DIY Button Flowers

As promised in a previous post, here is a tutorial for making colorful and easy button flowers.  They are a great addition to add a pop of color to any room AND they don't die!  I like making multi colored flowers but I also really like to make monochromatic flowers.  The monochromatic flowers are great to enhance accent colors in a room.

Things you'll need:

Floral Wire - I used 22 gauge

Wire Cutter

Pliers

Buttons

Cut a piece of floral wire in the desired length.  You will need to double the length because you have to fold it in half to string on the buttons.  Leave a little extra length at the bottom so you can twist the wire once the buttons are in place.

Here's the fun part -- design your button flower.  Place the buttons (and any other fun things you decide to play with - like a washer) in the order you want them displayed.

Now string the buttons onto the wire.  Start with the top button first and make sure to pull it all the way to the top of the wire so there is no gap between the wire and buttons.  Then add the other buttons.

Once all of the buttons are on the wire, pull them to the top so they are tight.  Then twist the wire to secure it under the bottom button.



Now keep twisting the wire all of the way to the bottom.  To make sure the buttons stay in place, hold the wire in place under the bottom button and then use your other hand to twist the wire pieces.



Once you have twisted the wire to the bottom, use your pliers to bend the sharp ends down.  Then wrap them around and cut off the ends.  This keeps the wire from unraveling and it also gets rid of the sharp points.

Now you have one flower finished!  You can make as many as you want to fill vases, Mason jars, tie with ribbon, or find other fun uses.

Enjoy your flowers!



Craft Show Progress and Procrastination

A little bit of panic set in this week when it dawned on me that I have a little over four weeks left until my craft show and one week of that (the week of the show, to be exact) I will be out of town for work for four days.  When I signed up for this show in August, I did not have any inventory.  I had a few things I worked on here and there but nothing substantial.  I have been creating every chance I get since then and piling things up in various stages of completion. 

Today, I decided to get a table (slightly smaller than the table I'll have at the show) and just move everything I've made (100% completed or not) over to that table and see where I stand.  I needed to create a schedule today of what I need to finish, start thinking about table displays I need to make, etc.  I procrastinated for quite a while this morning -- I even found myself googling quotes about procrastination while I was procrastinating.  Finally, I got it together.  I laid all of my items out (not neatly), took some photos to document my progress, and started penciling lists on a big desk calendar to get myself in order.

Once it was all in my face, I realized that I have quite a bit completed (or almost completed).  That was comforting.  However, I quickly realized how much MORE I have to do before the show.  Panic ensued a bit.

Jack was helping me get organized.  I told him that he needs to be at the show to sell my wares because he is much cuter than I am.

What did I do with that panic?  I started to get organized, which always makes me feel more in control.  Then I procrastinated a little --

"I absolutely need to research craft show displays - ooh, another blog to read!" 

"Today I should probably start setting up my photography Etsy store that I've been wanting to redo." 

"Mmm...a beer.." 

After that, I started typing up this blog post.  I don't feel like this is total procrastination though because it is focused on the craft show, right?

I am very excited about the bright colors and fun geometric shapes I have been using in multiple pieces.  I still have a lot of button flowers to make.  It will all be completed though, right? 

All in all, I'm in better shape than I thought.  I still have a lot of work to do but I know I'll get to it.  It helps that I enjoy what I'm doing.  I just need a game plan for these remaining weeks.  I'm also trying to be creative (and thrifty) with how I set up my table display.  As I figure it out, I'll share more.  I've gained a lot from other blogs with booth and table display ideas so want to share my ideas too.

Some close ups of my items.  I made some geometric table runners that I'm loving.  I'm working on some fun garland.  I also have some bags I've been making - the photos didn't come out great but I promise a blog post just for the bags.  I have some other fun things planned too.  My plan is to share a lot of these things on my blog individually so stay tuned!

I suppose I should stop blogging and get back to it.  I do have a plan, some lists, some calendar planning, and I connected a few granny squares for a scarf today.  Not too bad for a day of procrastination!

"Procrastinators are also great at beginnings and not as skilled at completions." - SARK

We'll see about that, SARK!  Happy Sunday!

Craft Show Jitters

A few weeks ago I made the decision to do a craft show this fall.  I participated in this particular craft show a couple of years ago and had a great time.  It's at a local church and they have a pretty good turn out of people.  I wasn't overly intimidated by the other vendors or clientele and I even made some money.  At that time, I sold primarily jewelry I had made because that was what I had stocked in my Etsy store at the time (my Etsy store is currently empty but will share the link as I add some items).  Every year in August I start considering craft shows.  Fall shows are my favorite and I've noticed that there is a much better turn out in fall and people looking to purchase more often with the holidays coming soon.  Most years I either chicken out or have too much going on that I don't have time to create enough items to sell.  The people who are regular craft show vendors have a TON of items at their table.  My fear of shows toggles between 2 things - either I won't have enough items on my table and it will look empty and pitiful -OR- I have plenty of items and no one even stops to look at what I've made.  It's scary to put your time and your heart into making things you genuinely love and not be sure of what the public reaction will be.

