Saturday Shopping...in the rain!

Another busy weekend at Button HQ...the only difference this weekend was, we had an extra day, yay!

With the website now complete AND live! yup that's right www.thebuttonprincess.co.uk IS open and ready for business...uh huh, oh yea!!!

Anyway I digress...now the website's under my belt the next thing on my "to do list"...I'm a big one for lists!!! was a little jaunt over to Bletchley to a couple of gems of shops I've discovered on my travels.

The first was to Fabric World, which I am the first to admit does not set the world ablaze at first sight from the front of the shop BUT is a positive Aladins cave where fabric and haberdashery is concerned. It reminds me of how material shops used to be back in the olden days...when I say "olden days" I mean the 70's and early 80's when you could find fabric shops on the high street...now I am afraid they are like hens teeth.

Fabric World was recomended to me last year when I was doing a sewing class. Mama Button and I took a trip down to investigate and I must say, I thought I'd been sent as a joke but once inside....well let's put it this way...we were in there for nearly two hours!!!

If Fabric World don't stock it, you don't need it or it never was made in the first place!!!

The purpose of my trip on Saturday was to get a new covering for craft fair stalls. With the website, I've undergone a bit of a re-branding/make-over so I wanted to get a grey/silver covering to tie everything in. It was a painfull experience to say the very least but after my third attempt taking a bolt to the counter, I got what I wanted...watch this space for photos of my first re-branded craft fair on Saturday 7th September (details on the website).

My second stop in Bletchley was to Homespun Crafts. Again a little gem on Queensway. For such a little shop it packs a punch and is like a craft department store.

It was a flying visit as I'd been in Fabric World for much longer than I'd planned to be and I had a train to catch. I did manage to pick up a few bags of freshwater pearls in gorgeous greys and golds...teh golds have already made their way onto some necklaces I made yesterday. I also got some super glam crystal and pearl shanked buttons which I have already turned into rings...they'll be going into stores this weekend and on the website later in the week.

For your information Homespun Crafts are having a mega sale this week...EVERYTHING, yes EVERYTHING in store is HALF PRICE or 50% off. The sale ends on Saturday 31st August.

Inspirational Elements - Swarovski...

Each week I am looking at doing a post on Jewellery that inspires me, is trending or a celebrity style that I’m liking...

On my way to work yesterday, the Swarovski store under the office I work in had a large poster in the window advertising their new A/W range...I did have a quick look in the window at all that glittered and was sparkling and thought I would start my first weekly post with Swarovski.

I must admit, I’ve not always been a fan. I’m sure this could be a controversial thing to say but I am not one for Swarovski’s Disney and Hello Kitty designs...they remind me of Liberace, if you get my drift?!?!?! BUT I am aware that we all have different tastes and that’s what makes the world go round...Cor blimey, could you imagine if everyone liked the same things...it doesn’t bear thinking about :/

However, I’m not quite sure what has happened to Swarovski in recent times but they seem to be getting a bit more “with-it”, with some of their designs being really quite “edgy” with an air of “rock-chick” about them...a far cry from their Disney and Hello Kitty designs of the past and present...and I like ‘em, I like ‘em a lot! Their newer designs remind me of "Silver Service Jewellery", more about them later.

With Swarovski’s new A/W range now hitting the high streets, I thought I’d have a trawl through their collections and I have to say they are really good. I’m showing some of the designs that I felt really stood out with details of the design name and price, in case you wanted to spend any of your hard earned pennies at your local emporium.

If the Swarovski price tag is a little steep for your pocket, I have been inspired by some of their bracelets and am thinking of doing some sparkly bangles in a similar theme...at a fraction of the price!

Slake Dark Bracelet £54. Also available in fuchsia ruby, purple and light (grey)

                                                                                     Vi Bracelet £79

                                                                                   Venetie Bracelet £79

                    
      Vi Necklace in rose gold £59. Also available in silver

                        Media Necklace £119

Vesuve Ring £119

                   Mini Gold & Black Chic Ring £119

   

Fit Dark Pierced Earrings £99. Also available in silver and gold

                                         
                   Smoothly Pierced Earrings £99

                   Tiana Pierced Earrings £99

Tamarillo Pierced Earring £69

Stylish Jewellery Storage Ideas...

Orphaned teacups and saucers are perfect vessels for sorting jewellery, and when arranged in a velvet-lined drawer, they give you an easy-to-see bird's-eye view of your bijoux. To set it up, measure the height of the drawer's side (not the front), then gather beautiful vintage teacups that's slightly shorter. Line the drawer with velvet or felt to prevent rattling and sliding, then position the teacups. Hook drop earrings on rims of cups, nestle necklaces within them, and stash chunkier beads and bangles on individual saucers.

