The Button Florist

Spring has Sprung!!!

2011-04-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

Easter eggs, dyed using natural dyes.

Dye made from Tumeric, Beets, Onion skins, and Blueberries!

Such lovely warm colors.

Wednesday is my favorite day of the week. It has been for many years, for many reasons. However more recently I enjoy Wednesday because of the Phil Mechanic Studio potluck. I love a chance to make something delicious and share it with our little community of crazy folks!

Spring is here!

Flowers, New Life, New Growth, Change, Warmth, COLOR! While googling Spring, I just learned about a holiday in India caled Holi where they run around and throw colored powder to celebrate the end of winter.

What is your favorite thing about spring?

xoxoxC

2 years!!!-"skinny dipping in heaven"

2011-03-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

weird title I know!

This was a phrase adopted to replace my constant response- "I'm going to the studio"

This month, March 2011, marks two years that I have been in my studio!

The Phil Mechanic Building, a wonderful community of crazy people!

This month has also started a new chapter in my studio life, my long-time studio mate, "The Hairy Potter"-Chris McGee, moved out!

I got a new studio mate, Katie Hill!

This is what you would see if you opened my studio door right now!

But in the beginning there was nothing in this room except 3 potters with big dreams! Now I am the only one of the 3 left and I treasure this space above all else in my life!

The first thing the boys did was BUILD LOFTS! scavenged tree trunks from a friends yard, free wood from WWC wood pile, metal from the scrap yard. Slowly it all just accumulated!

The view from the loft, looking down- then and now!

Then and Now!

Those 2 crazy boys are not here to share this space with me anymore, but I think of them everyday! As I walk up the stairs we built together, as I sit on my loft and create hundreds of button flowers. I would not be here without them. I am grateful for the memories.

The Rest of the story- PART TWO

2011-03-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

As I promised, the second half to my recap of the past 3 months of my life as The Button Florist.

DECEMBER

The month of December brought a new achievement for The Button Florist. TWO craft shows in one day!

you are wondering..... how did that happen? did celia clone herself in order to be in Asheville and Boston at the same time? Yes and No!

My best and oldest friend Holly wo-manned the Big Crafty booth for me in Asheville, while I was at the Bazaar Bizarre in Boston. The show was at this cool place called the Cyclorama. The roof is a giant round skylite.
We both survived our shows and I was so thankful to have such a wonderful partner in my crazy business!

Next, I had the wonderful opportunity to go visit my dear friends Ryan and Mikey in Buffalo, NY. I enjoyed every minute of the four days I got to spend with them in their cozy cabin. Making chicken soup, a constantly burning wood stove, baking chocolate chip cookies in a toaster oven. I was so thankful to spend quality time with these old clay buddies. Unfortunately, I had to leave and tackle the NYC beast!

BUST CRAFTACULAR

JANUARY

A new year! 2011
For Christmas, I received a wonderful gift. An Ipad!
This little modern piece of technology is revolutionizing my business.

Here is my first sale using my new Ipad and the square, a small device that allows me to accept credit cards. Now I can swipe credit cards and process them directly, rather than writing down peoples information and processing when I get home. I instantly fell in love with this!

January is the start of the Wedding shows, so I went to Chicago to Indie Wed.

I enjoyed this wedding show, because I was actually allowed to sell work, so I felt like I actually made some of my expenses back, rather than just waiting for orders to come in.

FEBRUARY

I welcomed another new addition to my business, ROOF RACKS!!!!!

People are often amazed that I travel to shows and pack everything necessary into my little VW beetle bug. But, I finally had to get roof racks so that I could transport a piece of furniture!

I was so worried this shelf was going to fly off on the middle of the highway, but thankfully I made it to Raleigh and back successfully! I am now excited at my future options in strapping things to the roof!

I was so proud of my display at the Bridal Buzz. I pushed myself to create a new display and the simplicity of the white shelf and vases really helped to let my flowers stand out.

So, now we are pretty much caught up! There is one more big thing that has happened in the last month, but I am dedicating my next post to that...... stay tuned!

-xoxoxo C

A quick review/recap- PART ONE

2011-02-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

I fell off the blog mobille!
I have jumped back on!
I can't believe that it has been 6 months since I wrote anything.
Life is always interesting.
The past 6 months have held some good times and some bad times.
Shows, Travelling, Amazing Friends, Supportive Family, Pain, Laughs, Good Food, Driving, Singing, Networking, Twisting, Learning, Changing, Crying, Smiling, Selling, Creating.........
I realized while collecting photos for this blog, too much happened to squeeze in one post!
So, here are some highlights from the first 3 months!

