Time for a Decision....

Sometimes we make things that we and our friends and family think are the best, the latest, the greatest. And they're wrong!
I love clocks and have a small collection & many years ago decided to make and sell some. I thought they were pretty and clever, made from plates and boxes, books and discarded CDs.  Some 'strangers' have agreed and I've sold over 100 in the past few years. Custom requests were numerous and one even appeared in a published book. Reactions to them have always been so positive or has everyone lied to me?!
But they have come to a screaming standstill. They are on the expensive side to make with the cost of the clock works tripling over the years. I love the creative process when I make a clock and that satisfaction is over.
I'm done! It doesn't make sense to keep making something that takes up a fair amount of space, are awful hassles to take to shows and don't sell. I believe they make great little art pieces and are a wonderful house gift or any kind of present but the world does not agree.
Below are some of my current favorites and check All About The Buttons this week....drastic reductions. Think future gifts, Christmas, etc. If you agree with my family and friends, buy one for a great price! I'm kind of sad but the hand writing on the wall says STOP!!!

N.Truro,Cape Cod

Our escape destination was guessed correctly on Facebook. Just want to share a few fun photos from a great trip, extremely long ride and fabulously fattening vacation!

And yes, I bought buttons...11 to be exact!

And B is for.......

First off I must tell you I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge so you will see and hear alot more from me than normally! The posts will be short and sweet.

Today's letter is B and an easy one for me!

buttons

Braden

buttons

boys

Baba

blog

buttons

baseball

bananas

and did I say buttons?!!!!

Imagine life without buttons...

Can't believe I left off my name from that list!!!! Barbra....

Hearts & Buttons

I ♥ hearts! And of course, buttons! To incorporate the two is such great fun. For the first time, I'm sharing with you a simple button heart project that will not come out identically as mine but will have your ♥ and button stamp of approval! My hoop measures 8" and this time I chose all white and cream, mostly vintage buttons. I used over 100 buttons. But don't let my choices stop you, go for color, go larger or smaller in the hoop measurement....go for it!

Materials:
1 wood hoop, any size
fabric piece at least 2" larger than hoop. Best not to use a knit but a woven like linen or cotton.
assorted buttons-2 or 4 holed work better, not shank as they will wobble!
needle & thread
pencil
white glue

Lightly freehand a heart shape onto your fabric piece using a pencil.
Fit fabric in your hoop and pull to make sure it is snug.
Begin sewing and placing your buttons within the heart. You can just sew them side by side and have the fabric show through or you can slightly over-lap to not let the fabric be seen.
Continue until the heart is filled.
Trim excess fabric to within 1/2".
Turn hoop over and lightly layer some white glue on the inside of the wood hoop. Work in small sections and roll the excess fabric onto the glue. You can use clamp binder clips for a few minutes until set.

Ta da!!! You have completed a one-of-a-kind heart hoop button sampler.
Tie a ribbon at the top for decoration if you wish.
Hang on the wall or place on an easel for display.
Wonderful gift or room decoration for a fellow heart and button lover...you?!

Re-using,Re-purposing,Re-cycling

I don't know if it's the nature of a crafter combined with the needs of a teacher that encourages saving and thinking "Someday I'll use that" and whatever 'it' is gets stashed and saved.
As an elementary school teacher, I was always collecting what appeared at first glance, some useless items....egg cartons (of course), Crystal Light plastic containers, swizzle sticks and chop sticks and so much more.
If old clothes were clean and in good shape, they were donated. If not, they were saved for the fabric and certainly the buttons.
In my quest to use what I have, I am beginning to make a dent in the stash pile...yippee!The boys want hats with beards attached and I have ALL the yarn I need here in the house...yay!

This snow man is on fabric that was a shirt and the eyes are broken straight pins! The buttons are vintage.










This magnetic pin holder was made with an advertising magnet and again, a piece of discarded farbric from a shirt.

And lastly, of the recent projects, a felted cuff from a hot washed wool sweater...not planned!

So in the long run I am pleased with all the stuffing and stashing and storing of stuff and am happy they now have new lives! Now what can I make with that.......?!

