Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Jazz It Up!

I Love attending the Pueblo Quilt & Stitch Expo in Pueblo, Colorado!  Not only is it where I first became a vendor and where I met all my fabulous vendor friends, but it is always a showcase of creativity and talent!  One of my past customers came by this year to show me what she had done with the buttons she purchased, and she was happy to let me share this photo with you:

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This is so simple, yet so very effective!  The movement created by the beads combined with the size and texture of the buttons is wonderful.  You could use the fringe options from the Beaded Button Bracelets in this same way.  You could even have fringe or beads attached through the buttons’ holes!  Button Up!

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Colorado State Spring Button Show

Well, we survived a wild weekend of weather!  Could be worse…I could be in Phoenix today (103!).

The State Show was fabulous, as usual and I bought a lot of new buttons to add to my collection.  I entered 2 trays for competition.  One was disqualified for having a button on it that did not fit the award criteria (I should have used my magnifying glass) but the other was awarded a 2nd place ribbon!  This tray was for Butterflies and Flowers, 25 any size (10 each and 5 free choice).  Here is my tray:

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I know it’s hard to see all of the buttons, especially with the ribbon in the way.  I’ll take another photo that is easier to see and post it soon.

These are pictures of the showroom.  All the competition trays are hung for all to drool over (about 20 separate awards to compete for).  You can enter as many trays as you have buttons for, as long as they fit the criteria set out by each award.  The clubs write and sponsor the awards.  By the way, my 2nd place card came with a cash prize…$3.00!

043  049047 Intense shopping!

046 Boxes filled with cards of buttons, as well as poke boxes to dig through.  Nirvana!

Tomorrow:  New buttons I brought home with me!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

I’m Ready For Spring!

Even though we haven’t had much snow this season, I’m ready for it to stop snowing!  I’m ready to get into my garden and see some flowers!  Until then, here is an idea to cheer you up!

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I bought a floral bouquet at the craft store and replaced the flower centers and stems with a shank button on a wire.  No cutting, no gluing, just bend the wire with a pair of pliers and plop them in a vase with the greenery!

Here’s a take along version:

055 With this one, you will need to remove the shank of the button to glue it to a tie tack finding (using E6000 of course!), so DO NOT USE ANTIQUE BUTTONS FOR THIS PROJECT!  You can change the flower any time, and pin it onto anything!  Makes a great little “thinking of you” gift.

Button Up!

Jill