SEPTEMBER

The first demonstration I have ever participated in. It was a peaceful procession for all the animals killed by the Gulf oil spill.

LAAFF!!!!!!!

Probably my favorite street festival that happens here in Asheville.
The Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival
The Hairy Potter and I shared a booth, the piggy banks and button flowers were pretty ridiculous together! all day the comments were, Oh, how cute!
Masks made from LaCroix boxes and so many local friendly faces = a great time!

A beautiful BLUE wedding order

And to top it all off, I decided to go to New York City at the end of the month!

The show was a horrible disappointment, but I did get to see the statue of Liberty, which was a lot of fun!

OCTOBER

Here, a little girl was trying on some fabulous Button Flower headbands at The Norcross Art Fest outside of Atlanta, GA.

Carving pumpkins, corn mazes, and tractor hay rides!

I got to spend a fun time with my two favorite red-headed (nephews). They did not want to scoop out the nasty guts of the pumpkins, so they just used a marker to draw the faces.

Such a beautiful month with all the leaves changing, but it also brought some hard times. My mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Thanks to amazing medicine and a great deal of prayers she has now finished chemo and radiation therapy and is doing GREAT!

Alex took his first beach steps!

He was having so much fun in the water, he did not want to stop to pose for a photo.

NOVEMBER

Shows! Shows! Shows! I did some serious travelling in the pre-HOLIDAY season.
The First Chatty Crafty Show in Chattanooga, TN!
I was so excited to get to visit my dear friend Catherine and her lovely little family.

I met Susan, the owner of Good Dog, hotdog shop in Chattanooga.

The best hotdog I have ever had! (curry ketchup)

We connected over Circles and if you are ever in this city check out her adorable shop.

For the Studio Stroll I got to create my own little colorful world in the studio! my studiomate was gone, so it was fun to use the whole space.

Then I turned 27!

Then back on the road to Atlanta for ICE, Indie Craft Experience.

To be continued........... (soon I promise!)

BLUE

2010-08-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

Picasso's Blue period
The Blue Ridge Mountains
Blueberry Yum Yum!
probably my favorite fruit, whose yearly time to shine is NOW!
The color of my first car Bonnie that I just sold today!
300 dollars seems so insignificant for something full of such sentimental value.
A sadness, like when losing a friend.
instead of a black phase in high school, I had a blue one.
My mom's favorite kitchen color.

I found a few pictures of good memories from my Blue Bonnie!

Driving to a Farm vs NRC softball game, good old WWC days...
The dash was always so full of Treasures!

The time Chris left one of my cups on top of the car, we realized while going 70 down the highway on a trip to New Orleans. oh the grabber, boy hanging out the window. cup is still alive.

The epic birthday party shared with good friends. Bean, I am going to miss you. I wish you all the best in your new adventures. I will cherish all the good memories.

The recipe for the world famous Blueberry Yum Yum. Always a crowd pleaser.

I use less water and cornstarch in the Blueberry part, keeps them a little runny and not so jelatinous!

Funny, if you Google "Blueberry Yum Yum" you will learn that the rapper Ludacris has a song with the same name.....about things that people smoke.

On the round-about current events, we got a nice brick sidewalk out front of the building.

Funny the coincidences in my life, considering that I am working on a Blue wedding right now!

So, appreciate that blue sky and smile into those pretty blue eyes.

xoxoxo

HAIR (toot and hair clips)

2010-08-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

Summertime heat makes me want to cut all of my hair off! I have been resisting the urge to turn the large bun on my head into a short little boy cut! I just can't decide should I cut it or not?

I have a hard time committing to what my hair style should be, but when it comes to my little dog, I love cutting her hair! For the past couple years I have been giving Toot a mohawk for the hot summer months. This year, a friend made a suggestion for a spiral mohawk! So, I went for it! I shaved her all over except for the spiral and her fluffy little feet, it makes her legs look so small. chicken legs! She likes to prance around.

From the side it looks like she has on a Tu-Tu.........TOOT-TOOT! She is such a funny little dog, I am so thankful to have her in my life I get to bring her with me to the studio every day!

She has grown to love small children, especially Charlie, they often will let her lick them as much and for as long as she likes! She loves the snow and Eliza! A little old lady Princess dog.

So, in the world of button flowers, I have NEW.........HAIR CLIPS!!!!!!

