a tragedy.
So take some time on this day to either go though your existing button collection or start a new one, and enjoy Button Day to the fullest! Who knows, perhaps you possess in your collection an antique button that’s been passed down for so long that you’ve never stopped to think about where it came from. Keep your eyes open! Every now and them someone discovers a treasure that had just been sitting around collecting dust at their home. And even if you don’t, an all you have is regular buttons, don’t worry and just enjoy an afternoon looking at the pretty, shiny little things. At the end of the day, people are animals, and there’s nothing animals like better than something pretty and shiny.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (noun) A long angry or violent speech, usually of a censorious or denunciatory nature; a diatribe. | ||
| Synonyms: | philippic, broadside | ||
| Usage: | Milady had listened to all this menacing tirade with a smile of disdain on her lips, but rage in her heart. | ||
History
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 | Established in the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aims to further peace by acting as a clearinghouse for the exchange of ideas and knowledge and by improving education, especially supporting efforts to eliminate illiteracy. In 1972, it helped establish the World Heritage program, which promotes government protection for cultural sites and natural areas | ||
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 | Largely self-taught, Handy was American songwriter and band leader who began his career as a cornet player in a minstrel show in 1896. He later organized various small bands and was among the first to publish blues sheet music, rising to prominence with his Memphis Blues. In 1918, he moved from Memphis to New York City and remained active as a writer and publisher of music, in spite of growing blindness, until shortly before his death. | ||
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 | The first general American Indian Day was observed on the second Saturday in May 1916. Since 1995, the month of November has been observed as American Indian Heritage Month. Although the largest Native American populations can be found in Oklahoma, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and North Carolina, many other states have come up with ways to draw attention to their unique contribution to American culture. Most celebrations focus on educational and promotional events, displays of Native American art and dance, and agricultural fairs. | ||
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| A new study suggests that being a little shrimpy might come in handy when the going gets tough. A mass extinction called the Hangenberg event, which took place some 359 million years ago, led to a reduction in vertebrate size for around 40 million years afterward. | |||
After mass extinctions, the meek (fish) inherit the earth
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After mass extinctions, the meek (fish) inherit the eart...
A new study suggests that tiny animals may become the norm for millions of years after a big extinction.
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1835 - Charles Darwin's voyage published in Cambridge Philosophical Society
1941 - Life preservers made of cork are patented by Napoleon Guerin (NYC)
1915 - Coca-Cola had its prototype for a contoured bottle patented. The bottle made its commercial debut the next year.
1952 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Lucy first held a football for Charlie Brown.
1981 - A vaccine for hepatitis B was approved. The vaccine had been developed at Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research.
1999 - Johnny Depp received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
thanks, susan b
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, November 16
You are a bit of a paradox. Strong-minded and somewhat wilful, you also reveal a soft, sensitive, and spiritual side when at ease with the people around you and your surroundings. Others find you extremely intriguing and fascinating, and a little difficult to know. You have unusual tastes and interests, you are extremely sensual, and you are not at all afraid to reveal the individualistic side of your nature. You are both organized and progressive, and highly perceptive. Famous people born today: Lisa Bonet, Burgess Meredith, Mary Margaret, Oksana Baiul, W.C. Handy.
| Picture of the day | |
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Monticello, located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, was the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. Jefferson began construction of the plantation and its main house at age 26, and continued work for the remainder of his life, incorporating a wide variety of techniques and styles. The home and plantation were built and cultivated using slave labor. It is now owned by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which operates it as a house museum and educational institution, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Here Today
Photograph by Stas Bartnikas
Photographing from a Cessna, Stas Bartnikas captures a seasonal view of southern Iceland. Bartnikas explains that as glaciers melt in the summertime, rivers start their currents among fractures in the lava fields. “The easiest way to see it is [by] flying above,” he writes.
knit, THANKSGIVING
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Pumpkin Dishcloth pattern by Melanie Thompson
Sugar'n Cream Solids & Denim by Lily Worsted / 10 ply 100% Cotton 120 yards / 71 grams average rating from 10409 votes 101785 projects, stashed 5103...
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Preview by Yahoo
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knit
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361pm Pointed Muffler pattern by Pierrot (Gosyo Co., Ltd...
Both English and Japanese versions are fully charted using standard knitting and/or crochet symbols. Japanese version available here.
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knit, vintage
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Checkerboard Knitted Bedspread Pattern #517 | Knitting P...
Printer-friendly versionSend by emailPDF version This free pattern originally published in: Spool Cotton #65, New Book of Bedspreads
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knit
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Tempest Shrug pattern by Berroco Design Team
Berroco yarns for this pattern have been discontinued. Directions are still available.
