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.

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.

Flea Market Finds

These beauties didn't come from a flea market, they were a gift from the very kind neighbours across the road, so I hope we still qualify! The little girl who used to play with these treasures is now in her middle years of high school and they've been gathering dust.

Today they came to our house and after a family working bee they are happily ensconced in the cubby just waiting for Little Buttons to whip up all kinds of gastronomic marvels! They were made to order by a couple who used to frequent the local markets about 12years ago. They are in near perfect condition and are obviously built to last. What lucky Little Buttons!

For some fair dinkum Flea Market Finds, visit Sophie, here.

THE HANDMADE EXPO - Stallholder of the Month

I had some very exciting news this week. The Handmade Expo Girls chose me as their stallholder of the month. I had a feature on their blog for the week and a stallholder profile in the print ad they ran in the Ipswich papers. It was a lovely way to start the week and I really appreciate the support and interest from Liesa, Micky and Miriam.

I'm still busy preparing things for tomorrow's Handmade Expo. One day I will have nothing to do but sleep the night before a market...alas, it is not the way things will pan out tonight. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's market. I am hoping to take some initial tees with me and I have some little tractors and trains on long sleeve tees for the boys which are hot off the Janome.

Come on down and say hi! There'll be wood fired pizza, great coffee, cupcakes and the usual sausage sizzle to feed the body and a host of crafty, handmade goodness to feed the mind and spirit. I'll be the one with the bags under the eyes!

Still Kicking About the Traps

Popping in ever so fleetingly to say a quick 'G'day' and an even quicker 'Hooroo'. Today was spent here in great company. I chose an indoor Boutique Indie stall and loved my neighbours,tasha2shoes and Therese of Little Mary Moo's Place. Therese's Mum came to my aid with a marvellous assortment of bandaids in a Little Mary Moo purse, after an unfortunate incident with my finger and the hinge on the trestle table. I am happy to report I now stock my own selection of bandaids in my market basket, just in case you need one. I am about to go and purchase this little purse from her Etsy store to hold said bandaids as a little reward for my stoicism!

Tomorrow is of course Mothers Day. So to all the mums who are reading, have a cuppa, put your feet up and enjoy being taken care of for a day. Once you've done that, pop on down to the Boutique Markets at Hamilton where I will be spending my day alongside many other magnificent mums. Do call in, I'd love a cup of tea and some company and I'll even show you my VERY sore finger.

BrisStyle Update

On Saturday I kicked off the market year at The Handmade Expo. It was a great day with just enough rain to take the edge off the heat. The steam train was running alongside the market and my Mum was reminiscing about the days when she and her six sisters were frequent commuters on the train. I was imagining those beautiful, foofy 1950's skirts and dresses, backcombed and set hairstyles and gloves, squeezing into those little carriage doorways and not picking up the grime and dust from the coal train! Apparently there was a knack to it and headscarves were a handbag mainstay.

I did manage a little treat for myself in between customers! Mel from Dragonfly Designs was nearby and she was selling some Creative Artyfacts beads. I've been coveting a unique, handmade, glass bead for my charm bracelet and Liz's beads have a sterling silver core. Liz was at the BrisStylemarket in November, last year but the Little Buttons prevented any hard core purchasing! I have great hopes for Saturday 6th of March which is the first BiDM for 2010.

Molly's Wimcee skirt

The beautiful and now, Great Aunt, Steph from Wimcee will also be there on the 6th. Last year, she very generously gifted Molly a beautiful red and white skirt which she has worn almost constantly. I have to hide it when I hang it on the washing line or she stands underneath the line and rouses until it is dry! What can I say? The child knows quality when she sees it. Might be time for me to extend Miss Molly's wardrobe!

Cute as Buttons will also be a stallholder amidst the beautiful grounds of St Augustine's Church Grounds, on Racecourse Rd, at Hamilton. I'm very excited to be joining the ranks of the BrisStylers and I am having a delightful time preparing lots of lovely goodies for the event. Take a peek here for all the BiDM goss.

A Christmas Treasure

After a fortnight of barely catching breath, I thought I'd do a quick post and share one of our Christmas treasures. My Dad's brother John, trained as a carpenter many, many, years ago. I think it is probably more helpful to say he is a fine, arts, craftsman. He became quite skilled at chip carving and some of his work is in Parliament House. One Christmas he presented us with a beautiful Christmas string. Each one is an ornament in itself. I love looking at them and notice something different each time I walk past. It was the most surprising and delightful gift!

