Market Wrap Up

Oh my, it was a cold and frosty start to The Handmade Expo, yesterday! I am sure that readers from the southern parts are scoffing at the notion and thinking I should toughen up, but, it was so cold, the clever Kellie Christie was wearing gloves when she stopped by to say 'Hi' and I lost count of the number of buttons I dropped because my fingers couldn't hold onto them. Like most Queensland, winter days, it soon became gorgeous and sunny. As the sun came up, the visitors arrived and enjoyed the sights and smells of the Expo.

It was great to catch up with some of my new facebook likers in person and I really appreciated the feedback on the new designs and fabrics. Steph's bunting was oohed and aahed at appreciatively and served as a nifty little distraction for the toddlers while the Mummys shopped. You really must make some more of these, Steph. I'll have to take orders soon!

Mandy and Susan, the Little Buttons gobbled their Gingerbread Pops with great glee and Mr Button would like to congratulate Debbie of Fudge du Ciel on another sterling batch of fudge.

After a day of cuddling, playing, baking and tidying Button central is almost ready for the week ahead. I'll be popping up to visit Liesa in Handmade Heaven to drop off some orders and to restock the Cute as Buttons corner later in the week.

My brain is already ticking with ideas for the BiTM which is not too far away and when the amazing Deb from Denim by Deborah recovers from her weekend of walking we'll have some other exciting market news to share. After walking 96km in 29hrs, we'd better give her until Thursday to recover and we'll tell all then!

The Winner Is...

Kim from Cuggles! Kids. Thank you for your lovely comments, for playing along and for waiting patiently for me to announce a winner. A sick six year old slowed down the drawing of the giveaway and whilst I racked my brain for some Myrtle & Eunice style prize giving, I fell back on our faithful friend, the Random Number Generator.

A trip to Handmade Heaven is on the agenda tomorrow and a lovely, photo filled post will follow. Let me know what you would like Kim, and I will bring your prize to The Handmade Expo on Saturday. I do hope the wood-fired pizza man is stocking up on his kindling.

P.S. Due to my technical limitations, I have managed to insert this widget thingumy-bob but apparently it will change everytime you use it. Be assured #8 was the number that came up when I gave it a whirl and if I paid more attention to Mr Button I could probably fix the thingumy-bob but would you mind just taking my word on it, please?

The One That Got Away

Image: Renee

As I was browsing through Renee's photos from the Boutique Markets fashion parade, I spied something familiar in the background of one of the dog shots.

Just behind the the dog leads, at the start of the carpet, you will see the elusive blonde haired and blue eyed model who went to extreme lengths to avoid strutting his stuff. He was caught on camera as he made a fleeting appearance in pursuit of a smooch with a dog. I thought I'd pop this one up so you could see the complete set of Little Buttons.

Thanks to Miriam from Bubba Chenille for his pants. He quite fancied himself. He just wasn't prepared to be fancied by the rest of the world!

If you're looking for us tomorrow you will find us in Ipswich helping Liesa celebrate Handmade Heaven's first birthday. Cute as Buttons has been a part of this heavenly venture since day one and we are delighted to celebrate her success. She has some great giveaways and specials to help celebrate and online shopping is most welcome.

Thought for Thursday

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.

Edith Sitwell

Oh, I do love winter. My week held; a comforting coffee and chat courtesy of Liesa when I popped into Handmade Heaven to drop off some orders. I also bought some of the snuggly flannelette pyjamas she has in the shop for the little buttons and I am predicting a comfy night's sleep for all.

Good food this week was a knockout batch of Apricot Chicken. One of those old favourites that is yummy and delicious on a cold winter's night. Your Mum probably made it for you when you were a wee one.

COAT 1.5kg of chicken pieces in flour.

COMBINE a 405g tin of apricot nectar with a packet of French Onion soup mix in a small saucepan.

STIR until it thickens.

PLACE chicken in a casserole dish.

POUR nectar mixture over chicken.

BAKE in a moderate oven for 1.5hrs.

GARNISH with toasted almonds and fresh green herbs.

Which brings me to tonight. Whilst we don't have a friendly fire to sit beside, Mr Button does have the heater roaring and we are wrapped in blankets and sipping tea as I am working on this post. It is a picture of domestic bliss. Ahh, there really is no place like home!

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.

Making My List and Checking Tonight

Tonight I have tucked 3 very weary Little Buttons into their beds and I am sure I will not be too far behind them. We had a great time at the The Handmade Expo and although we were back in Brisbane collecting our Dad by 11:30 it was exhausting.

Just look what we managed to check off our Christmas List.

Presents for teachers from Mango Wednesday. All we need to do is load them up with some homemade yummies and wrap them in cellophane. I love to give teachers decorations or Christmas china as an end of year gift. As a teacher, I loved receiving them and as I decorate my house for Christmas, I remember all the little people who gave me the ornaments and plates that I use at this magical time of year. Incidentally, one of my favourite Christmas plates was given to me by someone who left for Schoolies this morning! I am sure these little plates will also give years of joy.

