Thought for Thursday

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.

Cynthia Ozick

At Button Central this week, we are grateful for excellent teachers, skilled and caring vets, tick bite antidote, our dreaming puppy and a friend with an overlocker when mine is on the blink! What are you grateful for?

Road Trip!

Our market presence has been a little thin on the ground this year due to a combination of family life and breaking my arm earlier in the year. It hasn't healed quite as well as we'd hoped and I'm heading off to the specialist this month to see what we can do next. I've tried to stick to indoor markets and ones where I can take a helper to assist with the lugging and hauling which has been a little tricky with the dodgy arm. I was absolutely delighted to be asked to participate in the Christmas in the Country Art and Craft Show in Gatton last weekend. It ticked all the setting up boxes and was run over three days which was also appealing. I've included a few snaps of the day and some of our new products.

It's been a rough year for the folks in Gatton and the surrounding areas. It was quite moving to listen to stories about how the year unfolded and how it has affected them. When epic and tragic events unfold around us, we feel for those involved but our lives quickly return to normal and their lives are forever changed. It may be something as simple as houses that still have half walls and no carpets, house guests that are still living with them or crops that just couldn't be harvested.

I met a remarkable lady who was a fellow stall holder had lived through a year in which her home had been damaged, her family had been displaced for some time, she'd lost her Mum and the crops which are a huge part of their income had been unable to be harvested or of no sale value. On set up day, Thursday, she produced the most formidable array of gorgeous wares, including Christmas Cakes which were sold out by lunchtime. She was beaming from ear to ear and looked energised and vibrant that night when most of us were stifling yawns and wishing for bed. That day, her husband and 29 cutters had harvested the best crop of onions in memory. She beamed with pride and happiness for her husband and I felt a good part of that pride and happiness, too. I felt quite privileged to listen to her talk and share in the experience in some small way. Aside from the Art and Craft Show, it was a chance to meet some excellent people. If you happen to see produce or goods from the Lockyer Valley when you are filling your shopping baskets and trolleys, buy up big! I hear the crops are top notch this season and I know the support is very appreciated.

Who Remembers?

This week we celebrated a big milestone at Button Central. It was the two year anniversary of Mr Button's kidney transplant. We celebrated with some together time and we thanked in a very small way, our super hero donor. We reflected, we gave thanks and we counted our many blessings.

Over the weekend, I've been thinking about Remembering (please note the capital R!). We will always remember the transplant anniversary. I think the Little Buttons will eventually remember the stories but perhaps the date and some of the details will be hazy. I know without a doubt that they will remember and thank our hero. Our closest family and some of the squillions of extended family and friends Remember. A good many friends don't because life goes on and the healthy, vital Mr Button becomes the new norm which, is kind of nice, too. What I have found quite surprising this week, is that many, many people who are not intimately connected with us, Remembered. They asked after Mr Button and his donor, they marveled at his excellent health and the changes this gift brought to our family, and they talked about organ donation.

It's not easy to share something so momentous as this. Sometimes talking about it can be difficult and feel a bit invasive. Sometimes you worry that people are tired of listening or may even be judging your choices and actions. Sometimes you want to forget about the icky stuff for a while. Then I Remembered that our talking about it has led many other people to talk about it - people who may otherwise never have discussed organ donation with their families and friends. Maybe someone will register as an organ donor because we've shared our story.

That would be grand, because, WE WILL FOREVER REMEMBER the good and great gift that our hero gave Mr Button. A gift given to one, Remembered by many.

Spot On!

Popping in quickly to let you know that Elise Hutton has the sharpest peepers of all the Buttons following the blog. She spotted our new Store tab which links to our website. Elise, you may purchase one of our tees for the grand price of $1! I'll make a special listing for you in the store. Email me with your choice and we'll get the ball rolling.

Did you like playing spotto? I'm going to list some spot bargains in the store over the next few days. I'm calling it market reseach! With changes happening to Facebook, I thought some fun and games might give me an idea of who reads status updates and when they read them. Any tricks to help make sense of the crazy world of Facebook are worth their weight in gold. I am fairly sure 'Lil Red' has eagle eyes and fully expect she'll pop up in the games. She's such an enthusiastic player I would love her to win something!

PS. The photo above will give you a little hint of what to look for in the Store.

Spot the Difference!

Over the weekend, I had the chance to finish off a project I've been working on and also made a change to the Facebook page. It's one of those jobs that's been a monkey on my back for months so I thought it might be nice to have a little game to celebrate. If you are so inclined, pop overhere and see if you can spot the difference. The first person to leave a comment with the correct answer on this post can purchase one of these

or any of our other tees for the grand total of $1. Be sure to leave your contact details on your post so I can get in touch with you and let you know if you are the lucky winner.

I'm Stuffed!

I've been playing around with some of our designs and making them into softies and rattles. Today I was working with our Dino friend. It wasn't as straightforward as it looked because the 2D design needed some tweaking to take it to 3D. There were several trials which have since been adopted by the Little Buttons. No challenge, I am sure, for the doyenne of softie making but it kept me busy for most of the day.

