Button Cluster Necklaces

A couple of weeks ago I made one of these button necklaces for myself. There were some teething problems with the prototype but after I got some new wire in Silkes and ordered some chain online I was much better equipped to tackle making more of them.

I love that each piece is unique with the build up of texture and colour from all the different sizes of buttons. The only down side is that I'm burning through my button collection at a phenomenal rate with all these button projects that I'm doing; something that I never thought was possible with all my 1000's of buttons. Even though I love the brightly coloured ones I think my favourite is the last one as it has a good few wooden, marbled and metal buttons in it that really play off each other well.

At the moment I'm keeping these for the opeing of the Limerick Craft & Design shop but when I get more time I would like to list a few in my Etsy shop and also have a couple on my stall. Since they are so much more time consuming that my other pieces there will be a more limited supply of them. I plan on getting nice gift boxes for them, so I'd say with the pretty packaging I'll charge €30 for them.

If anyone would like to buy one of these before the craft shop opens just leave a comment or an email and I'd be happy to help you out. By the way they are much lighter than they look, I barely notice it when I'm wearing mine.

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Lots of New Supplies to Play With

Look what the postman delivered this morning!!


I knew I had to do a major restock of jewellery making supplies, I had run low on pretty much everything. Last week I went on an etsy supplies shopping spree, after lots of searching I found some great new suppliers. I got 100 ball chain necklaces and really pretty polka dot ribbon and buttons from twpmango. Since I'm paying for shipping to Ireland I look for shops that do good deals on their secondary shipping and I try to buy multiple items from the same shop to try to save money. 


I made some simple button necklaces a while back that have been selling really well, but I never knew what to search for when buying the disc that you glue the button to. After much searching I eventually figured out the name for what I needed to make my button necklaces, bails, I got them from studio29 supplies, and they are a much better price than what I got before.


 Pretty soon after I made my shrink plastic wine charms I decided to make some charm bracelets, using the same templates that I had designed. After much searching and price/quality comparisons I found these blank charm bracelets and a few other bits and bobs from Small Parts. I think these supplies will be the first ones I play with as I really excited to see how they turn out. Who knew when I discovered shrink plastic about two years ago that I would become completely addicted to it, and create a whole new range of work!! I also got some basic chain so that I can make more of these button necklaces to sell. The brown one I made for myself got lots of compliments when I wore it out so that was a good sign that they would sell well. I got the proper wire in Silkes and now they just need to be finished off with some chain. I already have about 6 of them made and ready to go.


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Button Headbands

 I made a bunch of button hair bands from the hairbands that I got in Claire's the other day. It was really simple, I just picked out some contrasting buttons and sewed them on with embroidery thread. I sewed them over the metal bit so it was hidden, I also went through the elastic so the wouldn't move about.

I apparently have the wrong shaped head for headbands as these kept coming off, I think it's too round or something. Anyhow I'll have this bunch at my stall on Sunday, and if there is a demand for them I'll make more.

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Glasses, n' Hats, and Bargains, Oh My!

I caught the bargain bug earlier in the week on my pound shop shopping spree. I was wandering down Cruises Street when I bumped into my friend Dee who works in Claire's Accessories, in a super nice moment she shortened her lunch break to accompany me on a little browse around their sale. You can get 10 items for €10, how could I pass up an offer like that??! At first glance I thought I wasn't going to see enough that I liked but after a bit of rummaging and trying on every hat in the shop I found lots of hidden goodies.

It's kinda embarrassing to admit that I bought hipster glasses but I fell in love with these so I bought them, and a little part of me died on the inside. I do actually need to get real glasses quite badly, I just need to save up a few quid and make an appointment. I'll ask if I can get lenses put into these frames, apparently that's something that they can do. I lost my large brown sunglasses last year, I already have a great pair of duck egg ones but they don't suit brown clothes so I needed a new pair. These are large and fabulous but don't have any bling on them, which I really dispise.

