A Giant Ladybug

When we first started making our lady bugs, we had no idea they would be so popular.  We sometimes receive requests for custom items from customers at the local shops that sell our work.  One customer asked for a ladybug shawl pin with our "signature leaf" stick.  This is the design we created that has both a green and a black and white leaf stick that can be interchanged for a different look.

Special Made Crochet Hooks

We have been extra busy this year as we have added lots of new items to sell in the yarn shops.  Some of these are specialty type items for knitting and crocheting.  Our crochet hooks were a bigger hit than we expected them to be so are selling fast.  Each handle is covered in clay in our own decorative patterns, with extra care taken on the "grip" part so it is comfortable while holding.

The hook size is embedded into the end for identification.

They are sold individually in sizes 2.0 through 10.0 and also in a 6 piece "made to order" set that includes a soft faux leather case.

We have also come out with an interchangeable crochet hook set.  The heads easily interchange in the handle that is covered with our own decorative floral patterns.

All our crochet hooks are available at:

Donna's Yarn & Craft

(Northshore, Kamloops)

and

Intwinted Fibre Arts

(Downtown, Salmon Arm) 

Brilliant Blooms Buttons

I've been creating all sorts of things with our new bright flower canes.  These are our new Brilliant Blooms Buttons.  They are already for sale at Donna's Yarn & Craft in Kamloops and will be available in other local shops soon.

Like our "Toglets", they are sold individually rather than in a package to make it easier for purchasing any quantity and mixing up the colors.

I should mentioned that all of our buttons are totally washable (hand or machine wash and dry). Some styles of ours we recommend turning the garment or using a lingerie bag.  They should never be dry cleaned as the solvents could react with the clay.

This is a favorite summer sweater of mine that I switched out the factory made buttons for our Brilliant Blooms.  I think they give that extra touch that I was looking for.

Knit Your Own Scarf Necklace

Donna from Donna's Yarn & Craft in Kamloops worked out some simple scarf patterns to go along with our scarf jewelry.  These are two variations of one pattern that are quick to whip up and if you are an average knitter, can be created in only a few hours.  She has the pattern available now and will have the "published" pattern available in her store by the end of the month.

Quilt Show at Heather's Fabric Shelf

We are getting ready for our first show of the year which is the Quilt Show 2014 put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops, BC.  Each year it has been getting larger and this year the hours are even extended to accommodate the flood of people who participate and attend.  It is on Sunday, April 13, 2014 from 9am to 4pm.  It takes place at the Holiday Inn & Suites that is across the parking lot from Heather's Fabric Shelf store where there is more to see there.  Click on the photo below to go to their site and read more about it.

We will be set up again in the Holiday Inn Lobby along with Donna and her mom Elsie from Donna's Yarn & Crafts.  They will have some cool new ideas and supplies for your knitting, crocheting and crafting needs.

Just a sneak peek of what they have been up to, these are some adorable "Ruffled Baby Booties" that Donna crocheted and we added our Toglet buttons to.  Donna will have the pattern and yarn available at the show and later in her store but if you do not crochet or have the time, I am sure she could make a pair for you.

There are a few other new ideas that we have been brainstorming together and will give you another peek before the show.

More Color Matching For Buttons

Donna's Yarn & Craft in North shore Kamloops, had some new yarn arrive in their store that is so soft and luxurious.  She asked us to color match some of them and create an assortment of buttons to coordinate.  I love the color of this yarn which is a sort of peacock blue.

We made some textured buttons in the solid color as well as antiqued in white. 

This is the same brand of yarn in the Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color of Cayenne.

And here are some buttons in the basket weave pattern antiqued in white.

This yarn is super soft and variegated in the Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Colors of Sand and Celosia Orange.

These are some textured buttons we made in the Celosia Orange.

These yarns and our handcrafted buttons are now available at Donna's.

Colorful Toggle Buttons

After making a lot of buttons in brown tones for the past while, I was happy to be mixing up some bright colors again.  These colorful toggle buttons are the small mini type, or as Dave likes to call them, "toglets".  They are a result of another custom request from one of our stores that sells our work.  I was discussing with Donna of Donna's Yarn & Craft in Kamloops about making some toggle buttons and wanted her input.  She showed me a small toggle they had in a plain bamboo and wondered if we could make something similar but in different colors.  She was receiving a lot of requests for these for children's wear and especially for boys.

After working out our technique, the little "toglets" were created in a variety of colors.

Mini toggle buttons or "toglets"

We used a few of the Pantone Spring 2014 fashion colors, Violet Tulip and Placid Blue.  The other colors are favorites from our color system collection.  These mini toggle buttons are now available at Donna's Yarn and Craft in Northshore, Kamloops.

We are also making some new sample color chips for a few of the stores we do custom work for.  This will make it easier for them and their customers in selecting their button colors to match the yarns or fabric they are purchasing.

color sample chips for buttons

Ladies in Red

It has been an extremely busy month but looks like things are quickly getting back to normal.  We have  mainly been filling store orders as this is a busy time of year for them which, of course, is good for us.

For the past year and especially during this Christmas season, we have had more jewelry requests in the color red.  We rarely make the same item in the same color combination more than once but we have repeated certain designs (in limited amounts) due to customer requests and popularity.

Here are some of our creations in this seasonal jewel-tone color.