At the end of it all, I agreed with Heidi the Dino. I was stuffed and needed a snooze in the shade, too!

Thought for Thursday

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.

Unknown

One Cheeky Monkey

This little fellow has only had a couple of market outings to date but every time he heads out, he's snapped up quick smart! Will is our cheeky monkey. He's the one who has found mischief, had a blast and escaped long before you've even realised what he's been up to! I like the azure shirt as often the options for boys tend to be the standard navy/white and red (which I am also quite fond of!). It's just nice to offer some variety for the little fellas. I also get a buzz out of using textured fabrics like chenille and buttons and other embellishments as it is a great way to encourage descriptive language in the smalls eg. The monkey has rough/fluffy/furry hair. His nose is shiny and round. Once an Early Childhood Teacher, always an Early Childhood Teacher!

I've quite recently made a girly version of this for Molly. She has a fetching ric rac bow on the side of her head! I'm not sure how well she'll go but it suits my girl down to the ground. I like to team Will's shirt with a pair of brown shorts from Nan's Garden. I'm also keeping my eye on the goodies from Miriam at Mimmis and Bubba Chenille so I can snap up a pair of shorts in a chocolate chenille.

Handmade Heaven is closing down while Liesa awaits the birth of her new bub. It will be reopening online shortly and our Monkey mate will be one of the new designs available in the online store. Our remaining stock in Handmade Heaven has been reduced to 50% to make way for fresh new designs. Snap up a bargain over here. Lots of other goodies also on sale.

Let's Go Shopping!

Here's hoping the Perfectly Pink Themed BiMC was a great success. If you didn't manage to make it over to St Augustine's, you can still manage to snap up some pink goodies online.

Afrikitten

Wimcee

Alipink

Berry Bambino

Warm Sigh

More handmade shopping lists here.

The Gentle Art of Saying "No"

Since my last post, the littlest buttons have turned four. It's an interesting age, full of questions, challenges adventures and new learnings - for them and for their parents! Sometimes, setting boundaries can be exhausting can't it?

When I was studying teaching, I remember completing an activity on creative ways to say "No!". I'm sure most Early Childhood teachers have done something similar. This week, My Creative Space is all about saying 'no' in a really clever way! You might be able to use this list in your parenting, when your husband asks if you've been shopping, when someone asks you to whip up a project or two or when you're tossing up whether or not to begin a new project. All I ask is that you use this list for good and not nefarious purposes (such as hiding excessive fabric purchases!).

A DOZEN WAYS TO SAY 'NO'

1. The LOOK - you know what I mean...we all have one. The one that says, "Go ahead and do that but be prepared for the consequences!"
2. NAME and TONE - Say their name and use the TONE that matches the LOOK (in number 1)
3. I'll think about that.
4. Say yes but mean no - 'You can do X after you have finished Y'.
5. Distraction - "X, can you come here and help me with this, please?"
6. Say hello! Just remind them that you are there and watching.
7. Is that safe.
8. Will that make Mum/Dad happy or sad?
9. What will happen if you do that?
10. What do you think about that idea?
11. Talk to me about what you are doing.
12. Is that a good choice?

I'm sure you have lots of other strategies that work. These are just some of the tried and true ones from Button Central. For truly creative pursuits, visit here.

P.S. I can't say any of these are a fool proof way of hiding expensive fabric purchases from Mr Button but I have had some success with #5 when used in conjunction with Grand Final Football games!

My Arch Nemesis

Well, the long weekend is almost finished. Ours was delightful and I hope you enjoyed yours. If you've been following this sporadic blog for awhile, you may remember that I purchased one of these last year.

It has been languishing in a drawer up until this weekend. Thanks to this tutorial, I have become very friendly with my arch nemesis and possibly slightly obsessed. I think there may be many more of these to come!

Just quietly, if any Advanced Rufflers can explain why my needle keeps hitting the foot and snapping, I'd be very glad of the advice. I'm not sure if I'm pulling or pushing the wrong way or if I need a heavier needle. Any ideas?

Let's Go Shopping!

Joining in the BrisStyle Gals with some fabulous Etsy finds. Robot Love abounds at our house at the moment and there are oodles of spacey Etsy goodies to snap up.

Whobot Painting by Starfish Quay

Retro Robots Collection by Indie Laser

Robots Cuddle Blanket by Laughland

Ronny Robot Sewing Pattern by Freddies Friends

Happy Family Futuristic Robot Tee

Head on over to the BrisStyle blog for more Etsy finds or to play along.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Bob!

Hello neglected bloggy friends. I'm sorry I haven't paid you much attention over the last while. the crazy Christmas market scene made way for a shocking start to the year in my homestate and it didn't stop there. It seems our half of the world is topsy turvy at the moment and as I look at the footage from Japan I keep wondering, "WHY?" and I know I am not alone. A decided lack of craftiness happening at my place at present and you can find out why here. It's driving me slightly nutty and I am prowling around the craftroom like a caged lion. I've been whiling away some hours sourcing labels, working on my website which is almost ready and discovering some delicious fabrics with help from this lovely, quilty friend.

