It wouldn't be Monday Morning without a shop Pimp, now would it?

 What a Windy day?

I don't know about where you are but, here it is Blowy and i'm feeling a bit Dorothy, scared that if i step outside i will have landed in Oz!?

 "Ding Dong the Witch is (which old Witch?) the Wicked Witch

Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is dead....."

 *new* buttons (what else?)

I have been making up packs of Button Brooch Party Favours which are just so cute and muchos fun. I'm not greedy though. I'm not the sort of person who would keep all these to herself.

They are too fun not to pass on.

1.25inch / 3.4cm - a great big size and i would LOVE to see what people have been making with these.

Personally, i'd love to see used on knitwear or as bag / purse fasteners. The are so vibrant. A real statement button.

 This new blue stripe is gorgeous and just makes my heart ache. So nautical :)

This is what i have named 'Denim Blue' - i love it.

I am listing these in single colour sets and in mixed colour sets.

 And i have always been a complete girly polka dot fan... but i find myself loving these stripes so much more?

Every colour i have in Stripe i have in Spots - 10 colours.

 Raspberry, Strawberry (pale) Sky Blue, Denim Blue, Purple, Vanilla, Mint, Orange, Aqua, Red

In both designs.

 And Button Tags.

I know. I win no awards here for complex craft design but.... not everybody has a big stash of buttons to glue onto tags (can you believe that?)

And also, i have been packing these into stacks of 10 as cute party favors.

Imagine a party bag filled with button tags? a button brooch? chocolate.....

*kirsty dreams of greatest party bags in the world, ever*

 In other excting news:

The GARDEN ROOM - Hair and Beauty salon, Upper Boddington

now holds a small stock of PaperFish products.

You don't need an appointment to pop in - you can just go round and shop, if you want.

They are holding:

Cards & Gift Tags

Lavender Patchwork Hearts

Purses and Tissue Holders

Button and Felt Brooches

and the range will be extending soon. If you're local - pop in for a last minute gift?

Egad, i had such a busy week last week - so much on my mind.

I managed a RRRRuuuuuNNN this morning so now i need a bowl of fruit, a big fat coffee and 2 hours under the sewing machine.

Have a great Monday xxxx don't get blown away and avoid all Witches.

Ribbons, Stash, Supplies....

 *shop news*  i am in love with these 2 grossgrain ribbons.

1/2 inch wide. Celery green and red with white spots. I might be using these to wrap my favourite gifts at Yuletide.

 Then again.... i might go all monochrome in these Old Style Hollywood movie trims.

Black and white says: sophistication? style?

 We now stock 6 different colourways in these wide ribbons - double sided so you get 2 choice of ribbons for the price of 1. Awesome bright colours. Also available to order by the 18metre reel if you want a massize load of ribbon for your projects.

 I have this pink and green grossgrain - 1cm wide - ready to use, with some vintage lace, on a few Custom Order girly cushions. Fun projects :)

 These 2cm fat bells have been flying off the craft stall as customers talk of tying them to their ribbons when wrapping gifts in December. I have been using them on some felt stocking orders.

I just love bells - and these have a beautiful 'jingle' - i hate disappointing bells with little sound.

 I am still working out how to stack the new studio space (now the shelving and flooring is all in!)... not that it is a chore, to play with Craft Supplies and decide how they are best displayed and used.

 *note to self* don't forget to prepare the Advent Santa, get the stocking gifts and purchase your gifts Kirsty. One minute it's the beginning of November and, in the blink of an eye, Christmas is here and i refuse to go anywhere near the High Street.

Wrapping and Ribbons and Stash and Supplies......

Reels of Ribbon, Oh My!

I did warn you.... lots of yummy new things arriving.
I cannot help myself - i feel like i should be apologising? But i go through my little imagination and i wonder "if i didn't sell craft supplies, what is it i would like to be buying?"

Reels of Ribbon would certainly be on my list.

Each mini reel is just shy of 2metres per colour. Sold in a pack of 5... about 9 metres in total.

And *ugghhhh* i love the colours!

