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.

My Creative Space

This week I have been playing with some more products in our Made for Me range. This range started with a request from Kylie at Buzzi ‘n’ Moo and it has proven to be a very popular addition to the Cute as Buttons line up. The new initial and name tees have also come about thanks to requests from lovely customers!

Some of my newly acquired d’oyleys have been put to good use and Deb’s leftovers are also being given a new life.

I'm still not completely happy with the girl name tees (2nd photo) and am tossing around a few other ideas to help get them right. What do you think?

Pop over here to see the creative space of the wonderfully, crafty, folk at Kirsty’s place.

Hello Out There

Hello and welcome to the new followers out there. Hello and THANKS A BUNCH to the old followers who have been patiently awaiting this post. Before I launch into a very image heavy recap of the last couple of weeks, I would love some advice on juggling. No, not the small ball kind (although that would probably win me big Brownie points in the Prep classrooms this week) but,

Blogging/Facebook/Crafting/Marketing/PARENTING/Day Job (ie. odd bits of relief teaching when Mr Button can be home to mind the wee folk)/Finding time to cover grey hair, trainingwith the Mad Exercise

Fiend

Friend, waxing legs,

kind of juggling. Really, how do you do it? All advice gratefully received and happily acknowledged! I've noticed a few of us having this conversation of late so I am eager to hear from the wise women and men who are part of our world.

It's been a busy but delightful couple of weeks, the Mothers Day Boutique market was loads of fun and was made even nicer by a visit from Mr Button and the Little Buttons. The day was quite festive in feel and I really enjoyed myself.

The Handmade Expo in Ipswich was one of those perfectly clear autumn days that remind you just how lucky we are to live in this part of the world. I set up next to Sandra-Ann Millinery and was greatly entertained as the locals selected their exclusive creations for the Ipswich Cup. Micky modelled hers beautifully and I hope I haven't let the cat out of the bag too soon. I stocked up on min nah bottoms for the Littlest Buttons who seem to have grown about 15cm in a matter of weeks. The girls have introduced a new little skirt which is very cute with tights. Molly thought she was it and a bit in her outfit over the weekend.

I have finished some more name towels for orders and am about to start work on another batch tonight. I am working my way through an order for Buzzi 'n Moo. Kylie has asked for a Babushka towel set so that lovely little lady will be making an appearance on towels and I will post some photos of the finished product.

I've been a bit obsessed with kaftan like garments of late, particularly the kind that don't require any ironing so I took a bit of time off from Cute as Buttons sewing and made myself a couple. I was moderately happy with this one:

but, I really think I nailed it with version 2. I know the photos aren't in the least bit helpful in terms of overall look but really, how do you photograph a kaftan nicely?

You can see it in the flesh at the next BiDM which is at St Augustine's on Racecourse Rd at Hamilton on June 5th. I am so happy with it it may just be my market attire on a regular basis. I'm not promising a tutorial but I will pop up a post with some more info about the process a bit later in the week. It is embarrassingly easy compared to some of the other tutorials about the place! I know you said it is easy Steph, so I will eagerly await your next instalment!

Now, as a little reward for reading this far, here is a fast and delicious cake recipe which I made for the Little Buttons afternoon tea. It is a one bowl wonder, which I love, but still moist and light. If you are a gingerbread fan you will really enjoy it. (Note to MEF/aka Deb: I did have one piece but just so I could make sure it tasted alright!)

GOLDEN GINGER SULTANA CAKE

125g softened butter, chopped

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups plain flour

1tspn ground ginger

1 cup golden syrup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tspn bicarb soda

1/2 cup of sultanas

1/3 cup glace ginger, chopped (I omitted this to prevent small children gagging and complaining)

LINE 20cmx30cm lamington pan with paper

PREHEAT oven to 160C

COMBINE all ingredients except sultanas and glace ginger in medium size bowl

BEAT with electric mixer on low speed to combine

BEAT on medium speed until smooth and changed in colour

STIR in sultanas and chopped ginger

SPREAD into pan and bake for about 55min

COOL on cake rack

SPREAD with cinnamon flavoured icing.

I feel like I have just finished War and Peace so I think I shall stop here and head off for a cup of tea and maybe one more slice of that cake.

Heaven Sent

Handmade Heaven has now been restocked with lots of lovely Cute as Buttons goodies. Our girl singlets are stocked to size 4 and boys to size 2. If there is interest in any big, boy singlets, we'd love to know - just leave a comment at the end of the post. Lots of tees to choose from in sizes 000, 00, 0, 2 and 4.