What I Make

In previous posts, I confessed to crafter's ADD....I like to make lots of things and get easily bored if I have to repeat. Almost everything I make is one-of-a-kind. That got me to thinking....what do I make? It kinda of made me stressed to think of it all.
Scary to think, I probably have forgotten something! (and I did...just added aceos)

aceos
barrettes
basket clocks
bobby pins
book clocks
box clocks
brooches
button necklaces
button bracelets
cactus
CD clocks
clothespin magnets
cocktail spoons and forks
cowls
crochet bracelets
crochet necklaces,
cozies
cuffs
custom business clocks
dog sweaters
dish cloths
earrings
embellished boxes
embroidery hoops
eyeglass cases
face scrubbies
gloves
hand warmers
hats
magnetic bookmarks
mini purses
napkin rings
pins
plate clocks
purses
ribbon bookmarks
scarves
scissor fobs
shadow boxes
tapemeasures
wash cloths
wood magnets

I have 12 letters of the alphabet not covered yet...better get cracking! So I am taking suggestions for new products starting with letters I haven't yet used. Colors don't count.
What can I make that starts with y? U?  Hmmmm.... remember, most of my things have buttons on them!
And I'll calm my stress with this bit of advice:

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

For many reasons, some obvious, I have decided to close my Etsy shops. The obvious reasons have to do with the turmoil and drama that seems to swirl over there and has been fairly public. But there's more...I'm supposed to be retired! I had a 33 year career as a teacher and now is 'supposed' to be my time of choice....I can choose what I want to do, when I want to do it. I love creating and have learned that in order to create AND sell, vast amounts of time must be put in promoting and marketing. Three online shops, actually 4, is just too much for me. It's not what I choose to do so much.

The sidebar Etsy link here has been removed.
I have new business cards with only my Zibbet address. 
I have removed the Etsy decal from my car which really was indispensable when trying to find my common car in a parking lot!
The stores are still open as I am allowing everything time to expire and
I am offering a 10% refund when you write "Blog" in notes to seller for anything that is still in AllAboutTheButtons or AllAboutTheFiber .

I leave with a bit of sadness as Etsy opened the doors for me to sell my work. I am grateful for that but we've both grown and changed and no longer need each other.
As evidence of growth, even though this pin was very pretty, look at how crappy the photo is...one of my first online sales in October 2006. Yes, I've grown and changed!

Buttons and Easter and Eggs, Oh My!

This was just purchased by a button company to use at their showroom and conventions and post on their website! ButtonsandMore

Organizing a Multi-Use Space

I am generally pretty organized. Ask me for something & I can usually find it within one look, 2 at the most. I can proudly say that I rarely lose things downstairs. And then there's the studio upstairs....not my finest achievement!
The studio is also a storage room, access to the attic, exercise room and often a laundry drying room....a not for public viewing space. It really got trashed during and after the shows in the fall and then the holidays came and all that stuff. The holidays ended and the decorations MUST be put away so the craft items, remember I said this was the STUDIO, were still scattered. Finally, mid-January I purchased some craft item and when I went to put it to use, found I had 3. Okay, this has got to stop....buying what you have is ridiculous.
I spent over 7 hours within the last week cleaning and organizing. Throwing out and consolidating. Buying more bins and drawers. Paring down some materials and noting I needed more of others. The hardest part was finding a particular supply or button or piece of paper and thinking "hmmm, I could make a..." and the cleaning got brushed aside. Then this weekend, I had an off-line sale of this button jewelry box~



I realized that was the last of the 7-8 boxes I had made. Off to the craft store for 6 more boxes. About 10 minutes ago, I started to work on a previously untouched cabinet up there. What did I find? Of course, 4 more boxes.
Moral of the story: Keep like items together and KNOW where you put them!!!

Think spring, Valentine's Day or even Chinese New Year, but make the snow go away, please!

Show #2

Pretty busy around here. Had a great show last Saturday and off in a bit to set up for a 2 day affair.
This time I'll use pins on the side to avoid the bunches. Wish me luck!


Last week a big seller were the washcloths


and the bookmarks.


What will it be this week?!

Down Time in Selling

Down time...a pause....a lapse...a quiet period? All of the above and what to do about it is the real question. I was wonderfully busy saleswise in January and February and became wiped off the internet map during March. Fortunately I had the earlier mentioned shows in March to keep me busy and now it's April and soooooooo quiet. So I am using my time to promote online. I've reorganized my studio. I've inventoried my yarn stash (too much!) and bought new containers for paper. Fortunately, the weather has turned and I've spent time outdoors and love the way the garden is developing. I'm writing a new article for indiesmiles and upping my presence there. I'm reading and commenting on other blogs. I've read 3 books (a must read "The Book Thief") and am now concentrating on a custom shawl from a wonderful customer in California.
So as you can see, although selling is the goal, there's much more to life and I'm looking productively at the selling down time. The guys at the Post Office may miss me but I'm getting alot done. Do you think I should inventory this? Nah!!

I have agita........