I couldn't quite show all the pieces and capture the hanging string so I have placed it flat on a table. The detail in each piece is extraordinary. I love the gentle, rustic, colouring of the timber.

A Little Thank You

Frenzied sewing seems to be happening all about the place at the moment. We are preparing for two markets this weekend and also filling lots of Etsy orders. Some of our fellow bloggers and marketeers were busy last weekend at the BiDM and are now looking down the barrel of 3 consecutive markets on the coming weekend. It surely is a crazy time of year.

In the middle of all the craziness, Mr Button wanted a gift for one of the doctors who have been taking care of him over the past 6 weeks. She is not too far away from having her first bub so I thought this might come in handy during our hot, hot, summer.

There is more to this story than a simple picture. I have a new arch nemesis: The Ruffle Foot. I shall share more about this epic tale at a later time but for now, I would like to state that no super, whizzbang, machine ruffling was used in this garment and it was not for want of trying. I resorted to a good old fashioned gathering stitch and my own little fingers gathered the fabric. Sometimes you just can't beat the old ways!

Ties that Bind

"Wombat loved Christmas. He loved the carols and the candles, the presents and the pudding, but most of all he loved the Nativity Play."

Wombat Divine by Mem Fox (probably the sweetest Christmas story, EVER, by the best children's author, EVER, if you want my opinion)

I am a bit like wombat in many ways and I REALLY love Christmas and always have. One of the things that I love the best are the traditions which pepper the way my family celebrates this time of year.

This is a tradition from Nanny Button's side of the family. I've told you about Nanny Button and her family before....Nin (my maternal Grandma) was the consumate crafter. She had seven girls, one of whom is Nanny Button (my Mum) who is crafty to her core and always finding ways to help me in my little projects. There is a good bit of craftiness running through the veins of the rest of those sisters and also through the squillions of cousins they've gone on to produce.

A number of years back, the family decided that present giving for the mob was requiring a small loan or petty thievery which was not really in keeping with the season. The collective wisdom was that Santa would bring a small gift to any of the wee folk who still went to primary school. The rest of the families would exchange cards and a decoration. Thus, a family legacy was born!

The craftiness takes on a life of it's own in the lead up to Christmas. I think Nanny Button may be the most secretive of all, going to great lengths to keep her decoration a mystery until the party date. People do all kinds of things. Sometimes they are simple - card and glitter in a tree shape with family names printed on it. Sometimes they are exquisite and elaborate - like the beaded angels, sometimes it is Christmas baking. Always they are precious and uniquely beautiful. I love, love, love this part of Christmas and I love, love, love my Christmas tree and it's treasures.

Due to a not entirely explained delay receiving shirts from our supplier, there is a bit of a lull in the Cute as Buttons market restocking department. In the space, my mind turned to the decoration we are going to give this year and I have been having a lovely time playing with some ideas today. My efforts over the last few years have been less handmade and more mass produced. This year I am going to redeem myself! Using pinking shears, I cut two of the birds I designed for Cute as Buttons a while ago, and added the wing heart from Sharon's bird. I running stitched the wing to each side of the body and then running stitched the two bodies together, leaving an opening to stuff the bird and adding a ric rac loop for hanging. I then stitched a button on each side for an eye. I was pretty pleased with the results so I didn't stop there.

I made a heart:

Then our 2008 Christmas tree:

Next a star:

Finishing with this year's Christmas tree.

I can't wait to give them to the clan and you never know, they might even pop up around the place if you think you'd like some for your tree.

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.

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!

SewMamaSew's great May Giveaway Day has finally started and I think the blogs are going to experience heavy traffic!  I'm keeping my post brief so I can go and enter some more giveaways! 

The first picture is a cute little giveaway over at edward and lilly which comprises 2 little brooches and some treasures from the stash.  Leave a comment on the post for one entry and blog about it for two.  

Perhaps you'd like to win the vintage tea towel apron over at Curly Pops.  I think it is too pretty to mess up with cooking spills.  So I might keep it for good.