I also got these two hats, they are not the normal style that I go for but I thought I could risk being adventurous at that price. The larger brown hat will go really well with a floaty Summer dress. I'm not so thrilled about the monstrous bobble on the beige one, but I can replace it with something much nicer very easily.

On top of all that I picked up some plain hair bands(10 in total), I've been meaning to order a bunch online for ages as I want to make button hair bands. I also got a pair of laces black tights(you can never have to many pairs of tights!) and two bottles of crackle nail polish. I've never tried using them before, but I've gotten into painting my nails lately so I thought I would give it a bash, they are lovely shades of cerulean blue and lime green.

As I said I got all this for €10, the sale price would have been about €40 but Dee said that the total original price would have been over €90!!

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My first attempt at an image rollover!

I'm feeling ever so slightly chuffed with myself. I just spent the past hour and a half doing a completely pointless computer nerd task!I learned how to do an image rollover using CSS. Armed with my new knowledge I had to pop over to Photoshop to make an image worthy of such a fancy rollover!


Et Voila a phone poptastic homage to Blondie's 'Hangin' on the telephone'.


I was inspired by the fabulous Pugly Pixel as she has a very pretty collage how-to, and I got the code from Say Point. I would like to know how to make it centred though. Keep an eye out for more rollovers on the blog, although they may be a bit more subtle than this one.


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What I'm Wearing: 90's Flashback

After my marathon of watching My So Called Life I put together this homage to the Angela Chase look (I'm not really young enough or brave enough to dress like Rayanne Graff). I picked up these denim shorts on sale in A-Wear for only a fiver, they are somewhere between nice and old lady, but they are in fashion so I kinda get away with it. As soon as I put them on with some black tights I knew they had to go with my Docs, hence the MSCL outfit.

At heart I'm still a grunge girl so this aesthetic might be making a reappearance in the near future. It brought back memories of watching my video of Singles repeatedly, making mix tapes for my friends(and drawing artwork for them), saving up my pocket money so I could buy posters, docs, new cds, and books. I was one of those teenagers that hung around Central Bank near Temple Bar every Saturday, it seems like a million years ago, I suppose it kinda was. 

Shoes: Free, I did a swap with a friend

Shorts: A-Wear €5 on sale

Vest: Dunnes €2

Top: Pennies €7

Belt: Free with some trousers

Necklace: a 30th birthday present from a friend

Bag: tweed satchel Pennies €4

Ring: button ring made by me €5

Jacket: checker jacket charity shop €10

Hat: Claire's Accessories €2

Outfit Total: €35

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Illustrated Wine Charms

I don't know why I didn't think to make shrink plastic wine charms before, the very fact that they are illustrated means that they are perfectly suited for making matching sets. These are the first four sets that I've made but I plan on making loads more of them. The only thing I've yet to figure out is how to display them. I tried using a card for the button ones that I made but they don't do them any justice. I think I might get bracelet boxes to match the other ones that I got, it would make them more substantial.

I've listed them here in my etsy shop at €15 per set, I was in two minds about the price. Looking at other handmade charms on Etsy they are much more expensive, but I know I won't sell that many if I price them any higher. I'll have to see how they go and adjust accordingly.

Update: My bracelet boxes arrived sooner than I expected and they work perfectly. I'm much happier with them displayed like this and they would make a really nice gift for someone in this cute presentation box.

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Beating the Recession One Shopping Trip at a Time

I'm a big fan of pound shops(I know we got rid of punts years ago but I just can't bring myself to call them euro stores, it's wrong!). Back when I was in college I had a love affair with Mary's of Limerick, then they closed their doors forever and the bargain hunters cried for it's loss. Then we got the €2 Store, where everything is, you guessed it, €2; my thrifty love affair was rekindled. Then when Dealz (where everything is only €1.49) opened William St got an even bigger boost in becoming a bargain hunters Mecca. From there it kinda snowballed, with loads of tacky homeware shop popping up, add into the mix 4 charity shops and it now one of my favourite shopping streets. Although there is the a really dodgy bus stop that seems to attract very scary people, I usually cross the street at that point(which gives me a good excuse to go into Awear).