The Hair clips come in 3 sizes- small, medium, and Large. The order of the pictures is big to small. I have wanted to make button hair clips for years, but I did not want to just glue the buttons on. So, I was so excited to find these clips that have holes so that I can wire the buttons on there. Much more sturdy!

xoxo

Baby steps in Business

2010-07-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

I am continuously learning. ALWAYS, as well as always working.... The thoughts of to do lists, new product ideas, ways to push me and my business further are constant. July has been a good growing season. Unfortunately I have not had time for a garden, which makes me sad. However, the Button Florist had the wonderful opportunity of having an intern for the month.

Dylan is a very smart and mature girl. She was a wonderful assistant, always willing to try whatever new silly task I had lined up for her. I really enjoyed having her help me and I wish her all the best in her new school. Thank you!

I also had a new and exciting opportunity of receiving a brand new copy of a book to check out and share with my fans.

The book is Craft Corps, by Vickie Howell. It profiles 30 big-time crafters and 60 everyday crafters — everyone from Jenny Hart (Sublime Stitching), Mark Montano (The Big-Ass Book of Crafts), Faythe Levine (Handmade Nation), Ed Roth (Stencil 101), and lots, lots more.

I really enjoyed the Introduction of the book when Vickie opens saying, " I've been fortunate to make a career from crafting, and one of the greatest gifts it has given me is a sense of true community. I've been privileged to meet (either virtually or in person) thousands of fellow crafters as a result of my profession. Because of craft, I share an amazing connection with people all over the world- people of different backgrounds, religions, philosophies, and creeds. I likely would've never met or communicated with many of these folks had it not been for our common bond as creative beings and the explosion in the popularity of crafting. So I take great pride in presenting Craft

Corps, a celebration of our unique community."

The craftographies are interesting and include some personal history, advice, philosophy, childhood memories, and even favorite curse words. As I read through them I was comforted and inspired by the common threads that bind us into the crafting community. Thank you Kathleen from Lark books for sharing this inspiring book wih me.

An order I sent off on Friday. These flowers are headed to Denver, Colorado to help make people smile in Eberle Orthodontics.

I enjoyed working with Nicole's colors of mainly purple, green, with some orange, red, and yellow accents.

xoxoxC

Craft Shows are controlling my life

2010-07-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Button Florist in Boston
The Button Florist in Columbia, SC
The Button Florist at the Big Crafty in Asheville
The Button Florist soon to be in St. Louis
Craft shows and more Shows.

I was recently very frustrated after travelling distances to do shows that were not totally profitable.

It is sometimes so easy to feel discouraged.

But amid all the stress of making stuff, packing and unpacking, driving, networking, it is my loving friends and family that make it all worth it! The ability to travel and have a flexible schedule lets me have a different kind of working life.

So, no photos of craft shows, booth set-ups, or crowds of strangers....

instead here are pictures of people i care about and fun times that have been had in my recent adventures.

Old school Wilson crew at Kate's Wedding.
Yes, she put her face in my chest, what can I say, the bride gets to do whatever she wants!
Fun times on the way to Boston.
Heidi was so awesome in Boston, after I ended up driving all night, she helped me all day at the show. Boston was full of nice people and cute little dogs.

My nephew just turned one this past week.

Here he is sticking out his tongue in Mexico. I am sad that I missed his first birthday, but can't wait to be there for the next one.

July birthdays! Italian cream cake and bug cupcakes!

On the way to birthday bowling!

Jamin, Jacob, and Ian!

Round-about update: Today they put in some stone pavers....all I want is some grass, something alive and green in the middle, please!

New in the Button Flower world. Crocheted, felted flowers.

I think there are going to be more of these around....Some on stems, some on brooches, headbands... still figuring out how and where to incorporate them. I love colaborating with other artists. My friend Amber over at RaimbowTree has been making some really cool felt flowers.

These were made by Holly, more to come!

xoxo C

Bring it on JULY!

2010-07-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

A little randomness. I have been getting ready for July and now it is here. Shows every weekend, lots of travelling.

Lemon Curd with fresh Blackberry Pie

made with love by my dear friends Eliza and Ben at Pies in Disguise

They use all local, in season fruit!

I love this size of a pie, perfect for sharing with a friend, I actually split it 3 ways!

A recent wedding project, two small bouquets for the flower girls. One likes dragonflies and the other likes butterflies, so I included some special buttons that the bride provided, I love making such personalized flowers that will be able to be treasured for a long time.