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knit
crochet, THANKSGIVING
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Tom Turkey Hotpad pattern by Beverly M.
hook it! add to faves to queue About this pattern Tom Turkey Hotpad by Beverly M. average rating of 4.5 from 4 votes average difficulty from 4 ratings 7 p...
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crochet
LW1527 Sunrise Sunset Afghan
As featured in our print advertisement,
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crochet
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RECIPES
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Roasted Sweet Potato Corn Chowder
The great thing about this recipe is that anyone can eat it because it has no meat, dairy, or gluten. It tastes FANTASTIC! Vegans love it, gluten, and dairy i...
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CROCKPOT RECIPE
stephanie o'dea
CrockPot Corn Bread Stuffing Recipe
I so love my crockpot. It has gotten me to think out of the box, and I now have a refrigerator full of 2! TWO! kinds of perfect crockpot stuffing. I think I need to bronze the crockpot after this year. I've never had cornbread stuffing before.
The Ingredients.
--8 x 8 pan of baked cornbread --4 slices of toasted bread
--2 cups celery, chopped
--1 large yellow onion, diced
--3 beaten eggs
--1/4 cup butter, melted
--1 T poultry seasoning
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/2 tsp pepper
--2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable!) --and another 1/4 cup if desired, later
The Directions.
I used a 6 quart crockpot. If you only have a 4 quart, toss the stuffing together in a huge mixing bowl, and then transfer to your 4 quart.
Bake the cornbread according to package directions (or by all means, make it by scratch!)
If you have a few days to let it go stale, do that. Other wise, cut into slices and bake at 300 degrees until toasty (along with your bread slices). It took about 30 minutes in my oven.
While the cornbread is toasting, chop up the onion and celery. Put the pieces into your crockpot. Add the seasoning.
Melt butter in the microwave, and mix together with 3 beaten eggs. Stir well into the veggies and seasonings in the crockpot.
Cut the cornbread and toasted bread into cubes, about 1/2 inch square.
Toss the cubes of bread and cornbread well with the ingredients in thecrockpot.
Pour in 2 cups of broth. Stir gingerly to combine. The cornbread will break up, but try to keep a few pieces whole for texture.
Cook on high for 2 hours. This can be on warm successfully for up to 2 hours.
If you'd like a more moist dressing, add another 1/4 cup of broth before serving.
The Verdict.
Tasty. Delicious.
CRAFTS
DIY NEON POP PUSHPINS
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... coloring
PUZZLE
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Bourbonnais Profile Jigsaw Puzzle
Bourbonnais Profile Jigsaw Puzzle, 67 Piece Classic. Side view of a Braque du Bourbonnais gun-dog. French Pointing Dog with a
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QUOTE
Overly Aggressive Pigeon Will Eat All Your Food 
thanks, shelley
CLEVER
Cable/Wire Stripper
Take off the blade of a pencil sharpener and attach it to a wooden peg/clothespin.
Now your peg can strip wires/cables.
EYE OPENER
Let’s Dance!
weheartvintage
Here are some vintage photos of people dancing their socks off to keep us all entertained. Thinking about doing exercise is almost as good as doing it, right?
Oh, and I’d like to know your opinion. I suspect the ballet dancers pictured in 1887 are actually all men in drag – what do you think? Also, which is your favorite costume?
Leon Woizikowsky as the golden slave and Nina Raievska as Zoebeide in Scheherazade, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1937
tudio portrait of a young woman in ballet costume striking a pose with arms behind her back. She wears a headscarf, bracelets, dancing costume and ballet shoes. She poses against a cloth backdrop representing a road and riverbank. 1910
Photograph taken for a Truth newspaper feature on Mr S.G. Webber and Miss Dora Buchanan, who had won the Australian Championship for ballroom dancing. The couple gave classes at their studio in Ewing House, Adelaide Street, Brisbane. Photograph taken April 1932.
![Ballet school, Wash. Sq. [i.e., Washington Square] players (LOC)](https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7499/15602796680_41470ac009_b.jpg)
Ballet school, Washington Square players c. 1915
Miss Finney dancing, Montreal, QC, 1923
Alison Lee, stage name Helene Lineva and star of the Original Ballet Russe, 1939-1940, posing in the studio, Sydney / photographer Max Dupain
Colonel de Basil’s “Original Ballet Russe” (Russian Ballet) season, Theatre Royal, Sydney, 1939-1940
Rehearsal for “Aurora’s wedding” with Tamara Toumanova (wearing the fur coat) , Michael Panaieff, Anton Vlassoff and Oleg Tupine, 1940.
Halina Schmolz & Alex Volinin c. 1910-1915
Anna Pavlova c. 1947
Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in Egyptian Ballet.
Tatiana Riabouchinska and Roman Jasinsky in Les Dieux mendiants (The Gods go a-begging), between Nov 1938-Aug 1940 / photograph by Max Dupain
Definitely dancing with buttons today:)
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