BLUE

Picasso's Blue period
The Blue Ridge Mountains
Blueberry Yum Yum!
probably my favorite fruit, whose yearly time to shine is NOW!
The color of my first car Bonnie that I just sold today!
300 dollars seems so insignificant for something full of such sentimental value.
A sadness, like when losing a friend.
instead of a black phase in high school, I had a blue one.
My mom's favorite kitchen color.

I found a few pictures of good memories from my Blue Bonnie!

Driving to a Farm vs NRC softball game, good old WWC days...
The dash was always so full of Treasures!

The time Chris left one of my cups on top of the car, we realized while going 70 down the highway on a trip to New Orleans. oh the grabber, boy hanging out the window. cup is still alive.

The epic birthday party shared with good friends. Bean, I am going to miss you. I wish you all the best in your new adventures. I will cherish all the good memories.

The recipe for the world famous Blueberry Yum Yum. Always a crowd pleaser.  

I use less water and cornstarch in the Blueberry part, keeps them a little runny and not so jelatinous! 

Funny, if you Google "Blueberry Yum Yum" you will learn that the rapper Ludacris has a song with the same name.....about things that people smoke. 

On the round-about current events, we got a nice brick sidewalk out front of the building. 

Funny the coincidences in my life, considering that I am working on a Blue wedding right now!

So, appreciate that blue sky and smile into those pretty blue eyes. 

xoxoxo

C

HAIR (toot and hair clips)

Summertime heat makes me want to cut all of my hair off!  I have been resisting the urge to turn the large bun on my head into a short little boy cut!  I just can't decide should I cut it or not?

I have a hard time committing to what my hair style should be, but when it comes to my little dog, I love cutting her hair!  For the past couple years I have been giving Toot a mohawk for the hot summer months.  This year, a friend made a suggestion for a spiral mohawk!  So, I went for it!  I shaved her all over except for the spiral and her fluffy little feet, it makes her legs look so small. chicken legs! She likes to prance around.

From the side it looks like she has on a Tu-Tu.........TOOT-TOOT! She is such a funny little dog, I am so thankful to have her in my life I get to bring her with me to the studio every day! 

She has grown to love small children, especially Charlie, they often will let her lick them as much and for as long as she likes! She loves the snow and Eliza! A little old lady Princess dog.  

So, in the world of button flowers, I have NEW.........HAIR CLIPS!!!!!!

The Hair clips come in 3 sizes- small, medium, and Large.  The order of the pictures is big to small.  I have wanted to make button hair clips for years, but I did not want to just glue the buttons on.  So, I was so excited to find these clips that have holes so that I can wire the buttons on there. Much more sturdy!

xoxo

C 

Baby steps in Business

I am continuously learning. ALWAYS, as well as always working.... The thoughts of to do lists, new product ideas, ways to push me and my business further are constant.  July has been a good growing season.  Unfortunately I have not had time for a garden, which makes me sad.  However,  the Button Florist had the wonderful opportunity of having an intern for the month.  

Dylan is a very smart and mature girl. She was a wonderful assistant, always willing to try whatever new  silly task I had lined up for her.  I really enjoyed having her help me and I wish her all the best in her new school. Thank you! 

I also had a new and exciting opportunity of receiving a brand new copy of a book to check out and share with my fans. 

 The book is Craft Corps, by Vickie Howell. It profiles 30 big-time crafters and 60 everyday crafters — everyone from Jenny Hart (Sublime Stitching), Mark Montano (The Big-Ass Book of Crafts), Faythe Levine (Handmade Nation), Ed Roth (Stencil 101), and lots, lots more. 

I really enjoyed the Introduction of the book when Vickie opens saying, " I've been fortunate to make a career from crafting, and one of the greatest gifts it has given me is a sense of true community.  I've been privileged to meet (either virtually or in person) thousands of fellow crafters as a result of my profession. Because of craft, I share an amazing connection with people all over the world- people of different backgrounds, religions, philosophies, and creeds. I likely would've never met or communicated with many of these folks had it not been for our common bond as creative beings and the explosion in the popularity of crafting.  So I take great pride in presenting Craft 

Corps, a celebration of our unique community."

