My Favorite Christmas Button

Several years ago at a needlework trade show there was a wonderful booth filled with fabulous buttons. My radar went off, and I immediately started through the hundreds of exquisite buttons.

After sorting through several trays, I came across a mother-of-pearl button with the Christmas Nativity carved in the tiniest details. My heart stopped. This beautiful treasure was going home with me. It was glued to a black button and had a pin attached to wear as a brooch.

The edges were chipped as the fragile button had many years of wear, but the beauty of this piece shown through. Later that year another lady in the needlework industry started a business mounting buttons and pieces of china into silver findings. I took my prized little button to her and asked if it could be mounted securely into a sturdy mounting.

When I look at the tiny details of the carving, I am mesmerized every time as a new detail is discovered. The small star over the stable, the baby’s halo, and the hands of Mary and Joseph are so intricate; I can’t image the hours it must have taken to carve it.

If any of you know about this button or button style, please share with us.