We have a great range of sizes in the the Christmas shirts and if you see a colour combination in another size and want to order it to suit your Little Button, just let Liesa know and she will pass the information on to us.

Mr Button had to throw his shoulder to the wheel last night and spent a therapeutic couple of hours tying gingham strips to a coathanger to help make our Christmas Hair Tie Display. He wants to know if this qualifies him as a Handmadie - Micky, what is your decision? I must say, he did quite a nice job and once I banned him from using the scissors, things went swimmingly! I'm not sure he'll be rushing back to repeat the effort so it may be a one off original!

More goodies crossed off the Christmas List after my time visiting the shop. Liesa and her Mum have made a Christmas Nook to make your treasure hunting even more fun! Look how many beautiful Christmas things were hiding there today! Christmas shopping made easy at Handmade Heaven, Old Flour Mill, Brisbane Rd, Ipswich.

Wonderland and Heaven

Some of our mask making playthings.

Last Friday the little Buttons and I took a trip to Ipswich to put some new stock in Handmade Heaven. We had a lovely time visiting Liesa and checking out her new treasures some of which made their way to Chez Button! If you are heading to Ipswich, take advantage of our Handmade Heaven special - all the Cute as Buttons long sleeve tees are $15 and at that price, it is a great idea to stock up for next winter.

Once we'd sorted out our business, we wandered over to the Ipswich Art Gallery to check out their I wish I lived in Wonderland exhibit. This interactive artwork is by Rose Skinner and is created from toys, candy, coloured sugar and household furniture. It is a riot of colour and is a bit like a real life Spot That book. We looked, touched, laughed, crawled, rolled, hid and talked our way through Wonderland and finished off by making our own pieces of art from feathers, masks, tulle, paddle pop sticks and straws. The Ipswich Art Gallery has an excellent school holiday program. Their Children's Gallery is the first gallery in Australia, dedicated to children, and is a great way to expose the small fry to the joys of creative arts.

Trying Something New

Image: My Painted Porch

After much thought and a fair amount of procrastination, we have finally dipped our toe in the Etsy water. There is only one item listed at the moment and it only has one sad little photo to show due to a flat camera battery.

Etsy is a whole new world which I have only discovered as a side benefit to blogging. I think I may need to find a tutorial entitled Etsy for Dummies as there are lots of gaps in my knowledge! Anyway, you can find us here and there will certainly be more Button Lovlies listed once my capabilities and camera catch up with the technology.

I'd love to know if there is a way to connect with the Brisstyle Crew via Etsy. That's going to be one of my tasks this week. If you have any Etsy wisdom to share, I'd be happy to listen!

We're in Heaven

Thanks everyone for the get well wishes.  Blogging gives me nice warm fuzzies - I love the little feeling of surprise that your comments give me.  I also get a real buzz when I discover a new follower so thanks for joining us.  I have had a little bit of a break for tea and sympathy and now I am back, deep in the throes of a busy week.  There are so many wonderful things to share with you and I am not sure where to start so I'll begin at the beginning, as they say!

Monday was a lovely home day for the buttons and I.  While the baby buttons slept and our 5 year old button played with his Dad, I was busy selecting items to take to Handmade Heaven which is the first and to date, the exclusive stockist of Cute as Buttons!  I think Sharon and I spoke to each other about six different times throughout the day, trying to make decisions.  I sometimes wonder if we should get a CB radio and save on the phone bills.  

Handmade Heaven is the baby of the lovely Liesa from The Handmade Expo. She has approached this as meticulously as she does all things and it is a pleasure to be a part of it.  I popped up to Ipswich with the two little buttons after the school drop off on Tuesday morning to set up our corner of Heaven.  It looked a treat and with the lovely pink and chocolate colour scheme in the shop, it feels like you are walking into a box of delectable chocolates.  As with all good chocolate boxes, the problem is knowing which one to choose first.  I have already begun to covet some items in the shop and will be making my way there for the opening on the 16 June to make some purchases of my own.  Best get some more sewing underway to fund my little excursion!

We wish Liesa every success in her new venture and hope that you will take the opportunity to visit her in her little piece of Heaven; Shop 11, The Old Flour Mill, 231 Brisbane St, Ipswich.

We have even more good news this week so pop back and check out the rest of our excitement.