Grossgrain. 6mm wide. 6ft long. Non-washable. £7.00

5 reels of utter Spring cuteness - bring on the sunshine.... i am READY!

Teal, Claret, Lime and Flora....

Just updating on what's *new* in the shops.....
Deliciously rich CLARET polka dot buttons. 1cm - very berry x Me, in a strange, clandestine "you've not seen me right?" *might be a spy* sort of a pose...

wearing a new FLORA brooch. So in love with these babies.
There are more of these being listed in PaperFish tomorrow. I listed 4 on Friday and sold 2 in the space of about 20 minutes so that was a lovely feeling :) They are about 2.5" across 5.5cm and made out of yummy soft felt but backed by a metal badge so sturdy enough for any coat or bag.

I'm thinking gifts for friends or a fun teacher (or yourself! you know who you are shopper x)
They are about £4.90 each in the etsy shop. I might put them in the Folksy shop but that seems so crowded at the moment... i might wait till Spring? Well, you know where i am if you want any in GBP

And then... LIME and PINK PinPot - be still my zinging heart, J'love this fella!

Oh, and TEAL polka dot 1cm buttons too - these are a beautiful colour and i will wait till the Spring to play with these as i have enough on my Christmassy plate right now, but they are in BigFish if you want to play.

Gotta go - keep crafty x

They're here......!!!

There are small spotty buttons back in the shop.
One or two new colours... this being APRICOT - a sort of light tangerine / soft peachy colour. Hard to describe 'just right'. We have a beautiful aqua / sky blue which has more green in it than this photo suggests....

So the new 100 mixed bags - as it stands right now - with 10 each of 10 different colours....

AND, the reds are back! Most requested button of all. I know people have asked for 100's of these recently and i only have a few bags HERE but i do have more 'on order'.

Bless you all my button fans x nobody is more pleased than I to have these little jewels back again :)

Me and My Button Story...

The story of My Buttons and Me, is not a long story - although it feels like one huge, long, winding story that has both thrilled and exhausted me! I thought about it all this morning when i received a beautiful handmade cupcake card through the post from a button customer... it thanked me muchly for accomodating her button obsession and getting the goods to her etc... and there were a million things i wanted to say in reply...

So i thought i would say it all in my little Blog!

BUTTONS are really really very important to some people. I am one of those people. I remembering finding some incredible buttons at a huge Craft Fair, years ago. The buttons inspired me so much that i made lots of new buttony accessories and felt decorations...

I began selling my button covered goodies alongside my cards (that i already sold at Craft Fairs) and they soon took over. Everywhere i went with a buttony Brooch, people asked me about it...

I wore one of my button brooches into an independant local gift shop and, give or take half an hour, i walked out of that shop with a wholesale order for buttony brooches! Feeling a bit happy with myself :) i couldn't believe my craft empire was actually 'launching' so to speak - without me really trying...

I began buying Craft Supplies in BULK as i took on more wholesale orders and opened a shop on 'etsy'. It seemed the best way to increase my profit margins - i couldn't keep buying in small quantities from HobbyCraft anymore.

My first wholesale Button order was £70.00 and i remember SWEATING with fear that i was spending so much on buttons!!! By this point, i had resigned from my Part-Time job and i knew i wanted to be a 'stay at home Mom' but i also wanted to make stuff and try to earn some money, so i had to take big steps....

My need (ok, obsession) for new buttons kept growing and i thought "where do other people buy their buttons from?" Where were crafters buying beautiful buttons from and where could they buy in bulk numbers and not individually or 'on cards' from out-dated haberdashery shops...?

I realised there might be a little space in the market for me to sell some buttons on to other button lovers, but i was worried of course. Would people buy from me, should i open a new 'etsy' store, etc...

What is the worst that could happen - i asked myself? I buy loads more buttons and have to KEEP them all if they don't sell!? No great hardship hey??? so i launched BigFish.etsy.com x

Obviously, if you read my blog at all, you know that the "Button Shop" has not fallen flat on it's face x and i love all of you who have shopped with me. I sort of want to tell you all that:

a) i really care about you and your buttons because they are MY buttons too! That is the joy of buying from an independant dealer! I handpick your buttons myself....

b) it is crazy busy and TIRING and exhausting - searching for new button suppliers / searching for the supplier of a particular tiny button i found somewhere / ordering / finding the money to pay! / organising stock so i can find it all in my tiny home / BAGGING THEM!! can you imagine the time spent weighing or counting these bug..... beauties by hand!? (deep breath Kirsty, and relax...)

