Among the most satisfying shapes to collect on buttons are stars. Although there are not as many star buttons as there are stars in the skies, there are enough so that it is not too difficult to make an interesting collection.

The buttons may be star-shaped, or the star may be the main feature on the button.

The star can be part of the design or the background on the button. Sometimes you may have to look very closely to see this.

A star may have three points, four points, five points, six points, seven points, eight points, nine points, ten points, eleven points, twelve points etc. up to about 21 points, though some of these are rare or very hard to find on buttons.

Some buttons have what is called a modified or stylised design, the points not being quite as sharp, or some other slight change to the star design. These can be quite fun to collect but be careful, they may look more like a flower than a star.

Buttons with stars are made in various materials, for example glass, wood, plastic or mother-of-pearl. Stars may be found on flag buttons, company brands and even on military buttons.

There are many ways of deciding what to collect:
• as many different examples of points on the stars,
• all one colour,
• stars with only five or six points,
• as many different materials,
These are just a few examples.

What else to do with your stars:
• make a wish every day on a different star,
• make your own Christmas cards, adding your five pointed star,
• or add a star button to a bought Christmas card.

You can google and find out the different meanings of stars, and find out which religions, countries and flags have stars. You can even find out why the Federation Star on the Australian flag has seven points.

Happy Star Gazing!