The other thing I am going to do is work on a hair tie for my baby girl and some sort of yo yo arrangement to go on a shirt.  I bought her a skirt from Bubba Chenille a couple of weeks ago and also purchased the self covered buttons that match the trim.  I am going to use the buttons to pull the whole outfit together.  I love my boys to bits but I have to admit that having Miss Molly is a bit like having a real live Barbie doll to play with.  She lets me dress her up and play with her hair and she always looks delightful!  I'll post a photo of the finished ensemble tomorrow.  

May Giveaway Day

Fancy that!  We've just finished one giveaway and now, here is another.  This one is even more exciting.  If you click on the link to the left of the post, you will go to Sew Mama Sew.  They are co-ordinating a massive giveaway.  When I last checked,there were over 100 responses.  By visiting their blog on May 27, you'll have access to any of the giveaways you want to enter.  Great idea and what a way to cruise around some really fabulous blogs. 

Our giveaway is a towel set in any one of our designs.  The set includes a washer, handtowel and full sized bath towel.  They are a perfect gift for a newborn or as a birthday gift for someone a little older.  My 3 buttons each have a different design on their towel and I always know whose wet towel is on the floor after bathtime!  Our towels are a beautiful fluffy cotton and are designed to be washed and washed and washed!  They keep their whiteness really well and the appliques cope with liberal soaking in Napi San and Sard soaker and are not adverse to being tumble dried when you don't have a chance to peg up the washing!  I am also going to include a handful of buttons from our button stash and some trims because it is fun to be surprised!

To win, you need to leave a comment letting us know your best bathroom cleaning tip.  We'll do a random draw to select the winner and just think of all the great cleaning tips you'll be reading!  The competition closes at midnight on May 31 and we'll publish the winner's name on June 1st.  If you are not an Australian visitor you can still enter as we will be happy to ship internationally.  

I'll start the ball rolling with my cleaning tip, which, incidentally was passed onto me by my partner in buttons, Sharon.  Bicarb soda is the best shower/bath cleaner around and is cheap as chips.  Use a good handful on a cloth and rub it over surfaces and watch them gleam.  Start thinking and have fun entering!

Weekend Wrap Up

Well, we were blessed with a beautiful day on Sunday.  Sharon met a steady flow of people throughout the day and it was great to catch up with people who had been to the show and came along to Woodlands to have a closer look at the lovely handmade goodies on offer.  

Sharon was running the show solo this weekend.  I was at the hospital with one of my little ones who had to have unexpected surgery.  She has recovered well and was beautifully cared for by the hospital staff.  It is a horrible thing to see a little person going through something traumatic and I feel sorry for the children and families who have been in the hospital for a long stay and are uncertain of when they will be able to go home.

The Designers Emporium has proudly supported the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation through fundraising and special 'kid friendly' market days.  We are happy to be associated with these efforts and will continue to find ways to help fundraise and raise the profile of the good work done by this charity.  

Cute as Buttons began at the Designers Emporium markets at the Everton Park Hotel.  The girls behind the markets have spent the past six months scouring Brisbane for a new venue and will be relaunching the markets with a new name in their new home on June 14.  Pop along to the blog or website so you can be sure to hear any further announcements.  We wait with anxious anticipation!    

Mathilda's Market

I mentioned in an earlier post that we are trying some new trading opportunities this year.  Well, we are quite excited because one of them is on this weekend.  We are making our first appearance at the fabulous Mathilda's Markets.  It is a niche market that offers unique, stylish and affordable baby & kids goods that are lovingly handmade or of limited production. The retailers are handpicked to ensure an exciting product range. You will discover a vast variety of funky, unique and gorgeous clothing, toys, dress up’s, jewellery, hair accessories, linen, sleepwear and so much more! And all this for your little ones ... it's a kid's shopping haven. 

Most of the retailers do not have a shop front, so you know you'll find something special, not available anywhere else. Please come and see our stand at the upcoming Mathilda’s Market on THIS SUNDAY 22 March, from 9am to 1pm at Brisbane City Hall, B/w Adelaide & Ann St, King George Square, Brisbane City (parking available at King George Square Car Park. Entry to the market  is free. This will be a fantastic day out for young & old. For a sneak preview, have a look at the website (www.mathildasmarket.com.au) and enjoy a browse through the photos of all participants. I look forward to seeing you there!  The Cute as Buttons photos are the ones that Taryn Newland took for us last week.  

Maybe you could organise a group of friends to come along and join in the market shopping and then play grown up again and go for coffee!  I can't remember the last time I went to the city on a Sunday.  It will be great.