New in Stock - My Dorset Button Making Kit

Woo hoo!  I am rather excited as I have finally put together a kit.  I have written and printed an instruction booklet and together with 6 brass rings and thread, it is now part a kit for sale in my etsy shop. 

The first one is purple but I will be listing more colours.  If you want me to make up a colour one for you then just let me know through my etsy shop or email me at bigbluebed@live.com.

I will be listing on folksy very soon.

The Button Project

I am very happy to be taking part in The Button Project.  Part of the Barnaby Festival, The Button Project  is a stunning exhibition of nearly 300 unique buttons made by artists from all over the world. Crafted from materials as varied as felt, resin, glass and gold, these little works of art will be set alongside Macclesfield Museum’s acclaimed silk costume collection at the Heritage Centre in Macclesfield.  All buttons are for sale.

I will share with you the press release

'The Button Project - a stunning exhibition of over 300 contemporary handmade buttons - is taking shape, as buttons start to arrive from all over the world. From Australia to Norway, and all over the UK, artists and makers are translating their work into buttons for this exciting new event.

Artists were asked to work within the constraints of traditional button sizes and fixing methods, but from there, their imagination was free to roam.  Each button is a miniature work of art in its own right and highly collectible.

The Button Project is intended to serve as a celebration of the heritage of the area, which began with the silk button. The dynamic buttons come from craft practitioners and artists at the top of their field, plus our rising stars and many who make just for the love of it. They will be showcased effortlessly alongside the silk costume collection at Macclesfield’s Heritage Centre from June 14 to August 8 2013.  Plus there will be related displays at the nearby Silk Museum showing treasures of the behind-the scenes button collections, and a lively button-making workshop for kids.

The museum curator, Annabel Wills, says

“It has been wonderful to see how our contemporary makers have responded to the historic collections at Macclesfield. A real feast of talent and inventiveness.”

From precious metals and traditional silk buttons, to glass, felt, enamels and recycled materials; the creativity from makers has been diverse and eye-catching, with The Button Project’s youngest contributor being just 11 years old. The project will be launched at, and will form part of the programme for, the Barnaby Festival, Macclesfield’s summer festival of contemporary arts, culture and fun, taking place in June. Both look set to be events not to be missed.'

The Button Project15 June  - 8 August 2013

is  14 June, 6-9pm

The Heritage Centre, Macclesfield

You can see some of the buttons here on Victoria Scholes' blog , and here is a list of the artists who are taking part.

I was unsure what type of button to make, I mean obviously I was going to do  a dorset button but what would it look like.  In the end I surprised myself by concentrating on colour.  In the exhibition there are gorgeous dorset buttons which use intricate stitches and I am not sure I would be able to do lovely work like that so I am glad that I made the button I did.

My inspiration was the 'eye' of a peacock's tail and here it is, next to a photo of the inspiration.

If you are able, do visit the exhibition. If not then feast your eyes on some the beautiful buttons.

Les Miserables' Costumes and 'I Recognise those buttons!'.

 Les Miserables is one of my favourite musicals and I was so excited when I heard that part of it was being filmed in Portsmouth. Unfortunately I did not fit the type of extra they required - I was not a man.

They required lots of men for the convict scene near the beginning of the film, and this was filmed in the dry dock at the dockyard in Portsmouth.

Because of this connection, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard was given the wonderful opportunity to show some of the costumes from the film, and my sister, daughter and I went along (on one of the coldest days this year).

The entrance to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

 It was good to be able to see the costumes close up, only a few were behind glass.  I do admire the work of costume designers and makers. And on that subject I have to tell you that I was very lucky to be asked to make some of my dorset buttons for a costume.  This was over a year ago, and I was very excited and did scream a bit. However, I put on my professional hat and got on with the job as skilfully, and quickly as I could.  You will see which costume later.

Here are some of the costumes:

I think this is Gavroche's costume.  The waistcoat looks shiny but it was not. It was more of a hand blocked cotton print.

Eponine

 

Cosette

Cosette

As for the buttons I made...they were used on one of Anne Hathaway's  (as Fantine ) dresses. This is the one,  it is lilac. My buttons were used on the back.

Fantine

 I really must apologise for the poorness of the photographs that I took of my buttons. It was a very poorly lit area (no flash allowed) and I was using someone else's camera and I am obviously rubbish at this type of photography.

Here are my buttons.

This is another dress using my buttons on the back.  It is the same dress but distressed a bit more.

It was lovely to see all the costumes and the work that went into them.  The exhibition closes next week so hurry if you want to catch it.

Button Hair Snap Mosiac

I made this mosaic in Big Huge Labs, they have some great things to play with so pop along and have a look.

This is an example of some of the custom colour Dorset Button Hair snaps that I have made for people.  People ask for a colour, or colours, and I have fun looking for them, make a button, show them the finished button usually on flickr, and then when they are happy I made up the hair snaps.

So if you are thinking of getting your own hair snaps from me, then this is a good idea of the colours you can use. Of course as I use, Anchor or DMC thread, there are hundreds of colours you can choose from.

You can order from me here via etsy   or via folksy 

Coming on to Rain or Rain Clearing?

Here are some views of the sky which will no doubt be familiar to those of you who are in the UK right now. 

These photos were taken yesterday evening but it is sky I have seen a lot recently.  That is unless the sky is grey all over and there is rain pouring from it.

Inspired by the colours, I have made a set of buttons, or at least I have made 3 of them so far.  These are them. I have altered the background colour slightly as it was coming up blue (for some reason the light is so bad at the moment!) but these are the colours of the buttons. Grey, blue, white.  Sometimes there is more blue sky, sometimes more white cloud, and sometimes more grey cloud. Rain clearing or coming on to rain?

Work in Progress - Making Daisies

Working on an order for a set of Daisy buttons.

If you want your own daisies then go here. 

New Button Set and Button Work in Progress

I have just finished a new set of buttons, which I have called 'Wave the Flag' which I thought rather appropriate for this year with the Queen's Jubilee and the olympics.

I am also working on some new sets. There is the 3 colour 'Candy Stripe' and the other two buttons both use gold thread (not real gold I am afraid). One is all gold, and the other has a single strand of gold sewn in with the dark blue.

I also have in mind another set which involves pink (again).

Covered Button Hair Grips

Covered Button Hair Grips
Originally uploaded by bigbluebed
I had a very productive evening yesterday.

The other day, in this post, I showed you a covered button hair clip I had made. It was using a larger ring and was a bit too big for the hair clip.

So now I have used the smallest ring I have, and voila!

I am very pleased with them. It helps of course that the fabric I have used is divine. But what a good way to use up all your scraps.

In the next issue of the Crafteroo magazine I will be looking at different types of covered buttons, so don't forget to buy the issue.

The hair clips are available in my etsy shop now. Or if you see something you like then you can always contact me direct at bigbluebed@live.com or leave a comment.  I do have both brown and blond hair clips.