its been a while!

i have been super busy recently :)

i started a new part time job last week!

something to keep me and my brain active,

and to keep money coming in regularly enough

so i can carry on enjoying making :)

i'm really enjoying it, 

i can fit in crafting time as well as exercise and me time :)

i have been busy making special orders for my Not on the High St customers

such as cards like this one...

with a lovely reading inside...

it really was a pleasure to make :)

i've got some flower cards on their way to my website very soon, 

with a lovely choice of coloured threads

oh and i bought myself some flowers the other day!

gorgeous tulips :) i love them!

you'll be pleased to know my other flowers (of the felt variety) 

are multiplying!

i am busy preparing them for my display at our market on saturday

i really hope people love them as much as i do! :)

this is the board i painted this weekend ready for saturday's market,

i really loved doing it, well, as soon as i'd got started, 

and stopped faffing about what to put where!

i just let it flow :)

i hope it will make a great welcome for our visitors

it adds some of our personality to the already gorgeous village hall :)

(i will remember to take some photos this time!)

we're really looking forward to saturday, we've got some lovely stalls lined up

and i can tell i'm going to be spending some of my new wages before i've even been paid!

if you're local, please pop by,

and if you're not, dont worry, i'll post plenty of piccies, 

and links to sellers websites so you can still see all the gorgeous goodies yourself :)

catch you soon

love & buttons

xxx

needle felting...

i have to admit, i am obsessed!

is there a "crafters anonymous"?.....

"hello i'm michelle and i'm addicted to buttons & now needle felting" !! lol!

i didn't really imagine i would get this into it, this quickly! :D

Deanne showed me last week - round her house, sat on the floor watching tv, 

after we'd had a chinese(dodgy!) and a glass of vino! 

She'd been taught by her friend at her crop the week before, 

and she couldn't wait to spread the love & knowledge of felting!

while i was learning, my mind was ticking over and over, 

thinking...  "how can i make this fit with "button it"?!"............

it was when i started playing about with a flower shape a few days later, 

that i suddenly had a light bulb moment!

i've been thinking about making flowers on wire for such a long time... 

flowers that you can stick in a plant pot, to brighten up the place 

- esp when orchids have no flowers on and look all sad!

crocheted or knitted flowers never looked quite right, but now these were perfect! :)

i've even attempted making a butterfly! 

which was pretty difficult, but looks so pretty! :) 

with little pins for its antenna's!

the next evening was time to try hearts....

and then i dreamt up an idea for making letters....

(literally while i was drifting off last night in bed!)

into keyrings!

but then i broke my small needle, so i can't quite finish it off, 

and i have to wait til i go to the craft shop tomorrow to replenish!

can't wait to look at all the pretty coloured wool roving i can buy too! 

watch this space for lots more pretties coming soon! :)

busy busy busy! :)

just want to say a massive thank you to all of you for your lovely comments re my website! :)

i am so glad you love it!

i think you'll all agree, if you saw my last site, it's a massive improvement! lol!

if it wasn't enough to launch a website this week, i am also dreaming up some new products, ready for mothers day, fathers day, the wedding season, 

and albeit rather wearily, i'm starting to think about Christmas again! argh! 

fathers day cuff links

wedding albums

 

 

 

i have just acquired a new skill - needle felting! and i'm addicted already after only a week!

i will do a post about it soon, and show you what i've been making...

i have some great ideas of what i can make, still on the button theme,

and hopefully in time for mothers day :)

better get busy with my needle then! 

(note to self: watch the fingers, them needles are SHARP!)

website launch date!

drum roll please................

 

ladies & gentlemen.....

the new button it website will be launched on.......

1st March 2011!

 

thats right, thats only 2 more sleeps! :D

and to celebrate the launch

i have set up a voucher code for you to use at the checkout....

...WELCOME01/03/11.... to get 10% off your first purchase!

i can't wait for you all to see it, i hope you love it!

please share your thoughts with me, i'd love to know what you think...

lots of love & buttons,

michelle xxx

Warkton Village Craft Market

Last saturday was finally the day for the first warkton village craft market of the year....

I was SO excited!

I havent mentioned it very much to my online customers, but people who know me, 

don't stop hearing about it! lol!

Its a handmade only craft market that myself and my fellow crafter friend Deanne started,

after trekking to so many craft fairs, only to be setting up next to someone who buys their stuff in, and is selling for a lot cheaper than you could make things for!

We aim to generate a good buzz about handmade,

and a generally lovely atmosphere for stall holders to have an outlet, 

and for customers to be able to talk to the artists and craftspeople... 

we were very pleased with how it went on Saturday :)

It was a gorgeous bright sunny day, much nicer than the last one we did in December last year!

and a LOT busier!  Lets just say, we learned a LOT last year!!

i loved getting all of my buttony goodies set up and looking nice & bright

with all of my new white baskets and my new earring board

(looking a bit like a deckchair!)

i had some great comments from lovely happy customers :)

thank you to everyone who came along on saturday,

the next one is 19th march, 

(see our facebook page)

we hope to see you there! 

lots of love & buttons,

michelle xxx

website update!

button it heights have been very quiet of late...

but dont think that means i've been slacking!

i have been squirrelling away lots of new makes ready to upload to my new website!

which i'm taking my time in designing, these things can't be rushed

(i'd love to, but the computer won't let me!!)