Agita to me is that gnawing,anxious feeling inside when you don't know quite what to expect in the future. Unsettling.
I have not one, but 2 craft shows this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. I'm flattered that I was 'invited' to both but.....will they like me? Will my things sell? Will I hear "Now I know what to do with my box of buttons?" Will my DH be bored to tears and desert me? Will I bring enough change? Will there be people I should know but forgot their names? Will there be people I don't want to see? Will it be cool or warm? Will my back break from standing?
UGH....too many 'ifs'.
Everything is tagged and priced and looked over for flaws and packed. I have all the equipment and paper and tissue and tape and and and..........
So why am I doing this if it makes me crazed?
Well, I spelled it out below and I want to share. And a few cents won't hurt!

Dumb.....!

I am always on the look out for new bases to convert into clocks. I often use plates like this one:

And I have made many with discarded CDs like these:


I've used trays and baskets as well. Two weeks ago DH & I were wandering in a "junk" store. Now it wasn't junk as in garbage, but just a bit of everything from art to lamps to dog food and spaghetti strainers. You never know what you'll find. I found wood plaques with great,whimsical pictures on them and said "Clocks". I bought 2 and almost immediately wished I got more since the price was more than great! Went home, made the clocks, listed and yes, sold immediately. So I thought to go back and get some more. Mind you when I was there the 1st time, there were dozens. This store is easily the size of a football field so I walked and walked and walked until I finally found 3, just 3 left and not the adorable ones I bought which are here:




The lesson in this story: When you see it, stock up!!!

The Sales Curse

A few months after I started on Etsy, I decided to post a shadow box I had made which had been hanging in my bedroom. I actually put a fairly high price on it, not being well versed in the art yet. Literally 15 minutes later it sold. Hmmmmmmmm.... I went out, bought the materials for 2-3 more, made them, posted them and there they sat.
Last year I saw something in a catalog I thought I could reproduce better. I did. It enabled me to use the vast majority of mini chairs that I had collected. The finished product elicited raves from family and friends so I posted them. Have you guessed yet? They sat.
I have made dozens of magnetic bookmarks which sell in real life 10 to 1 as opposed to online. Why?
Today I posted a pair of handwarmers made from an upcycled sweater with crochet trim...an experiment for me. One hour later they sold. So the questions begs...do I make more? Or do I not press my luck?!

Art & Craft Fairs

I have close friends who are dealers of antiques that are quite pricey by most standards. I have been privy to their ups and downs for years and I ache for them when a show is a bust & applaud with them when they have success. The hauling of heavy goods, the endurance of long hours, the muddy field or the cold concrete floors have been chapters in their lives forever. Irregular, unpredictable, and very hard work.
For the rare times I do shows, I think of them & I ache more for them with the preparation, the set-up, the anxiety, the boredom, the cost and on and on. I don't think the general public appreciates the before,during and after effort that is necessary for craft fairs and shows.
I did a local show today and was quite pleased with the results though we are exhausted. It's nice to know that some really care about my work & that their purchase of it supports my dream. To them I say "THANK YOU".
For those that say "Oh, now I know what to do with Grandma's buttons" or "How cute, how clever, I'll have to try that at home" , I say be my guest, do it, try it and call me when you're trying to sell it and I'll come look, and touch, and measure and comment under my breath "Hmph, I could do that".

IndieSmiles

Indie Smiles is a neat website run by 2 terrific gals who love to promote independent artists and crafters. To quote them "Indiesmiles is a one stop shopping source of online Indie shops at a discount! Here, you can discover new and emerging talent while shopping around for that perfect gift or unique item for yourself WHILE finding the best indie deals out there."
I was involved with them awhile back in a coupon promotion and now I'm a columnist! I think I've been selling online long enough to offer a bit of wisdom/advice. I certainly read alot, trying to learn more about the web. My first article is Packaging On A Dime and it's all about well, packaging! It was funny because before actual submission, I had to cut the number of words as I had too many. When it was edited what they put in was what I cut! So I guess Sue, El and I are on the same page. Also visit riricreations -her photo accompanies the article.
But before you go look at these my first sale on Zibbet!

Independence Day

***Happy July 4th-have a great weekend and be safe!***

Moving!

I know in my last post I was a little down and closed my ArtFire shop. So what did I go and do? Opened a new Etsy shop....! Etsy is still the leader among the handmade buying and selling venues and I do have some loyalty to the site. My own shop, All About The Buttons, has been a positive experience but I felt the shop was becoming a bit too eclectic. Everything was tied together by buttons but clocks and knitted items were beginning to clash. My new shop is All About The Fiber and while things will have buttons, this will only include things made with fiber...yarn and ribbons specifically.
Many thanks to MoxieRings for my banner. I am slowly moving things over to the new shop...what a tedious process! For awhile there will be crossover items but by the end of July I hope to have it completed. Please visit!

Button Up

I just had a wonderful write up on SilkFair titled "Button Up" which is ironic since I almost named my company that!


Button up

Now for some sales!!!
Newest here-I'm on a barrette roll!