Eco Lassie was recently in Baltimore with her writing group and visited Papermoon Diner, an eclectic eatery decorated in a funky style had that all of us taking pictures of their giant Pez collections and naked mannequins decorated covered with glued-on plastic army men and toys from an earlier era. Talk about recycling!

One item that particularly caught her eye were the blades of the overhead fan, which have been decorated with hundreds of glued-on old buttons. It is gaudy and bright, a perfect way to dress up a boring item.That got her to thinking of other uses for that tin of saved buttons she has stored in her closet (and you probably have in yours, too).

Use a button as a travel holder for a pair of earrings. Just insert the post or wire through the eyes and keep pairs together. Another jewelry idea is to use those special glittery or vintage buttons clustered and threaded through a thin chain in pendant fashion, or glued or sewn next to each other onto narrow ribbon.

Then there’s the apron hook: If you sew a larger button onto the waistband of an apron, you’ll always have a place to hang either a pot holder or a dish towel with a loop.

Eco Lassie is picturing a nice matching retro apron and pot holder, but any you already own will work, and no more burned fingers.

Another idea is to update an old piece of furniture: glue fancy vintage buttons along a dresser handle instead of spending dollars on new hardware.

Take a plain piece of furniture and add a touch of pizzazz with your glue gun.

Readers, put your button collection to good use! What ideas do you have to share?