 

my IT department (my lovely fiance Kev!)

found out about a new FREE (!) shopping cart system called Tomato Cart

which is AMAZING! and it's my favourite word - free!

but...as all things web, it is taking time to upload my new makes,

and i want to make sure it's fully stocked ready for my fans to peruse...

 

it should hopefully be up and running by the end of the month...

(fingers crossed!)

oh and p.s. keep a look out for a discount code in my blog coming soon!

in the meantime, i am still selling through my not on the high street page...

and today is the last day to get your valentines cards & pressies in time!

i am donating 10% of all my pre-Valentines orders, to the British Heart Foundation

to help fund their new amazing ground-breaking healing hearts research

much love shell xxx

webcam discovery!

i was sitting at my desk, after making a new hair corsage, 

thinking, i need to take a photo of this..... 

ah well i'll just put it in my hair for now (just to make sure it works properly ;) !!) 

and think about taking studio shots tomorrow.....

i havent got a studio set up permanently since moving house :(

(i miss our garage!)

i have to set it up on our dining room table, so i try and group several new makes together....

sometimes the excitement from new inventions fades a bit by the time i get round to it :(

but then... i suddenly realised i have a webcam! 

so here's a shot of me showing off my new creation!

i just had to share it with you, i really think you girls will love them :)

i've spent most of my saturday cleaning and tidying the house

working up to sorting my craft room!

it has been half sorted & in a mess for ages, 

and now i've just ordered some yummy turquoise tissue paper and jiffy bags in bulk,

i thought i'd better make some room for it all!

as you can see there still isn't very much room for anything extra!!

but it feels a lot more organised and i have a board & wall space for some inspiring imagery

i'll be printing some bits out that ive spied on some blogs i've found :)

http://racheldenbow.blogspot.com/search/label/inspiration

http://www.gussysews.com/2011/01/quit-your-day-job-featuring-kyla-roma/

flower power

i was approached at a craft fair last october by a shop in Oakham, Leics called Baubles & Bangles

they loved my chunky flower brooches and asked if they could order a load at trade prices!!
i was made up! but then realised it would take me ages to make them all!
and when you're making the same thing over and over again, it stops being so much fun!



well i managed to make 2 of each colour before Christmas, and now i've just finished another 3 of each ... :)
they look so fab, i want to make some more right now for my craft fair stock, but might give my crocheting hand a break for a while!!

i only just remembered before posting them, to take some photos, to use on my website, and my not on the high street shop.

i am about to make these same flowers into hair slides, and stretchy hairbands, ready for everyone to get a bit of flower power this spring! :)

bright & stripey :)

this week my boyfriends mate "trev" asked me to knit him a beanie...

(that isn't his real name, but everyone calls him that - except his girlfriend!)

he wanted it to be bright and stripey, and chose the colours, but he admitted he wasn't too sure about orange & blue, until he saw it halfway thru!

he loved it, and kept asking me when it was going to be finished, its been freezing this week!

well i finished it this afternoon, and thought i'd share it with everyone else before him!!

i do hope he loves it, and more importantly i hope it fits him! 

i've tried it on and it fits my big head! and wool thankfully stretches well...

with the two strands of wool going through it, its certainly going to be warm!

 i'll try my best to get a photo of him modelling it to share with you very soon!

trade show inspiration....

my new crafty friend Sally Leach and I spent a lovely day out in London on Sunday & went to Top Drawer (the trade show at Earls Court)....

we thought we'd go to have a cheeky little nosey at some nice things!
we also needed a boost of inspiration, and motivation to start our 2011 off with a bang... and boy did we get it!

so many bright colours, and images filled our heads for the afternoon,

and loads of really great info from Wayne Knight at the seminar we went to about Social Shopping and e-commerce...
(loads better than the Mary Portas one - that wasn't actually her, and was just an advert for her course - by a woman who didn't seem to know what she was talking about!! grr!)

listening to the seminar (and nearly falling asleep - it was warm & i was tired ok, i was not bored!) made me realise i so need to blog more, to keep all of my customers and fans in the loop a lot more :) and in turn it will motivate me to keep going, and not lose confidence in what i love to do!

i have been dreaming up some lovely new products and colour ranges, but its actually getting around to making them a reality that i'm struggling with at the moment!

one thing i have managed to do though, is take some new photos of my handmade button jewellery, on a purple hand that i bought from a local shop for my craft fair display.... i'd love to know what you think :)