Christmas gifts for the nieces from Denim by Deborah.

Christmas gift for my sister from Denim by Deborah.

If Deb starts some sort of Loyalty Card business, I am in like Flynn! This takes my D by D purchase total to 8! Each one has been unique and quite hard to give away...I am sure I could squeeze in another bag or two!

Christmas outfits for the Little Buttons from min nah kids. They are cute, cute, cute!

The boys' outfits will match. I am not sure if I am going to get away with that...I have a feeling there may be mutiny from the 6yr old button! I'll keep you posted.

Sadly, there is no evidence of the biscuits from The Cupcake Ladies, Debbie's delicious Fudge from Heaven or Tina's Moreish and YUMMY, coconut ice, cupcakes. I shudder to think of the POINTS value but it was worth every one!

Molly snaffled some Bubba Chenille pants and a necklace from Handmade Heaven but she has gone to bed with them stashed beside her so the photos will have to wait till another day.

Sharon had a busy day on the Cute as Buttons front although, she seemed reluctant to accept my offer to leave one or two of the Little Buttons behind to assist her with her work! Go figure. Our next market weekend is a Double Header - The Handmade Expo on the 12th December and Boutique Markets on the 13th December. I'm going to make sure my Christmas List is ready and raring to go!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Hair pretties - Christmas ones available on Saturday at The Handmade Expo

No, they really don't get me down! I love rainy days although I do wish the rain had held off for an extra 15 mins or so on Sunday. It did make the end of the Boutique Markets a little damp! There were lots of lovely things to see and we tried a few new ideas in the Cute as Buttons corner of the world.

Carb free cupcakes

Today was a cruisy Monday. We attended a beautiful family wedding after I'd finished at the markets and we've been moving quite slowly today. I did manage to trek over to the other side of town, with the two small buttons in tow, to source some new display baskets at a cane wholesaler. I'll be looking forward to playing with them at The Handmade Expo at the Ipswich Turf Club on Saturday.

Christmas lovelies floating in the breeze

Tweet treats

Deb's Denim Stompers

Couldn't resist this tea cosy from Maggie of Mags Bags

The Handmade Girls must be feeling fine. They have all been hosting giveaways for various milestones. Lovely prizes to be won at Bubba Chenille, Handmadies and Handmade Heaven.

A Sneak Peek at Our Christmas Goodies

If you are coming to the Boutique Markets this Sunday or to The Handmade Expo at the Ipswich Turf Club on Saturday 17th October you'll be lucky enough to see and purchase our 2009 Christmas tees and tanks. These usually sell out very quickly so be sure to place an order if you don't want to miss out. We have lots of different pattern combinations and you can make sure your little button stands out from the crowd.

We've had a natter with the girls from min nah kids and they are whipping up shorts, nappy covers and skirts to mix and match with our tops. They will be at The Handmade Expo in November and you can catch up with them here.

Our Christmas range will also be available in Handmade Heaven from the 20th October.

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.

Parenting

Let me start by showing you a photo of Cooper. Cooper came to visit us at the markets on Sunday with Liesa and as I mentioned yesterday, was doing a grand job of modelling one of our new designs.

Now, let me refer you to Liesa's Handmade Heaven blog. It seems Cooper decided to stretch his Mum's parenting skills on Sunday and she has appealed to fellow bloggers to find the best way to handle this kind of thing. On the topic of Toddler Tantrums, sadly, I have nothing of real value to offer except to say that I do try to keep smiling and also to chuckle knowingly. I do this in the vague hope that onlookers will think I am still in control of my child and not about to burst into tears and sit in a corner rocking to and fro.

The little Buttons all have different approaches in their tantrum throwing. Paddy's have always been loud and dramatic and are a bit like a summer storm - over quickly without too much damage. Molly is showing a tendency towards hissy fits and is doing a fair impression of hair tossing and crocodile tears at which point Mr Button totally caves and she gets whatever she wanted. Will started early with the tanty throwing and would lay on his stomach and wail whilst beating his hands and legs on the ground but he seems to have developed a more sophisticated and enlightened approach of recent times. These days, if he is being taken in a direction he no longer wishes to go, he just drops to the ground like a log and refuses to move. There is usually no warning that this is about to occur until your shoulder pops out of it's socket or the shoppers behind you start falling over his prostrate body and cursing parents who can't control their children. He doesn't make a sound, just looks up at you with those magnificent blue eyes and waits for your next move. I think he'll make a great chess player because he's usually two or three moves ahead of his parents.

If you feel like a great giggle at another Dad's expense, check out this blog. We're heading out for haircuts tomorrow and I really hope our experience is different to his!

I've just finished folding and putting away the Mt Vesuvius of washing. Mr Button was running the show over the weekend as I was preparing for and absent at the Boutique Markets at Portside. He did a smashing job but he has no love for washing, sorting, folding or putting away clothes. So, this embarassingly large pile of clean washing is a result of him taking a day off. I kid you not, I wash every day - usually two loads but often three and this has accumulated since Sunday. It's a good incentive for staying on top of things, isn't it?

