crafter...oo button swap

the crafter...oo button swap

i was lucky enough to be partnered with the lovely Kat
of domestic-housekat-blog

http://domestic-housekat.blogspot.com/

here is what she sent me - a fancy jewellery roll

containing rather fancy jewellery style buttons and buckles

plus a cute rabbit made from perler beads :)

oh . . . erm . . . and these rather scrummy chocolates, which i hid away in my craft room
and didn't share a single one with my family!

*******
below is what i sent {very late} to Kat

a selection of british hand-made buttons

a. beautiful dorset button from bigbluebed http://www.etsy.com/shop/bigbluebed
b. recycled vintage embroidered linen by me
c. cute designer buttons from shedraws http://www.folksy.com/shop/SheDraws
d. fantastic fimo loveheart buttons from Lilley's buttons http://www.folksy.com/shops/lilley

it was hard to give these away
but hey what a good excuse to buy more!

a selection of buttons from my button mountain

and my favourite thing i made

homemade peppermint cream buttons

they do look a bit like play-doh
but they tasted good
honest!

all wrapped up in a Habitat button pot.

It was a really fun swap and i'm glad Kat was patient with me i was sooo late sending it as things have been a little crazy round here - we got a new puppy :) i picked him up the day before my Ofsted inspection and i'd been running around like a blue arsed fly trying to get my paperwork in order but i got a really good report so was very very happy :D

bleurgh we've had 'flu . . . .

but i did make a couple of button bracelets

i really like them when they are on my wrist BUT
when they aren't on the buttons twist every which way
and it really bugs me!

i've tried making these bracelets on elastic cord
cotton cord & wire but i just cannot get them right

i think perhaps i'm just being too fussy but grrrr
i've tried two different fasterners too -
i think i prefer the bottom bracelets t-bar fastener
what do you think? any suggestions welcomed!

sorry about the fuzzy photo but the weather has been sooo awful
so i've been stuck indoors being poorly
reading Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer getting more and more annoyed with Bella
drinking honey'n'lemon, feeling sorry for myself and occasionally playing with buttons
My son is sooo desperate to go back to school - there's only so much T.v and Lego building and drawing you can do before you miss your friends eh?

i'm definately on the mend now and i think i'll try to get the boy back to school tomorrow,
I'm pretty sure we didn't have the piggy flu as it was only a few days we were really sorry for ourselves and we're just left with annoying coughs and sniffles.

button jewellery swap - sent.

here's what i sent to my swap partner Suzy
i made a new button stamp and used it on a small box
which i filled with two antique crochet doilies
a tiny glass jar wich i filled with pretty buttons
the button bracelet and a handfull of shells
Suzy said she liked dark chocolate so i sent her a bar of Thornton's
i don't need much of an excuse to frequent that shop!
i also sent a vintage card of buttons.

suzy collects shells
so i included some that i have beachcombed locally

here is the actual button jewellery part
a double layered and multi-coloured
vintage mother-of-pearl button bracelet!
i think i will make myself one of these!

see what she thought of the swap here

http://georgiapeachez.typepad.com/georgiapeachez/2009/10/a-successful-swap.html

on Suzy's lovely blog

what i've been up to!

i'm not really sure where i'm going here
but i've been picking up and putting down this project
for months now

here's a little teaser of what i made for the button jewellery swap

i'm having a ***SALE*** in my folksy shop

was £7.50 now £5.00

was £7.50 now £5.00

*** NOW SOLD ***

was £10.00 now £7.50

I've had a slow couple of months in my shops
so i thought i'd have a
***SALE***
i've reduced all my brooches in my Folksy shop
there are seven different designs to choose from
please take a look!

i've also added some lovely vintage ric-rac braid
and new mother-of-pearl buttons
SHOP HERE
and i will be continuing to add new items
over the next few days.

lovely crochet buttons.

Today i'd like to show you these amazing crochet buttons
they are made by a fellow Crafter...oo'er
Jane has been working very hard to finish up this order for a local shop

i'm so in awe of people who can crochet
especially this very fine work

wow - look at the detail !

buttoned buttons!

love these orange ones

these are my absolute favourite ones!

these ball ones are great - i think these proved the fiddliest!