The first new headband I sold! I tried a new kind on the little hard bands. It matched her shirt perfectly and she was so cute.

The latest on the Round-about, now a nice cement ring! What is going to go in the middle? nobody is certain. A sculpture, a tree, some grass, BUTTON FLOWERS! we were told nothing to permanent due to the risk of someone driving through the middle.

Summer Solstice Celebration.....lots of fairy wings and painted faces and even a Butterfly release! now it is officially Summer!

xoxoC

Somewhere over the Rainbow

2010-06-16T17:41:00.001-07:00

Somewhere over the rainbow there are lots of little artists working away in their studios.
Way up high, The roof of the Phil Mechanic building is a great place to catch a double rainbow over the River Arts District.
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

The heat was almost unbearable, but all the artists were very thankful that the summer humidity did not keep the people away!

The Studio Stroll was this past weekend and it was fun and exhausting to have hundreds of people walk through our little studio.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.

The Hairy Potter throws
Birds fly over the rainbow.

Little girls will sit and watch for hours.
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

xoxoC

I want a whole week packed into each 24-hour turn of the earth. I

2010-06-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

..."with heavy doses of leisure time interwoven with thrilling bouts of hard, creative labor. I want to live in a secret garden with ten years of solitude and hang out at a street fair raging with conviviality. I want to sing with angels and romp with devils in between walking the dog, exercising at the gym, and chatting to perfectly ordinary people. I want enough money to fill a swimming pool, and I want to live like theres no such thing as money."

This was my horoscope today. I thought it was spot on! After a night in the studio glazing, the work never stops.

Today I sent out Michelle's Bouquet with two brooches, for mother and mother-in-law.

I enjoyed working with these deep rich colors. Bold choices for a fun colorful day!

Views of the Roundabout! I am really enjoying watching this process. all of a sudden a four lane road has a huge circle in the middle. Button anyone? I also really enjoyed seeing a table full of pots ready to be glazed. It is like christmas!

Stroll, Stroll, Stroll!!!!!!!!!!

The Button Florist and The Hairy Potter will be in the top floor of the Phil Mechanic Building.

Come say hi and check out our display mode studio. ( if you mention that you read my blog, I will give you a special suprise!)

xoxxo C

Summertime and the living is easy and colorful

2010-06-06T14:41:00.001-07:00

Unexpected Buttons that are beautiful and brightly Vintage!

Before and After (removed from cards and washed)

Tis the Season of Potlucks, Cook-outs, Studio Parties (On the Verge), Weddings, and any other reason to get together and have a good time!

Heather, Dave, and I dancing it up at Phil Mechanic Studios (PMS) for On the Verge opening. The Guitar guy was all wireless! He was in the street singing and playing. Crazy.

Devin and Chris got married at the Farm and what a fun party it was!

They have really dug into the Round-about project here in the River Arts District. Traffic is tying to get the hang of it, but we love it here at the PMS. Now there is not that daunting 4 lanes of speeding traffic to cross, and we feel more connected to the rest of the District!

Getting ready for the STROLL!!!!!

went to Greensboro on Friday, lots of button love in greensboro. Thinking about going back.....

xoxoC

Trees and little boys

2010-05-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

After Dunwoody, I got to hang out with two of my favorite boys in the whole wide world.

(my nephew is of course in this category also)

The goal was to turn Ian's room into a forest of trees! And in 3 days, I think Holly and I did an amazing job of creating a (Not Real but imaginary) as Ian had to keep telling me, forest!

Benjamin (Jamin) spilled the red paint on his head and had to have an emergency bath.

Ian is 3 and likes puzzles and strawberries and helping mom!

FIRST: there were white/primed walls that Holly had so wonderfully already prep-ed!

so, we started with a green rolling hill background that ended with yellow on top

NEXT: we worked on some truncks, a little cluster of three tall trees, a funny red bubbly button flower-ish tree, a big (almost reminded me of a baobab tree)

THEN: there were the leaves! and leaves! I have heard that Ian loves his trees and enjoys sitting and looking at them as well as showing them off to every visitor to the house.

Recently, I have been getting ready!

Ready for:

The Studio Stroll

3/maybe 4 wedding orders

a feature in the Rocky Mountain Bridal Magazine

Shows every weekend in July

5 shows in Boston (june, july, august, september, and october)

I am also really excited about new improvements in my little studio!

Chris is back and it has been interesting getting used to sharing a studio again, but I love how we can get stuff done!

