New Flowers

I love playing about with materials or bits and bobs. Recently I have developed some new flower shapes. I am so in love with blackboard paint or black card and chalk at present. Combining all these things I am coming up with some new cute designs.

Also using up the scrap laser cut paper from getting my circles cut, that has become very useful for some notebook and framed picture designs.

I have fallen in love with black and lime green buttons, will have to keep shopping for those, even when my button collection is everywhere around my studio.

BCTF 2011

Just back today from another great trip to BCTF at Harrogate. Everything is unpacked and put away, to be organised is such a calming thing for me amid the madness. Oh what a boat trip back, my face will be green for a week. I looked out the window at one point and it was the real case of sea, land, sea, crazy!

The show was lovely and I was really pleased with how my stand worked out, I got some new framed pieces designed and notebooks too. Out of developing these products a new flower design has emerged, which I love. More work on them to be done.

Now I am back its all go again, I am studying for a teaching qualification and my last module is due in May, so fingers crossed I will get my draft done by the weekend and then hoping that I won't have to change too much when I get it back.

So tomorrow is essay day and then Saturday will be photography day, yeah, looking forward to that. All my nice new things will be photographed and I will be able to get them onto the website. I am so last minute when designing, all my ideas coming flooding into my head about two days before I have to go to trade shows or craft fairs. There is then a big job of getting them catalogued on the website when I get back.

Off to bed with my green coloured face and spinning head. Full steam ahead tomorrow, no rest for the busy.

Downtime

At the moment I trying to have some downtime, this is so hard for me, I am such a workaholic and don't spend enough time making or doing things for me. I am now trying to spend sometime each week doing small projects or starting more long term ones. Last summer I spent alot of it revamping furniture and other little things, which really hit me with the bug for making and doing more things for me.

All the revamping last summer started off with my late grandma's knitting holder. I was just going to give it into the charity shop and suddenly thought what am I doing! Having lots of her knitting needles and loads of wool I had been collecting needing a home, I got my white egg shell paint out and searched ebay for some bargain dandelion clock fabric. Pictures to follow, I thought I had some of the finished thing, but not.

I have so many projects planned now for the start of Easter and this summer. I am starting early though and here's a wee list of what I am planning:

• add a backing to my white bookcase I painted last year, a whole year that poor bookcase has been waiting for a back
• an old chair to revamp
• a rocking chair made by my dad needs new strapping and a good clean, its been in the garage for years, which is such a waste
• a lovely tall boy that was my late granny's (her first piece of furniture) that I want to sand and stain to store my bed linen
• make some quilts for my bed during the winter from all my scrap fabrics
• make some skirts and get stuck into using my knitting machine
• continue with crocheting a blanket for my sofa, 9 squares down, a lot lot more to go

I am sure you are thinking, Heather this is not what I would call downtime, but for those of you that know me I always need to be making or doing and I would like to at least be doing something to improve my environment. Along with all this madness, I have been doing so much more walking and swimming, which is so nice and relaxing.

I don't like to waste a minute eh.

So the picture above is the backing for my white bookcase, it took so long to find some wall paper that I liked for it and this was some scrap wallpaper I picked up at Top Drawer when I was there. It was on the entrance to the vip area and was just ripped off at the end. I don't even know who the designer is, which is such a pitty, as it is amazing and would love more. Some pva glue and half and hour its all ready to be nailed to the bookcase this weekend. My tool box gets another outing.

Penny

Oh its been weeks again since I was here last and lots of things have happened, good, bad and one very sad moment. My family and I lost our beloved dog Penny to a massive stroke a few weeks back, so that is very raw in mind.

She was such a lovely dog, who had a very horrible start in life before we were blessed in having her and to have been able to give her a home. Living to about 14 years of age (we think, she was with us for just over ten) she lived a full and happy life here in our mad house. Never a dull moment with her around and she was never sick, old age stuck her fast and hard. Will miss her so much, she made such an impact on us all.

As hard as it is, life must go on and this I have to keep telling myself, along with holding back the tears sometimes, like today when the vets phoned to say her ashes were ready for collection and now as I type this. She will never be forgotten, Penny you were so fab, gentle and innocent.

Now things are busy again with BCTF coming up in less than 3 weeks and my last teaching module due when I get back, there's not a moment for anything but work.

So work work work it is for the next couple of weeks and who knows I might be able to have a wee holiday this Easter, since its so late.

About Time

About time I returned to this space, it really is, I am not good at keeping up with this blogging lark.

So much has been happening here at Rag Button. Since before Christmas it was all go for Top Drawer and now its planning time for BCTF in April.

Looking back at Top Drawer, it was a fabulous show and I was so grateful to have been given funding from Craft NI to go and even had some super people to go with as well, Jenna Kirkwood from The Paper Patterned Company, Aine Clarke from Hansel and Gretel Knits and Lisa Chan from Lisabella Jewellery. So thankful and Sharon Hay from Innocent Chaos was also there. The show was amazing, full of such lovely things and we had a huge red London Bus behind our stand. At least I was able to find my way back to the stand each time I wandered off.

We had to start setting our stand up at 8am, I am so not a lark. This was the mess before it all started to take shape.

After a few hours later and some teas/coffees.

After 3 days, we had a wonderful show and now I am busy working away on orders. Next stop, Valentines day and lots of new card designs to photograph tomorrow.

Online shop at Rag Button

So exciting and after weeks of working, typing and photographing, I have finally got an online shop on the website. I hope you all will love it and get some pressies in before Christmas.

There is now a special area for wholesale customers and I have emailed out a password, if you have missed out on that, drop me an email.

Lots of things will be happening over the next number of weeks in the run up to the first trade show of the New Year. As next year, I will be attending Top Drawer in London for the 1st time and I have so many new designs and other products to develop for this special event.

Designing

I got some new supplies to play with, washi masking tape from Japan, Orla Kiely car fabric and little black board pieces I painted up. After a week or so of sticking tape down, ripping it off again, black board paint (black speckles all over my work benches, must use a sponge) and cutting up fabric, I have made some new designs.

The new designs will be on the website soon and even better, they will be for sale on my website. I have also spent the last few weeks building a shop on the site. It will soon be split into a retail and wholesale site. Exciting stuff.

Here is a wee look at the developments.



Some things need finished off, but I am getting there.