The craftographies are interesting and include some personal history, advice, philosophy, childhood memories, and even favorite curse words.  As I read through them I was comforted and inspired by the common threads that bind us into the crafting community.  Thank you Kathleen from Lark books for sharing this inspiring book wih me. 

An order I sent off on Friday.  These flowers are headed to Denver, Colorado to help make people smile in Eberle Orthodontics.

I enjoyed working with Nicole's colors of mainly purple, green, with some orange, red, and yellow accents. 

xoxoxC

Craft Shows are controlling my life

The Button Florist in Boston
The Button Florist in Columbia, SC
The Button Florist at the Big Crafty in Asheville
The Button Florist soon to be in St. Louis
Craft shows and more Shows.

I was recently very frustrated after travelling distances to do shows that were not totally profitable. 

It is sometimes so easy to feel discouraged.

But amid all the stress of making stuff, packing and unpacking, driving, networking, it is my loving friends and family that make it all worth it! The ability to travel and have a flexible schedule lets me have a different kind of working life. 

So, no photos of craft shows, booth set-ups, or crowds of strangers....

instead here are pictures of people i care about and fun times that have been had in my recent adventures.

Old school Wilson crew at Kate's Wedding.
Yes, she put her face in my chest, what can I say, the bride gets to do whatever she wants!
Fun times on the way to Boston.
Heidi was so awesome in Boston, after I ended up driving all night, she helped me all day at the show. Boston was full of nice people and cute little dogs.

My nephew just turned one this past week.  

Here he is sticking out his tongue in Mexico. I am sad that I missed his first birthday, but can't wait to be there for the next one.

July birthdays! Italian cream cake and bug cupcakes!

On the way to birthday bowling!

Jamin, Jacob, and Ian!

Round-about update: Today they put in some stone pavers....all I want is some grass, something alive and green in the middle, please! 

New in the Button Flower world.  Crocheted, felted flowers.  

I think there are going to be more of these around....Some on stems, some on brooches, headbands... still figuring out how and where to incorporate them. I love colaborating with other artists. My friend Amber over at RaimbowTree has been making some really cool felt flowers. 

These were made by Holly, more to come! 

xoxo C

Bring it on JULY!

A little randomness. I have been getting ready for July and now it is here. Shows every weekend, lots of travelling.

Lemon Curd with fresh Blackberry Pie

made with love by my dear friends Eliza and Ben at Pies in Disguise

They use all local, in season fruit!

I love this size of a pie, perfect for sharing with a friend, I actually split it 3 ways!

A recent wedding project, two small bouquets for the flower girls. One likes dragonflies and the other likes butterflies, so I included some special buttons that the bride provided, I love making such personalized flowers that will be able to be treasured for a long time.

The first new headband I sold! I tried a new kind on the little hard bands. It matched her shirt perfectly and she was so cute.

The latest on the Round-about, now a nice cement ring! What is going to go in the middle? nobody is certain. A sculpture, a tree, some grass, BUTTON FLOWERS! we were told nothing to permanent due to the risk of someone driving through the middle.

Summer Solstice Celebration.....lots of fairy wings and painted faces and even a Butterfly release! now it is officially Summer!

xoxoC

Somewhere over the Rainbow

Somewhere over the rainbow there are lots of little artists working away in their studios.
Way up high, The roof of the Phil Mechanic building is a great place to catch a double rainbow over the River Arts District.
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

The heat was almost unbearable, but all the artists were very thankful that the summer humidity did not keep the people away!

The Studio Stroll was this past weekend and it was fun and exhausting to have hundreds of people walk through our little studio.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.

The Hairy Potter throws
Birds fly over the rainbow.

Little girls will sit and watch for hours.
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

xoxoC