 

 

If surface area in your bedroom is scarce, try a wall-mounted solution on for size. This jazzed-up shadow box, retrofitted with a variety of hooks and knobs, shelters delicate earrings and chains from possible entanglements while turning them into objets d'art. Small decorative bowls perched on the box's lower ledge corral rings, pins, and brooches and complete the charming trinket tableau.

 

 

 

courtesy of marthastewart.com 

Oh My Giddy Aunt...!!!

Oh my giddy aunt! What promise the day holds already!!!

My new shooooz from Boden arrived yesterday and are looking "fly" on my size 5's...I just love 'em, they're SO Bet Lynch meets Disco Dolly!!! I think they are going to have to be surgically removed as I want to sleep in them and never take them off!!

I am finally getting to thumb my way through the September issue of "Beads & Beyond" magazine. I get so full of inspiration at the projects and articles inside that it makes me want to break out my jewellery kit bag right there and then...even if I'm on the tube or on a rickety old bus hurtling down pot hole ridden streets in Buckinghamshire...lol!!!

Please let me finish the website soon so I can start making pretty jewellery again...

 

And the cherry on the cake, sorry no pun intended...."The Great British Bake Off" is back tonight on the tellybox. I'm so giddy with excitement....the 20th August 2013 must go down in the history books as the MOST exciting day EVER!!!

No Rest for the Wicked...

Phewww WHAT a busy weekend was had at Button HQ, I'm almost glad to be back at the day job for the rest, lol!

On Saturday I took myself over to Northampton to drop off stock and meet the lovely Julia in person at Lillie Vanille. WHAT a lovely little shop, a positive cornucopia if all things handmade and yummy!

Lillie Vanillie is basically a perpetual craft fair in a shop. Julia has in excess of thirty traders on her books now, all under one roof. Business is going sooooo well that next month they are moving from their little shop in Gold Street Mews to a four storey shop on the high street. I was really impressed with Julia's vision and enthusiasm, it's very infectious!

I managed to take lots of photos of the shop and its lovely offerings which I shall pepper throughout this post.

After three years making and selling my jewellery, I'm finally building a website for my business. So this weekend also saw me taking the last few photos of stock that thought "they'd got away". I stayed up into the wee small hours of Saturday night/Sunday morning finally finishing the descriptions for the stock on the website.

My mum AKA Mama Button did me a huge favour and with a fine toothcomb went through all the items in the shop looking for rickets, thankfully there weren't many, just a few daft spelling mistakes, which I put down to being tired at the time of writing!

SO I am now in a position where I have just a few twiddly bits in the background to do and to order some new business cards using the new re-branding style and I'm pretty much good to go with the launch of the website....Hallelujah!!!

I'm really excited also really nervous about launching my baby on the poor unsuspecting World Wide Web!

So watch this space for more news about me going global!

These photos are just a small selection of all the yummy goodness available at Lillie Vanillie in Northampton.

Like and follow Julia's page on Facebook -  

Lillie Vanillie Vintage & Handmade

OR visit the store at 8 Gold Street Mews, Northampton NN1 1RA

This Blogging Malarky's Hard Work...

Pheeeew! I've not even started yet and this blogging malarky's bloomin' hard work!

Being new to this and having an aversion to reading instructions and wanting to learn as I go, it can sometimes take me a little bit longer to get in the swing of things. BUT where I lack in my aversion to reading instructions, I make up for in perseverance..so one counterbalances the other right???

I've just spent the last hour adding all the blogs I follow on my phone onto Blogger, sounds easy and most of it was, however, when I hit a wall I was stuck for advice on how to fix things...well that's me all over, new things scare me, Facebook's been my comfort blanket for too long!

Anywho...Feel free to have a mooch through the blogs I follow. There are some pretty talented people out there, whether they do what they do for a living or just like to dabble, the pages are worth a look.

New Kid on the Block...

Right where do I start??? Am I talking to myself or is there anyone out there listening or rather reading this???

Well my name's Emma and the reason I am starting this blog is...I like to talk, tee hee hee!

As well as talking I like lovely things, I love buttons and I love to make jewellery and cakes and occasionally get my little sewing machine out to show that he's not been forgotten. Just think of me as an aspiring Martha Stewart!

This blog, I hope will be a companion to my Facebook page and website, which I am currently building. SO I m hoping that I will be updating the blog regularly with what I am up to, whether that be doing craft fairs or out exploring new things...

With that in mind why not kick back and enjoy the journey with me* x

*the journey might be a bit bumpy to start with, so, you might want to fasten your seat belts initially!