New Things

In December I got an early Christmas present in the mail one day.  I found out that I'll be showing at Creative Chaos in Vernon in June again this year.  It was a such a fabulous way to connect with families in my area, and to get my product and business name out there!  I'm very much looking forward to the show this June, especially since I have a little experience now, and know a little of what to expect.  I had set some pretty outlandish goals for myself and what I wanted to take to the show last year, and had to keep editing and editing my lofty ambitions for new designs and product.  Building display racks and printing off cards to display product on, and finishing touches kept me away from accomplishing all I had dreamed of.  But this year is a different story.  I have all the displays built already (thanks to my hubby!), and I've already been working on new designs, so now I'm ready to "mass produce" them (at the incredible speed of one hat per evening... or two, depending on the size).

 

I definitely still welcome custom orders at anytime, but in the next couple months, there may be a lot more to buttonboxdesigns than hats and flowers! 

I've been featured!

One of the things I love about having a shop on Etsy, is the team that I've joined to help connect with other crafters and artisans.  The Oh Canada Team is a supportive group of Canadian shop-owners that strive to promote one another, offer advice and encouragement, and sometimes we even do All-Canadian Sales together.  If you like to shop local and love handmade items check out the team's blog, or catch us on Facebook, or try typing in "ohcanadateam" in the search engines on Etsy.  I've thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this team, and so, was super pleased the other day to receive word that one of my fellow teamsters had featured my shop on her blog!  Please check it out Ginger Urchin's blog.

An Assortment of Ramblings

Yikes!  Can I just say that my little man keeps me busy?  If he is out of sight, he is definitely into some mischief.  I have a girlfriend who has been watching the kids a little bit here and there, and she is always commenting on how quickly he moves.  Welcome to my world! 

Naptime is the best time of day, isn't it?  Its the only guaranteed stretch of quiet during the day (other than bedtime... oh, bliss!) where I can sit down and catch up on phone calls, emails, eating, cleaning... all the things I never have time for.  Bedtime quiet is reserved for crocheting right now as I'm preparing for the Vernon Baby & Tot Show next month.  So, naptime, is my catch up time... and look at me!  I'm actually blogging! 

Here's a couple pictures from the early birthday celebration we had last weekend when Jeremy's parents and grandparents were out for a visit!

All the grandparents and great grandparents, except for Roscoe's namesake; Grandpa Kinniburgh

 

Well, its time to run.  I have a game of Shrek monopoly that I'm being asked to play!  Cheers!

Yay September!

So, I started working in Kids Ministry at my church in May, and in between being a full-time mom, summertime, crocheting (very little), and running summer ministries for K-Gr 5 kids, I have been planning and dreaming for the Fall.  In August I gained a new partner at the church, Amy, who is working full-time (I'm part-time), and we have been planning, and training, and prepping, and dreaming, and painting, and typing, and recruiting like crazy women!  But, this weekend... is the weekend.  Our Fall Kickoff for VAC Kids (www.vernonalliance.org/home/ministries/families/vac_kids/)!  Hooray!  We don't have enough volunteers yet (as if you can ever have enough!), and we didn't get a stage or set built yet (there's always next month), but its coming together and I'm so excited!
At the same time, I am working on another local order for Chicken Little.  Apparently my hats have been selling like hot-cakes.  I've even had a local mom email to say how much she loves the hat, and would I make one for her!  So neat!  Jeremy and I have been debating whether or not I should have a booth at a local Christmas fair, but I don't really want to.  I love being out in the community, connecting with my clients, but its a big sacrifice to stand around for two days, especially when I have been doing so well with custom orders, and selling through local shops.  So, I think for this year, I won't do the Christmas fairs.
However, as I mentioned I am still doing custom orders, by email or on my Etsy site (www.buttonboxdesigns.etsy.com), and I picked up some new yarn yesterday to work on some new fall-themed designs.  Last night I made Aria a cute little beret with some pink bamboo yarn that I had in my stash.  I just have to put the finishing touches on it, then I'll photograph it, and post them online here.  I've wanted to develop a design for a beret for awhile, and I'm super pleased with how it turned out, and how quickly it worked up (considering I was designing as I went, which often means I end up pulling out rows as I go if I don't like how its looking!).  A couple of my girlfriends are having babes this fall, so they'll probably be the recipients of my first fall hat designs.
I love the Fall.  After the heat of the summer in the Okanagan, the cool, crisp air of the fall is always welcome and so fun to go out walking in!  Aria starts preschool again next week, and I'm excited to have an excuse for walking to and from the school to pick her up.  Ballet starts up next week as well.  Every morning she asks me how many more sleeps until preschool?  How many more sleeps until ballet?  The countdown is on!

Retail, and Other Summer Excitement!

So, around the middle of July I did up a whole bunch of hats for a local shop, called Chicken Little Childhood Outfitters Ltd.  This is my first opportunity I've had to sell my products out in the big, wide retail world, and I'm super excited about it!  I had a girlfriend stop me at church the other day to say she had bought some hats there, so that was really encouraging.  Chicken Little is a fabulous little shop here in Vernon, and I used to work there, back in 2005 when we first moved to Vernon.  There was a different owner then, but the new owner, Lindsay, is fabulous and such a great source of encouragement and support.
I've had a couple other shops mention they would be interested in carrying my product, which is super cool, but baby steps.  Right now, I've been busy working at my new job with K-Gr. 5 students at Vernon Alliance Church (one of my dream jobs!).  So, I'm pretty focused on that... and my kids... after all, it is summer, and we have been having fun going to the "peanut pool" near our home, watersliding, hanging out at Eagle Bay Camp, houseboating, and playing with friends and family.  Here's some favorite pics from the first half of the summer... 

Roscoe watching the boat at EBC

The food is GOOD at EBC

The kids love to try getting the ball in the net

Aria's sandcastle she built all by herself!

My side of the family on the houseboat (just missing Phil)

A stream near the beach where we pulled in one night