On Sunday I popping in to get some tape, but due to my chronic hungover stage I went a little mad and got loads of other stuff too; there is nothing like a bit of low budget retail therapy to make a girl feel better!!


My booty:
100 sheets of sticker paper
24 sheets of canvas paper
4 sheets of magnetic paper
10 laminating pouches
4 rolls of cellotape
19 padded envelopes of various sizes
sesame oil
terry's orange chocolate(it's not terry's it's mine!!)
36 large stickers(perfect for card making)
I save the best til last....
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters unabridged on audio book (only €1.49 wtf???)


Total: €31.23


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Hotty But Notty: Beck

Hotty But Notty (Part 19): Beck

So it's a given that Beck is a musical genius, I pretty much love everything he does, and he seems to be able to slip between lots of genres with equal ease, ergo he is pretty amazing. He is also as cute as a button in a little boy kinda way, which is not normally my thing but I'll make an exception for him( and Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenburg too). So where is the 'notty' bit coming from you ask?

Well little did I know, until my friend Mark informed me, that he is a Scientologist*. Now I'm not normally one to judge people based on their religious beliefs, but really come on we all know Scientology is for crazy people. Since most of this series has been dedicated to me fancy smart people I find it hard to be attracted to someone who believes in a religion created by a science fiction writer(among other things).

*So is one of my previous entries Giovanni Ribisi, who's sister Beck is married too, weird huh?

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Singing in The Rain at The Milk Market

The Milk Market are doing something that I think is genius, doing outdoor screenings of old films. You get all the loveliness of being outside while having a roof over your head. It is the perfect venue for doing something like this. I know these outdoor screenings have been really popular in other countries, so I hope it catches on here. At the moment there are two two films scheduled, but if there is a high demand then I'm sure they will continue them. 

They are starting Sat 28th July, a good choice of night as I usually try to avoid pubs as they are way too packed with the Saturday night fever office crowd, so this is a nice alternative. They are also doing a deal for four people for €20, which is a pretty darned cheap night out! I have no idea if any of the food vendors will be open, but it would be nice to be able to get a burger or a glass of wine while watching the film. I'll check in with the organiser and leave an update in the comments section.

Here is the blurb:

Classic film ‘Singin’ In the Rain’ at the Milkmarket

With cinema screen and cinema sound, Gene Kelly’s musical ‘Singin in the Rain’ is presented at Limerick ’s Milkmarket in a special showing as part of the Movies at the Market slot on Saturday July 28^th. This is the first of two late evening presentations.

From 1952 ‘Singin in the Rain’ looks at the transition from silent movies to ‘talkies’ and how the stars of the silent screen dealt with the issues. Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen and Debbie Reynolds light up the screen with fantastic songs and dance moves – all done with a generous helping of humour and a great heap of technicolour to boot. ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ has to be seen at least once on the big screen.

Screenings on each night will begin at 9 p.m. before the main feature at 10 p.m., with local archive footage from Limerick Film Archive and film shorts made by teenagers from recent winners at Limerick ’s national competition The Fresh Film Festival. So patrons are advised to come early for this special event. Steven Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ screens on the following Saturday August the 4^th, as the main feature.

Ticket Information:

Tickets are available on the evening for each screening and priced at €7 for individuals and €20 for a group of four.

Tickets will also be available in advance at  the ‘Movies’ stall at the market during Milkmarket opening hours from Friday 20^th July.

Secure online booking for each film: through

http://www.eventelephant.com/singinintherain

and/or

http://www.eventelephant.com/closeencounters

Parking

Located next to the Milkmarket, patrons may park at the Cornmarket Square Car Park from 6pm to midnight at a maximum cost of €3.

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Interview With Me in De/Code Magazine

I was asked to do an interview for Ireland's newest cultural magazine De/Code by the lovely Elaine Kirwin. I was happy to oblige, and she came up with some really insightful questions. You can read it here in their on-line issue, I'm on page ten. Also you can check out their website and Facebook page too.

