Designer Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! I always look forward to posting inspiration on Wednesdays, and this week I have some more beautiful layouts from Stacey!




They are so stunning!

I am locked away working on a couple large orders! I hope to post fun pictures from a craft fair this weekend!

More inspiration than you can shake a pixie stick at...

Hi! Remember that post I promised two days ago? Well, sometimes I think ahead of myself...

I really meant today...you know, friday! So here it is. Some cute and clever inspiration from readers like you! I hope you enjoy!

First a cute weekend project by my friend Malia. I met Malia through LM, where I work. She made these adorable flower pixie sticks for her daughter. What a cute (and easy) party favor idea! She used some pretty K&Co paper, old cereal boxes, and some of my buttons. To make these beauties you simply die cut various sized flowers and layer together. The cereal boxes add a little sturdiness.
Cute huh? Check out some more fun (and VERY kid friendly) projects on her blog Yesterday On Tuesday


This next submission is all the way from Italy! Constanza of Bebijoux sent me this gorgeous photo! What a beautiful necklace! I was floored at how she incorporated my buttons into her fashion line. How unique!

I love her logo too! How cute with the button in the middle!
Check out her etsy shop for more beautiful pieces!

And Last but certainly not least another washington submition! This awesome twi-hard layout comes from Angela. I met Angela when I was on the DT for Paper Pals...Love you Karen and Shawna! Here is Angela's rockin' twilight page:



Whew. That's a lot of hardcore inspiration! Thanks everyone for submitting these projects! I truly enjoy your creativity. I would like to make this a regular friday post...so if you have something to share don't be shy! You can email me here: suchsweettierney[at]gmail.com

Happy weekend peeps!!

Abby likes to cuddle with me, especially when I'm sick. This is where she plopped herself all last week when I would come home from work and just sniffle on the couch...



Oh, yes, she has her own snuggle blanket. My dad made it for her...and brought it with him on the airplane in February. Is that not the most adorable thing ever? Seriously. Don't let her cute face fool you though, we do call her velociraptor after all.

Here is a peek at some of the mini paintings I'm working on.
and a custom order I did this week for a wedding album with a garden/nature theme. This is before I punched the holes and glazed the buttons :)



Tomorrow I'm composing a post of photos and projects submitted by friends, customers, etc. I LOVE seeing how people use my buttons. You'll love it!

I'll leave you with some love from my dearest long distance intern :)

Designer Wednesday

I am excited to share a lot of things with you this week! Today lets see some Designer inspiration! Anna Bowkis all the way from the UK. Anna is a busy artist who also founded the popular blog you may have heard of...Pencil Lines! We are so excited to have her fresh colorful style on the team! Here's some inspiration from Anna! Don't forget to check out her blog!



Stay tuned for another post later this evening!

New sale items listed....25% off!

Hey guys! Feeling much better. Still not quite at full speed but I'm getting there! This week I'll be sharing lots of cute things, tutorials, cute projects submitted by lovely lovely customers and hopefully some peeks at new paintings!! I thought I would let you know that I did post some new sale things on etsy tonight!

These are all random color combos. Please note that the scanner I have does not catch the brightness of the colors very well, some look muted. They are prettier in real life! Here are a few of the sale sets.... You save 25%!!!

Designer Wednesday!

Hi everyone! I'm hoping to update the shop today but I'm feeling really miserable. Caught a nasty cold and hoping to get rid of it soon!

Today I want to share some of Pearl Liu's work with you! Pearl was on the first design team and consistently awes me with her color sense and soft girly style. She lives in Singapore and has fans all over the world, including some right here in Washington!!

Pearl uses lots of beautiful flowers on her pages and has incredible giveaways! Be sure to check out her blog!

Also, a local spotlight and shout out to Mo of the Pink Ninjas! Thanks for sending me your gorgeous layout and for the sweet blog post! Check out Mo's blog and all her cute bracelets!

This print is in the mailbox for me...can't wait.


First of all...there will be a shop update on Wednesday with more Clearance items!!! I'm really excited to be able to work on some new ideas!

Second...my buttons can now be found at Lasting Memories in Lynnwood, WA! I just put some in the store on Saturday and already several were snatched up!

Remember how in the last post I mentioned how I stayed up late to glaze buttons? Well, my glaze was not good! It dried weird and ruined about half of the buttons. Some I was able to re-glaze and salvage. Poo. Oh well, it happens I suppose.

Now for my last few days of questions.

#189 What is the one thing I do that makes you the angriest?

When you are forgetful...er, rather "selectively" forgetful. It drives me up the wall. If I have already told you something once and two hours later you totally can't remember it can be super frustrating.

#188 Where (specific location) do you want to grow old?

Right now I can't imagine leaving the Seattle area. I love the ocean, the art, the good food/wine and the fast paced city. I think that as long as family is within a decent proximity I will want to stay here.

Alright, I'm off to spend more quality time with some lovely visiting faces :)

Questions

So the boy came up with quite the project...each day until we get married we will ask each other one question. We make up separate questions and put them in random order. We will combine our questions and answers into a book (I'm thinking something with library pockets and tags in an old hardcover book maybe!) and have it out at the wedding. This project gives us a chance to learn (and maybe re-learn) more about each other. I know it seems sort of funny after having been together for 4 1/2 years, and even though I know not to order him anything with onions or tomatoes, and that he loves any sort of action packed spy movie, philosophy and science fiction books and sushi we miss that sort of fun growth that comes at the beginning of a relationship when you want to find out every speck about the other person. I'll be posting his questions and my answers to them on the blog. (He's promised they are appropriate, lol)

I've got a couple to post tonight. We started a few days ago.