Today we joined with my Mum, sister and nephew to celebrate what would have been my Dad's 70th birthday. We had homemade chocolate cake with many candles so the small fry could make some birthday wishes in his honour. How proud he would have been!

I thought I'd do something good today in his honour, too and share our day with you! I have some great plans for the bloggy days ahead...think, make, talk and share days and I'm all ready to go!

My Creative Space

Is a bit crazy at present. Lots of orders to fill and markets to prepare for, but, amongst all that a special custom order for a handsome lad. Paddy's Christmas concert was on Friday. He wanted an elf on a yellow shirt...one of his favourite colours. This was a collaboration. Paddy drew his elf, I transferred the design to some fabrics he chose and finished it on the shirt. He was as proud as punch and there was absolutely no chance we wouldn't spot him amongst his classmates.

You can pop in here if you want to see some other creative spaces, I'm running a bit late with mine but masses of other folk were more organised!

Thought for Thursday

Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success.

Dicky Fox – Jerry Maguire

With all the end of year hoo-har that is happening about the place, I find myself reflecting on things that have happened this year, where I'm at and where I want to go. When I first watched Jerry Maguire, longer ago than I care to remember, this quote stuck with me. I remember having quite an in depth conversation with some of my cousins about what it is to succeed and the need to match our values with our measure of success.

I think, at this time of year, we can sometimes get quite caught up in really crazy measures of success...how many presents are wrapped, how many jobs are ticked off on the Christmas list, when you mailed your cards...IF you mailed your cards. It's good to take a minute and just remember what success really means for me. How about you?

Balancing Act

Image: The Blessed Nest

We're walking a fine line at Button Central at the moment. Christmas is not so far away and it would seem the term 'Silly Season' incorporates the whole market bizzo which is happening about the place at the moment. As we head into a weekend of back to back markets, I'm trying to balance my desire for a clean and tidy house, my desire for sewing time and my desire to just sit and 'be' every now and then. We're doing OK at the moment. You can see the floors, no one is about to contract botulism or the plague, the stock piles are looking respectable and Mr Button and I are enjoying a quiet cup of tea on the lounge. I'd tentatively like to say we're on track. (Touching wood and crossing fingers as I type)

One reason is because I popped into this blog and had a bit of a read last week. Lots of very good commonsense ideas for navigating your way through crazy patches. I've opted to reinstate my menu planner, weekly organiser and I'm cleaning up one thing a day that bugs me...like a cutlery drawer or something along those lines. How do you keep the wheels on the bus when life becomes crazy and frantic?

You could always pop into the BrisStyle Twilight Market or The Handmade Expo and tell me in person on the weekend.

Thought for Thursday

I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.

Katharine Hepburn

Just in case you need reminding!

Clearing the Cobwebs and Karlas

During my recent stint of full time teaching, Button Central descended into a bit of a cesspool! No, I'm not just saying that...it really was quite a tip. I literally had to ask people to step over the boxes and market goods as they made their way into the house and finding them a place to sit involved wild sweeping movements across the couch to remove miscellaneous bits and then a fair amount of toe poking to shove the stuff from the top of the couch underneath the couch so the guest had somewhere to put their feet. I don't function well in mess...it makes me dither.

Yesterday, after a family outing I press ganged the Buttons into action and we had a major clean up, a bit of furniture reorganisation and a big toss out. Order restored, I lit the nice candles and cut some Lemon Myrtle branches for the vases. It lifted the literal and the imagined cobwebs and I felt ready for action so I tackled the Made for Me towel order list. I've cut out all but 3 of the names for the girl towels and tonight I'm starting on the boys.

I even squeezed in a bit of train track building along the front verandah with the two Littlest Buttons. As they were busy tootling along the tracks, I noticed a visitor in one of our trees. She'll probably move tonight but today she was lovingly spied upon and chatted to. Will is very fond of 'Karlas' so I'm hoping she picks another one of our trees to munch tomorrow.

My Creative Space

My creative space this week involved lots of sewing to boost the stock levels for a crazy month of marketing. I also had an order for a ballet slipper tank to match a tutu her little one is wearing in a family portrait. Jodi needed the ballet slippers to be in a pale blue instead of the usual silver. I didn't find any sequins in the shade she wanted so I used a Princess satin and some matching, sparkly, tulle which I layered over the top to differentiate between the inner and outer part of the shoe. I was quite taken with the finished look and I'm going back for some more satin and tulle in pink, I think!

You can catch up with some more creative folk over here at Kootoyoo.

Thought for Thursday

Love life and life will love you back.

Arthur Rubenstein

Life is grand at our place. Hope nice things are happening wherever you are. Wet on the roads today when I headed out to the launch of Kaleidoscope Markets. Some very fearless Mums braving the elements and managing to keep their little ones dry as they made their way into the spacious Lake Kawana Civic Centre. Fiona, you assembled the friendliest crew of helpers and it was really interesting to do a daytime weekday market. Hope you are well on your way to that rest!

More markets happening this weekend. Visit here to find out more. As soon as I find the cord for my camera, I will pop some photos into this space...feeling a bit nude without the visuals!