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What I'm Wearing: Brown Floral Dress

It's been a long while since I did a What I'm Wearing post, so I thought I would take a pic of this outfit while I had it on. As you know I love clashing prints, so I jazzed up this dress I've had for years with this wide sleeved blouse I picked up last week. I used to wear loads of brown, but now looking at my wardrobe I don't have that much of it anymore, looking at this rusty mixes I must keep an eye out for some more as I quite like it with my hair(which went a shade redder last week).

I'm sure you saw the button necklace post I did already, well this was it's first airing, I'll probably wear it against something plainer in the future but I just couldn't resist the colour combination.

The shoes were a great find, I got them at the Milk Market from my friend Sarah for only €5, aren't they yummy? Herself and another friend Malou did a clear out of their wardrobes and sold their finer pieces, I picked up lots of great goodies from them.

Dress: A-Wear €5, I got it years ago, it's super comfy

Blouse: Pennies €5 in the sale

Belt: Free with another top

Shoes: Milk Market €5

Necklace: made by me, this is the prototype, I've no idea if I'll make more or what I'll charge

Outfit total: €15

Recessionista brownie points: 1,000 000

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Wire Wrap Button Necklace

I was a bit twitchy to make something new when I eventually found the energy to crawl my way out of my sick bed. I have a red button necklace that I got in a flea market that I wear all the time, which most people assume I made myself. In the back of my mind of mind I've been meaning to make a new one for ages, so it seemed like the perfect time. 

I've seen a few button cluster necklaces online, but I didn't really know how to go about making one. I picked out a load of nice matching coloured buttons in varying sizes. Then I composed them into this v shape so I had something to work from. After that it was a case of threading the wire through the holes while trying to keep the structure. I was much trickier than I though, and it took me nearly three hours to make. I'd say this had more to do with the fact that the wire I was using was too thick. 

I'd like to make more of them, and maybe sell them in the craft shop when it opens but I would need to watch some wire wrapping tutorials online to make them neater, and also invest in some new wire. As it stands I'm happy with the one I made for myself. Now when people ask 'did you make that?' I can happily answer 'yes'.

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Being Sick and Watching My So Called Life

My so Called Life-Rayanna by nicedaydesigns featuring a black denim skirt

I've been off the radar for a while as I got my four wisdom teeth out of Friday. I was a first for me as I was never in hospital and I had no idea what to expect. The nurses and doctors were really lovely, and helped put my nerves at ease. I was put under for the operation so I wasn't in any pain at all, thank God! I wasn't able to sleep off the anesthetic so I was pretty loopy by the time I was leaving in hospital. I was expecting to feel pretty awful for a few days, but I didn't foresee being bedridden for 5 days! The painkillers that they put me on made me really ill and incredibly weak. I just about managed to shuffle to and from the bathroom. On the Monday out of sheer disgust with myself I took a shower, but I nearly fainted from the heat and having to stand up so long. I really wasn't expecting to feel this bad at all! People warned me about the pain, which I haven't felt much of because I've been on planet la-la drugs. Today I'm feeling a lot better, and even made my own breakfast, but I haven't braved the outside world yet. I think tomorrow might involve a very slow walk to the end of the street to go to the shops; thrilling!


All I've been eating is soup, mashed potato, jelly, scrambled eggs, and Yop. In between drug induced slumber I have been hallucinating about food, everything chewy, crunchy and meaty. My first solid meal is going to be heaven!

The upside is that I've watched LOADS of tv(I was way too drugged to read). I borrowed the box set of My So Called Life and had a major nostalgia buzz. Myself and my sister were obsessed with this show, she wanted to be Angela chase, and I secretly wanted to be Rayanne the crazy alcoholic friend. We actually met Jared Leto (the heart throb of the show) on Grafton St. It's the only time I've ever been start struck, we were teens, he was from tv, and American(OMG!), it was pretty cool. Now looking back he was pretty nice to us, and stayed chatting for a few minutes. I made the above Polyvore as an Homage to Rayanne's pretty fantastic wardrobe.

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