SO, when a customer sends me a handmade cupcake card that 'Thanks me' for spending the time finding what she needs and trying to fulfil her button requests... then it means so much to me!

My last button invoice cost me £600. It frightens me silly still, to spend so MUCH money on buttons (they are 'just' buttons after all) but you can understand a little, of how much of my crafting soul goes into buttons...

Thankyou for reading the abridged story of My Buttons and Me x

Why d'ya have to go and put stars in my eyes?

New Buttons....
I know!!
...in some ways I am perhaps overwhelming a customer with choice?

But as a 'seller' of buttons, if i make a decision that i want a certain type of button for my own projects, then it makes sense to sell a few too? How could i resist their colour?

Their vibrancy?

Their spots (and stripes!)

These are the sort of buttons that get a project noticed... I actually feel 'stressed' as my head is exploding with ideas for them.

They are the most expensive sets of buttons i sell.

I worry, maybe they are too much for people to want to indulge in? But they aren't the sort of button you will smother a project with? They are the last embellishment. The 'icing on the cake'. The button that makes people look twice?

I can't wait for my next Craft Fair as these buttons will look so yummy on the PaperFish stall - my first plan is make some Bobby Pins / Hair Slides and matching rings as I'm sold out of these thanks to my lovely girls at Weston Fair last week (***WAVES*** at the young ladies - you know who you are!)

But it has taken me FOREVER to price these, bag them, list them in the shops... I now have button fatigue - YES, it is possible!

I NEED to sew some bunting or a brooch or some Schrooooms to help me feel human again.

IF you want to see where i sell (it isn't compulsory y'know, i don't charge for drooling over the pictures! haha)

BUY ME in GBP £HERE

BUY ME in USD $HERE

From Japan....!

I have so much to tell you all about...
Beauties i have been buying, Muchness i have been making, Sweetness to sell...
and THESE fabrics have finally arrived from Kokka in Japan - yippee! Joy because, i have many projects in mind for these!
I love this fabric with it's apples and mushrooms and polka dots (some of it might become a top)

Matroyshka's baby! and i have a whole BOLT of it x x x fresh and funky coloured cotton.

This will be so great when i make it into bunting as it compliments my collection of Cath Kidston fabrics. It has lots of spots and stripes and florals in it so also grrrreat for chopping into teeny tiny projects like hairclips and stuff...

This is just so good it hurts! A thick double weave cotton with a linen quality to it that i adore. the colour is a deep and juicy moss green with 'tea' coloured spots... eeekK

And because i am willing to share.... i am selling a few metres and half metres of each design over on Folksy.... BUY ME HERE but they are limited because i am also quite selfish and want lots for my own projects.

More new-ness and blogging to come soon x

Crafty Cardi...

The Crafty Fish (that be me) loves to wear a Crafty item or three...
and, as a retailer of the finest buttons known to woman, i couldn't possibly wear a cardigan with 7 plain grey buttons down the front! It just doesn't feel right, ya know? Very, ridiculously, overly happy with my new little lambswool Cardi, i smothered it in rainbow buttons...

This look is perhaps far too 'cute' for many. It is a good job I am a lady who cares little for popular taste and fashion. This little crafty endeavour made my week much more colourful and satisfying.

And.... STILL very much in-love with Lu Summers fabric 'Avenue'.... i have been making little "My House" Brooches for the PaperFish shop. I just adore this little house. And i love the colours red / cream / blue together.

I tried to echo the 'smallness' of the house by using a smaller button embellishment. I am usually the crafter who adds a HUGE button to everything! but, in this case, discretion in button choice won favour.

Ooooh, i like it and i have worn it lots.

I am going to make some different colourways.....

And I'm going off to do that ....now! x