Jane also makes crochet jewellery like this fantastic necklace
and lots of other crochet items
she has a website Hooked Yarn
and a folksy shop here
i don't think her buttons are in her shop yet
but i'm sure you could order some
once she has got over her last button making session!

lovely goodies in the post!

i wasn't expecting anything to arrive for me in the post yesterday,
so imagine my glee to be brought two parcels !


the first i opened was from Kerry from Pennydog.com
i have been supplying Kerry with tags for her jewellery
and building up a credit!
Look at these fabulous 3-holed buttons - love 'em
and some vintage buckles

but best of all a gorgeous resin bangle
with buttons and pattern paper encased
it's great but now stuck on my wrist!

it's so hard to photograph too being clear
and my photo's don't do it justice
so you'd best go and buy one!!!
www.pennydog.com

thank-you Kerry x

*******

and in the second parcel was my fantastic gift from Mia at www.giddygirlie.com
who was my partner in the embroidery swap - isn't it all so cool?
i really love it and it was so "me"

my son really loves this because the white stitching is glow-in-the-dark!!!

thank-you Mia for making my first ever embroidery swap so fun x

giveaway winner!

and the winner of my hundredth post blog candy is . .

lucky number 32

thank-you to everyone who entered my button jar giveaway - i got 53 comments!
2 comments were from one person so i put vintage bingo numbers 1 - 39 and 41 - 53 into the lovely drawstring bag made by Alex from the cupcake swap and my son drew number 32 from the bag - so JuanitaTortilla you are the lucky winner!

juanitatortilla said...

'Twas through the Colour Swap by Kids Napping I'm Scrapping! That's how we met.

Too bad for you, you're now stuck with me, haha!

*****

i will send of your winnings tomorrow!!!

*******

i finished my first ever ATC swap last week and sent it off to my partner in America so i can't show it yet - not only was it my first ATC {artist trading card} but it was also embroidered - i found out about it through PennyNickels http://donkeywolf.blogspot.com/ who organised the swap on flickr http://www.flickr.com/groups/phatquarter/ ***WARNING*** this group is not to everyones tastes as it has some explicit stitching and expletives included in the very very talented embroideries - i LOVED textiles at school and always enjoyed embroidery so although my embroidery skills were rather rusty i soon got back into the swing of it and really enjoyed making my ATC.

here is the back of my ATC !

******

ooh look at my new very fancy buttons!
they are in fact doll's house plates stuck to button backs
but i think they were altered a long time ago,
i love 'em but they will be in my shops soon!

Glue and Glitter's aMaZiNg BuTtOn'S

I have totally fallen in love with the designs
of Laura the designer behind "Glue and Glitter"
i first saw Laura's work on the Crafter...oo forum,
but it's not just buttons, she makes lovely jewellery too and i noticed in her shop today she is now stocking fabrics printed with her own distinctive designs . . . .

Laura has her own website

http://www.glueandglitter.co.uk/

an etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6726886

and a folksy shop
http://www.folksy.com/shops/Glueandglitter

my favourites are the multi coloured birds in cages which are your favourites?

oh and Laura also takes commissions!!
{check out the buttons on incywincy's wall hanging here
http://incywincytogs.blogspot.com/2009/04/mini-quilt.html }

and blogs here

http://drawglueglittermake.blogspot.com/

phew . . . . . she is one busy girl!

nice cup of tea?

last night i made this felt brooch for my Auntie Jane's birthday - she is a tea addict!

i was completely inspired by cute designs

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5387167

http://cutedesigns.blogspot.com/

who makes super cute felt brooches and crochet creatures.

photo in natural light

photo in artificial light

look at these nice buttons - i found them in the ELC for 80p !!

some new girls

this set is little, she stands at just under 3"

unusual colouring and pattern too.

They will live in my new cabinet.

don't know what's up with blogger but it has refused to let me tidy up this post - grrrr