Other than it being Christmas, there is another reason the color red has been so popular.  Many of you have heard of the Red Hat Society.  Well there is another group of ladies called the "Crown Jewels of Canada" (CJC).  I had the opportunity to meet with some of the ladies who are members of the CJC and after learning more about the group, I felt inspired to make more items in red.

We had bought some kilt brooch pins some time ago hoping to make some sweater pins with them.  These ones shown here as well as other styles and colors are now available at Donna's Yarn & Craft (north shore Kamloops) and will also be listed in our online shop soon.

More Scarf Jewelry

The Kamloops Craft-a-fair last Sunday went really well.  We were fortunate to have our good friend, Denyse, come with us to help set up and sell.  She was a huge help and great fun to have around.  Thanks Denyse!

Unfortunately, we were so busy we didn't even get the chance to take any photos of our display this time.  I still cannot believe that our main Christmas show of the year has now come and gone and there is already snow on the hills surrounding our little village of Chase.

Our scarf jewelry was a big hit again at the Craft-a-Fair this year along with our interchangeable earring system.  We finally have time to dedicate to designing and making new pieces.

Donna's Yarn & Craft on north shore in Kamloops now has a wide selection of our scarf jewelry and earring pieces ready for the Christmas season.

We will also be adding some of our pieces to our online shops over the next few days.

Donna's Yarn and Craft Centre

Today I thought I would blog about Donna's Yarn and Craft Centre which is located on North Shore in Kamloops.  Of all the stores that sell our work, they have the largest selection including everything from our handcrafted buttons and shawl pins to our beads and jewelry making supplies.  And now Donna's has a nice selection of our scarf jewelry along with our art beads and ear wires for the interchangeable earring system.

This is Donna (on the right) and her mom, Elsie, who is her partner and main helper.  Between the two of them, they know or can figure out any type of knitting or crochet pattern and if you are ever stuck, they are always willing to help you out.

Donna is a very talented lady and besides knitting she does sewing and alterations as well as jewelry making.   One of the reasons we love working with Donna is how we are always bouncing ideas off each other and as a result we have collaborated on several projects.

For instance these toggle type fasteners were inspired from a knitting pattern she had come across and asked if I could make some for her to sell.  They are a sort of buckle / button combination used to fasten a sweater  or shrug.  I made the larger section in a variety of colors, shapes and textures.  They are all in a solid color so that most of our buttons can be combined with them for the fastening part.

I mentioned that Donna does sewing and alterations.  She was altering a coat for a customer and requested I cover a belt buckle for the back to match our buttons she added on the front.  This was a fun project and it was the perfect finishing touch.  That is what I enjoy the most about working with polymer clay is that you can cover almost anything.  The texture I used here is one of my favorites by Helen Breil, called the Conga Line.

And remember the icebox cookie buttons we made a few months ago?  You can read the original blog post here.

They were for a project that Elsie (Donna's mom) was working on.  Here is the finished project which is a quilted casserole cover done in a cookie pattern fabric.

We also do a lot of custom made to order items for Donna's customers such as shawl pins or buttons in colors to match the yarn they are purchasing.  I blogged a while back about one of Donna's special customers, Diane.  (You can read it here.)

Diane is an avid knitter and always has several projects at a time she is working on.  Now she is learning to crochet so Donna asked if I could cover a few crochet hooks in clay for Diane and if I could somehow mark them in braille.

 -- By the way, --- Did I mention that Diane is blind?

I hadn't done anything like that before and was fun to see if my experiment worked.  Diane's face totally lit up when she discovered the numbers done in braille (on the side at the end) and could actually figure them out.

Photo bottom left shows the numbers in braille.

Donna's is one of the many fascinating stores that make my work a lot more fun and enjoyable.

Unveiling of our Kamloops Button and a Great Quilt Show

We had a great time yesterday as we participated in one of the most unique and best shows ever, -- the 4th annual quilt show put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops, B.C.  The show extended from Heather's store to the Holiday Inn hotel next door which is where we were set up with our display featuring our  handcrafted buttons, accessories and scarf jewelry.  We had the opportunity to show off some of our new designs as well as have a wide selection of our buttons on hand.  I spent part of the time demoing with my clay to show how we make our buttons and other pieces using various techniques.

We had a fun time with Elsie and Donna of Donna's Yarn & Craft who were set-up next to us.  They also  have a large collection of our handcrafted shawl pins, beads, buttons and other wearable accessories in their store.

There were, of course, a lot of fabulous quilts at the show, some of which were real masterpieces.

  

This was a special quilt challenge using a specific fabric to create something unique.  The pieces were incredible with everything from wall hangings and bags to even a bird house!

And of course Heather's Fabric Shelf was filled with customers waiting for an exciting moment to happen in their store -- the unveiling of a new fabric line by a Canadian company, Cantik Batiks.

This is Heather of Heather's Fabric Shelf, along with Kevin (manager) and Shania (the designer) of Cantik Batiks ready to unveil the new fabric line designed especially for Heather's store and this show which is based on some photos taken of Kamloops scenery.

And now the exciting news:  Heather commissioned us to create a special button for this fabric and event.  She also created a handbag pattern incorporating our "Kamloops" button.

And here are a few of the buttons:

And the buttons shown on several bags:

And finally, this is Heather and Bill and their adorable little store mascot/boss.  They were too busy that day to get a picture of the two of them together and since I love this photo, I stole it off their facebook page.  They are an awesome couple and they did a wonderful job on the quilt show and is a real pleasure to  be a part of this event and a real honor to have our handcrafted items in their store.