Now that the domestic tidbits are dealt with, let's move on with the market wrap up. It was a great day and coincided with Portside's Coffee and Chocolate event. There were oodles of people out and enjoying the beautiful, autumn day. There were lots of new stallholders and we were next to the lovely and friendly, Helen from Ruby 2 Go Go. She brightened our day and had a plethora of interesting and quirky things. One of the most eye catching sights was her laser cut scooter girl - people came down just to admire her!

I treated myself to a beautiful pair of red earrings from Hot Toffee. I also have the matching hair pin so I'm feeling quite glam. My photos don't do them justice so I am sending you over to Nicole's store so you can really see what they look like.

Our new boy designs went down a treat and so did the revamped old faithfuls. Micky from Handmadies stopped by to outfit her lads and Liesa from Handmade Heaven also came to visit with Cooper in tow. He looked quite scrumptious in his plane shirt and patiently posed for a picture. The markets had a great family atmosphere and our visitors were obviously enjoying themselves. In fact, the only drawback about the markets is the huge pile of sewing we need to get through before our busy weekend when The Handmade Expo is in Warwick and Mathilda's Markets return to City Hall.

I was so tired last night that I fell asleep in the chair and only stirred when Mr Buttons sent me off to bed. I didn't realise until this morning that I was a lucky winner in Clare's 100th post giveaway. It was a beaut surprise to start the day with and thank you, thank you, thank you, Clare! I can't wait to have a look at this new magazine.

Straight to the Precious Things Cupboard

Howdy, Strangers. I've been absent a bit this week due to school holiday merriment. We've been up to our armpits in playdough, duplo and little people (of the Fisher Price variety). In my spare time I've also had a bit of catch up sewing to get on with so I've had to spell the blog for a few days.

Thanks for your enquiries regarding Mr Button's recovery. Both families are well and enjoying the Autumn weather. Your kind words have been appreciated. We've also appreciated some super posts by our blogging friends who've made us feel loved and honoured. Thanks to Rachael from Boutique Markets, Micky from Handmadies and Liesa from Handmade Heaven. Pop over and see what these lovely ladies have to say. It is gratifying to know that you like what we do.

Tonight's title is a very bad take on a classic line from the iconic film, The Castle. In the Kerrigan's home, anything of note went straight to the poolroom. We Buttons do not have a poolroom, but, we do have a Precious Things Cupboard. Said cupboard is a silky oak sideboard on which reside a number of beautiful things which are precious for all sorts of reasons. The oil lamp my Dad used to do his homework by, figurines given to us to celebrate our babies' births and candles in bowls I've found in odd places and lots of other treasures. It often is home to a beautiful drawing, a playdough sculpture or an intricate lego construction. We have a very fluid definition of precious and at the moment, it is also the home of my new cordless mouse!

Now, I am sure that the wonder of a cordless mouse is not a new thing for many of you but it is a thing of wonder and rare beauty to me. I cannot believe how much easier this natty little gadget has made my life. It would seem I have made a reasonable amount of fuss about this new addition to our home, as during a quick tidy up, my 51/2 year old button decided the most fitting place for this little critter was right on top of the Precious Things Cupboard. Looks right at home, doesn't he?

Late news

A quick post to let you know that unfortunately, we will not be at The Handmade Expo tomorrow, as we had planned. Mr Button is still recovering from his operation and is not up to manhandling the small buttons in and out of highchairs and nappies so I am going to keep the homefires burning. Sharon has nursed her family through a tummy bug...one after the other! She is now taking her turn with the bug and has wisely chosen not to share it with the general public.

We are sorry to miss last Expo at the Ipswich Showgrounds but we are looking forward to the new home at the Turf Club. If there is something you want and you don't want to wait until our next market, please email us at cuteasbuttons@aanet.com.au and tell us what you are after. If you are an Ipswich resident, we'll take it into Liesa at Handmade Heaven and she will take wonderful care of you. If Ipswich isn't your hometown, we will give you a call and see what arrangements we can make.

Have a great day out at The Expo tomorrow. We'll be thinking of you!

Heavenly Delights

Handmade Heaven photo - Miriam

I am sitting in my relatively clean and tidy house, with the lights dim and the candles lit and all is right in my little world. Lighting the candles is my sign that it is OK to relax and enjoy some me time. Tonight I am burning one of my purchases from Handmade Heaven - it is a Golden Vanilla, soy candle made by Red Hot Wicks, the scent is divine and is looks great, too.

I also picked up a lovely Bubba Chenille skirt for Molly in lime and purple, and a cupcake tea cloth and matching napkins from Sweet Tea and Roses.

The shop is looking beautiful and I dare you to walk away empty handed. There are so many delighful things inside I just don't think it is possible to resist their charms!

It has just occurred to me that anyone reading the blog may think I only buy presents for Molly! I also buy gifts for my gorgeous Paddy and Will...but the ones for Molly are usually far more blogworthy! Therefore, I am going to challenge myself to buy some handmade goodies for my handsome lads and blog about them this month!

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.