When is a button not a button?

When its a cufflink ofcourse!

Its my Grandad's 90th birthday in a couple of weeks time, what do you get/make a man who has everything?  I decided that a man can never have enough cufflinks especially when they are handmade by his grand-daughter!  If you were lucky enough to meet my grandad you would never believe he is 90 years old.  I hope that if I live as long as him that I am as mentally and physically alert as he is.  He lives in Canada now and is travelling over for a holiday, I can't wait to see him, I still really miss him eventhough he has been living in Canada for a number of years now.

Here's how the cufflinks look when not on a shirt.  They are on sterling silver chain and bar.

I've got a thing about making buttons at the moment.  Here are some more sets, some with matching big hole beads which I think will become a bracelet.












Thanks for looking.  Hope you're manageing to keep warm, its -2 here which is cold for us, I know some of my relies in Canada will be scoffing at that.

Buttons Etc...

I have had a couple of sessions at the torch since my last post and some of the resulting beads have even become a necklace!

I've attached the beads to a hand-dyed silk ribbon from Di using some cotton cord.  I'm really pleased with the combination of beads with shank style buttons.  I am also particluarly hooked on the green and purple theme, perhaps it's because Halloween is looming?

I've been practising some more with my marble press

And with my two-holed button mandrels

You know what they say about practice, practice, practice.  Who knows I might even get a chance to have another session tonight.  Having said that I have started to go to Knit and Natter at Jumble Jelly and I have embarked on a shawl project, I'll post some pics at some point.  I might just curl up on the sofa with my knitting.....



Into Autumn

My my didn't time fly!?!  Summer has been and gone and now we are back into the frantic daily routines of getting to school with all the equipment required for lessons and clubs.  Added to the chaos was a 4th birthday of a certain little boy.  A UFO cake was requested and I have to say that I was quietly pleased with the results.

It was in danger of looking abit helmet-like so I popped the spacemen on the cake board for good measure.  One of my 7 year old daughters was allowed a sneak preview before the big day, after the grand unveiling she looked at it and said 'it looks quite good but I think you should use the left over icing to make craters so it looks like its on the moon...........'  If she had seen the trouble I had with icing the cake she would have known better than to make such a suggestion.  The birthday boy was pleased with it so mission accomplished.

For those interested I made a Victoria sponge cake in a 9" tin and used the same mixture in a pudding basin to put on the top.  I sliced the pudding basin section in half and added a layer of jam and then used jam to stick it onto the base cake.  I covered the whole lot in butter icing and then in regal icing.  The decoration is fruit shoelaces and milkybar buttons, large for the bottom section and small on the top section.

The other project I have been working is a range of buttons that I can offer wholesale.

I also have blue to add to the range but I need to photograph some.  The idea is that this gives customers something to order from but I do have a section on my order form called 'Free Choice Wild Card'.  I added the wild card section so that I get to make any colour combos that I like, the customer just has to tell me how many they want and if any of them need to be sets.  I have buttons for sale in Etsy shop or if you are interested in wholesale drop me a line.

I popped into my friend's shop Eggcup Clothing today to show her some sample buttons and I am very excited that she is going to use my buttons in her designs - even her bridesmaid collection!!!!  We threaded one of the buttons through a button loop of a bridesmaid dress to get a rough idea of what it would look like - it looked stunning, if I do say so myself.

Anywho, I'm off to bed to get some shut-eye ready for the school dash in the morning.

Something for Girls

I still don't have my oxycon so no new beads to share.  Instead I have been focussing my energy on using the beads I have in my stash.  Just thought I would share these really cute girls' bracelets with you.  The bangles are made of nickel free metal, incorporating my own lampwork beads and buttons.  They are fastened a bit like a safety pin with a hook on one end and a ball on the other.  I will be getting around to listing them in my Etsy shop over the next couple of days.  I hope you like them!

I also had some bits and bobs to use up from a previous workshop.  These are lovely little bracelets made with cotton cord.  Again all the metal components are 100% nickel free.  Here is a sample, I have a few more in different colourways.  These will also make their way into my Etsy shop, unless they are sold in the meantime!

Buttons

Having a play with buttons at the moment inspired by my friend's request for some childrens jewellery for her shop .  Eggcup Clothing have opened their first shop in Devizes and it is beautiful.  I make daisy chain necklaces with matching bracelets (pics to follow at some point), which are lovely but I wanted to offer something more affordable as well so I came up with these:

They don't look much here but they are really pretty when worn.  They beauty is in the selection of buttons.  I'll be popping into the shop to see what she thinks, wish me luck!

Autumn Leaves etc..

It doesn't feel much like Autumn today, its grey and wet.  Yesterday was a totally different story with beautiful blue skies and bright sun.  I pulled out my bead stash and found these lovely leaf beads which compliment the green and yellow glass beads that I reclaimed from an antique shop.  I don't often use autumnal colours so this is something different from me.   However, if you look closely you will notice that I have still included the obligatory lampwork in the form of some buttons!

I managed to get some torch time in at mum and dad's on Friday.  We still don't have a definite move date yet so we are still in our rented accomodation which is beginning to wear abit thin!  This means that I am confined to getting torch time over at my parents' place.  This is what the kiln fairies left for me. 

This is a a little set of two 'Beau Beads' with a matching small hole bead.  They have got light blue centres, encased in clear with cobalt blue and white dots on the surface.  I have an idea for these along the lines of a Beau Necklace....  I have also started to play with making buttons and this is what came out of Friday's session.

These are cute little buttons measuring approximately 8mm accross.  They have a cobalt blue base with copper green flowers.  The next picture shows you what the buttons look like from behind.

These buttons make me want to get out the sewing machine... not enough hours in the day at the moment.  I have a tunic pattern that I have cut out and now needs sewing together - one day I'll get it done *sigh*.  Now, better get on and make that Beau Necklace prototype, stay posted for an update.