New Hanging baskets- for sorting felt pieces

New light on the loft

I love this view! ( things like my recently painted display case and sorted felt make me smile)

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS!

XOXOX C

Dunwoody and Fun

2010-05-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

DUNWOODY!

Mother's Day weekend 2010

This past Saturday I got up at 3:30 am to drive to Dunwoody for the Dunwoody Art Festival.

Thankfully, my oldest and dearest friend Holly lives near Atlanta and helped me with the show. We had alot of fun and felt pampered when we walked into the very modern W Hotel!

Probably the biggest show I have ever participated in! There were supposed to be 30,000 people in attendance! My little tent looked kind of silly with its brown amateur-ness next to the sea of white professional EZ-UPs. But with some water jugs and tent stakes from my neighbor, we managed to not get blown away!

Highlights of the show:

meeting my neighbors (from Wilmigton!)

trading pottery for jewelry!

handing out lots of studio stroll guides!

After the show I got to go to Holly's house and hang out with her two adorable sons. (more on that soon) I am taking a little break from the shows, but getting ready for the Studio Stroll!!!!
xoxoxoC

The Handmade market and MORE!!!!!!

2010-05-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Spring is here

and the Button Flowers are in Full Bloom

The old-timey soda fountain in Hendersonville.

Mikes on Main Street - "Old Justus Pharmacy" est 1882

Great milkshakes!

Friday is the opening of the RDA or now RADA members show in Hendersonville. Yesterday we made a little day trip/lunch date to take the work over there to the Hendersonville arts council.

This past Saturday was the Handmade Market and what fun!

I got up at 5 am to drive down to Raleigh. I really enjoyed all the craftieness. The Handmaidens did a great job organizing and what a great steady flow of people all day! Raleigh folks really seemed to enjoy the brooches and headbands, more to come!!!!!!

Getting ready for Dunwoody. Going crazy! My friend Rachel came over today to help sort some buttons. I thank her so much! I think I might go ahead and just dye a batch of every color in the rainbow!

xoxo C

Mountains to Mountains

2010-04-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we set out on an adventure!

ASHEVILLE TO DENVER

Button Flowers, and me and jessie in the Bug!

Bubbles, Sequins, and Temporary Tatoos were in the activities bag!

We headed to Kansas City to see my family.

My nephew is crawling and oh so cute!

My Nani gave us a stuffed artichoke for the Road!

The Rocky Mountain Bridal show was on Sunday and I met lots of great folks, I was in theGreen Bride Section, sandwiched inbetween two fabulous eco-friendly wedding dress designers.

My flowers were used in the fashion show, and I even got an order for an orthodontics office!

The Rocky mountains are beautiful, huge, majestic, and very powerful.

The whole time we were there, I was reminded of Tibet!

Thank you Family, George, and Josh for giving us places to stay along the way.

Thank you Jessie for keeping me company and

Thank you Starbucks and Tom for guidance and caffeine.

Now time to get ready for Raleigh and Atlanta!!!!! Crazy springtime.

xoxoxo

New Old Studio

2010-04-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Views from my new loft workspace.....

Toot in her bed!

The Stairway to heaven

My nicely protected Seedpod collection

The River District in Spring Bloom

Working like crazy for upcoming shows!

Catch The Button Florist at these shows

Come join us for the spring 2010 Handmade Market on Saturday May 1st from 11 am until 5 pm at Marbles Kids Museum (201 E. Hargett St.) in downtown Raleigh.

and

Dunwoody Art Festival
Mother's Day Weekend
Saturday, May 8, 10AM - 7PM
Sunday, May 9, 12:30PM - 6PM
On the Picturesque Stretch of Chamblee Dunwoody Road Between Mt. Vernon Road and Dunwoody Village Parkway

BUTTONS

BUTTONS!

xoxo-C

The New Studio Part I

2009-03-18T18:51:00.001-07:00

As of March 1, 2009. The adventure of the new studio began. These are some photos along the way. The first two pictures were taken after the FIRST loft was built. Ryan and Chris built it entirely out of free recycled wood gathered from WWC. The next picture was taken after Ryan and his father built the SECOND loft. This loft was constructed using recycled metal pieces from the scrap yard. Then we have the KILN. This past monday, Chris and I picked up his new SKUTT kiln. It has now been fired once and is ready to go. Yesterday I started actually making work in the studio. Our space is lovely, I am so excited about what is to come. All the amazing work that we now have the ability to make.