This particular show was a great experience for me - especially as my first craft show.  The people were nice, I had a lot of positive feedback, I sold some items, and I even walked away with a couple of custom orders.  That year, I also did a show at a local high school.  That show was not as good.  There were a lot of people and a lot of different vendors.  They overbooked the vendors so we were spread out throughout the school.  The majority were in the gym and that's where most of the customers wandered.  Me?  I was tucked away with a handful of other vendors in this weird side hallway that was a dead end.  There wasn't even many signs to point people in our direction.  The majority of the people who actually visited our hallway of misfits, were just people who got lost.  That show was a lot of work and very little reward.  So this year, I signed up for the show where I had a great experience and hope for the best.

Fast forward a few weeks and I'm still feeling pretty good about my decision but have my moments of panic.  I've decided that I'll be selling some crocheted items and some other home decor type things and recycled item creations.  I will be sharing some of what I make here on my blog as I prepare for the show. 

My goal with my crocheted creations is to stand out from possible other crochet items.  I want to create things that look more modern and am trying to pick my yarn colors accordingly.  I will have bright colors but I'm also trying to find some colors that are a little more chic.  I found this wonderful Ivory Tweed yarn recently and am loving the look.  I've also been mixing two yarns together in projects to form bi-colored yarns and also make the yarn thicker to help my projects go a little quicker.  I want to love everything I sell but I'm on a limited time frame and need to be efficient too.  If you've ever crocheted, certain projects can be pretty time consuming.

Below is the majority of what I've been working on lately.  I want to create different sized baskets and bowls for home decorations.  My plan is to showcase their use on my display table -- they are great around vases, bowls, Mason jars, maybe some potpourri or hard candy, in a bathroom they can hold cotton balls, etc.  They add a lot of color and are fun to add here and there in a home.  I'm not using any patterns so make these up as I go which is fun and keeps me motivated.  I spray them with a heavy starch to help them keep their shape better and I crochet them in a way so that they stand firm too.

The larger basket's handles are made from tying suede cord and then crocheting around it.  That way the handles don't stretch out and will hold the shape longer.

So far I think I'm on a good pace and am happy with what I've created.  Crocheting is also a great way to work out stress after a tough work day.  Now that school is back in session (which means sports practices, games, etc), I can throw my projects in a bag and crochet during practices or in between games.  I just have to keep plugging along so I can make this happen!

An off topic item, I've been working and reworking the design and layout of my blog this weekend.  If you've checked back and seen a hot mess occasionally, I apologize for the changes.  It is definitely a work in progress and I'm working to find my "voice".  Thanks for reading and please feel free to share with friends.

Crocheted Bag No. 1

Our summer has just flown by despite not having a hectic schedule.  I work full time during the week and have a family so life can be crazy during the school year with school, sports schedules, and other activities.  I love the summer because we are really lackadaisical and I have a lot more free time.  A couple of weeks ago I decided to use up some yarn that I had to make a bag.  I worked over the course of the weekend and then finished it up at night during that work week.  I love that feeling of complete obsession when I start a project and can't wait to see the finished product.  I was obsessed with this bag and love how it turned out.

One of the things I love about crochet is making up projects as I go.  I typically don't use patterns, although, I will sometimes use a pattern to get started on an idea.  I also don't write down patterns for my projects but I want to remedy that soon.  If I decide to make another item using the same pattern, I end up counting stitches on the finished piece as I'm making the new one.  Simply writing down the pattern would probably make it easier so I guess that's something to work towards.



I started with the bottom of the bag and just made a giant round.



I love blues and brown together so decided to use the tan colored yarn that I used for the bottom and then used a dark brown and light blue that I had leftover from older projects.  I'm a big fan of stripes.  I think that comes from having sons.  If you've ever shopped for baby boy clothes, it's a lot of blues, stripes, and then a mixture of trucks, cars, sports, dinosaurs, super heroes, etc.



The finished project.  It's a deep bag and I'm thinking I'll use it to carry around my crochet supplies to sports practices, on car trips, etc.  Any place where I have time on my hands and want to keep them busy.  I made the strap really long so I can wear it across my body or I can tie it up to shorten it.  Over time the strap will stretch anyway so tying it in a knot at the top is a good option.

I also have an abundance of granny squares right now.  In my attempt to use the yarn I have before buying more, I have made a lot of granny squares and have been looking for various uses.  I think I may make some mismatched granny square bags as well. 

More to come on the abundance of granny squares and what I end up doing with them (as I had discussed 

HERE

I have a sneaking suspicion that I will end up making more bags than I could ever expect to use.