#192: What is your favorite childhood memory?

I think my favorite memory is not one solitary one but a rather a collection. Pieces of various memories that assemble into one. When I was four my dad and I moved to Monticello, UT with my grandparents. For some reason that place and it's experiences have remained close to me, inspired me and encompassed what being a "child" was really all about. Mostly it was about being immersed in nature. The unique thing about Monticello is that the Grand Canyon, the desert plateaus and the Blue mountains all sort of collide. My collaborative moment might go something like this:

Most days I would come home from school and eat nachos at Poppa and Nona's house with homemade salsa while we watch game shows. My Nona sings as she cooks dinner and I love hearing her sing Patsy Cline or Pam tillis, I join in when I know the words. We make craft projects and she lets me play with her tin full of buttons (and helps me start my own collection). I don't think she realizes yet how much making things with my hands will later influence me. Sometimes we blow bubbles on the porch while we wait for my dad to come home from work. On the weekends dad lets me ride in the back of the pick-up with our dog Bear as we drive into the mountains, we hike and fish and watch Bear chase squirrels into the lake. I love that i can go wherever my dad goes, that I can poke things with sticks and climb rocks and not worry about getting dirty. My dad nicknames me "Stinky fish."

Perhaps this was my favorite time because I didn't yet have siblings, I was spoiled rotten with attention. I was treated less like a child and more like a very tiny adult. I was allowed to do lots of "big people" things. Mostly these are just the memories that I come back to, and the experiences that have seemed to shape my personality, my interests and artistic dreams.

#191 What is your comfort food?

Undoubtedly cheese. Usually Mac n Cheese. Although I've been know to steal cheese right out of unsuspecting hands.... I could eat it on pretty much anything.

#190 Who had the most influence on you growing up?

I hate to call a tie but I think it's too hard to choose. Both my dad and my grandma were hugely influential. Both encouraged my imagination and bold spirit. I think both had a huge influence on the things I love now, like music, art, reading and cooking. (or is it eating? I hardly have time for cooking!!) Even still my dad and I are always swapping music, and recipes. I talk to grandma almost once a week at least. Both were sort of rebellious way back when...maybe that's where I get it from ;)

Ok, now I'm caught up until tomorrow! It's almost 3am. I've been up painting and glazing buttons. I'm prepping for a long weekend at work and a rowdy group of friends here for Comic-con and some very green birthday love!! I even worked straight through American Idol tonight...although I feverishly texted a friend to find out who got the boot! (Tim got a chair? For real? Someone send that kid home...I can't look at his face anymore!!) Thank god mullet boy is gone.

I leave you now with the newest eye candy...

Wednesday Designer Inspiration

It's time for some more designer eye candy! This week I'm featuring design team member Sharmaine Kruijver! Sharmaine lives in Australia and has the cutest girls! I love seeing her messy paint and ink spilling all over the pages! Check out some of Sharmaines tutorials and pretty paper flowers on her blog. Here are some of her recent contributions!


Using the new organic buttons


Using the mini painted buttons


Using the Snowfall and mini painted buttons


Using the vintage fall and mini painted buttons!
I always love the cute things her daughter Lucy says. She's quite a character! So glad Sharmaine is documenting these beautiful details in her girls' lives! They are treasures!

Thanks looking everyone! I'm off to spend some time with the boy today and make a large P.O. run!!

I am waiting for news on our wedding venue, trying not to stress and working on button projects all night. Here are couple of the new March sets!! Can you tell I'm really feeling the purple??

Dreaming

Lately I've been dreaming.

Of mine and the boy's fast approaching wedding date
Of finding ways to personalize, incorporate cute handmade things and share our special day with traveling family and friends.
Of good friends that are moving closer (and one moving in!!)
Of decorating, organizing and loving our little apartment.
Of someday owning a home where the space isn't quite so little, and a master with room for more than just our bed (and Abby's).
Of the day when my art is my sole profession.
Of a studio space, full of paints and buttons and a smiling intern.
Of having time to read again.
Of having time...

I've felt stretched, overwhelmed, and exhausted over the last few days. Chris gauges my level of stress by the level of clutter in the apt. The clothes pile in the hallway, the dishes stack up, the work in progress art projects spread piece by piece in various rooms like a drunken Hansel and Gretel trail. These are the signs that I (or we) need to re-charge the batteries and get inspired again. We wake, work, eat and sleep. Between working, sharing a car, and trying to stay current with etsy sales and new items plus planning the wedding it's felt like an obstacle course these last weeks.
Maybe even months. It seems the last I remember it was January. I felt like I had plenty of time, and now suddenly I feel like it's passing by and I'm no further ahead!

Sometimes it can be frustrating to read some of my fellow blogger's words about living their dreams. Not because I don't think they worked and struggled to get there, but because a lot of times we (as readers) were either absent for that part of the process or because the story isn't shared with us. It's true I've been dreaming a lot lately of things to come and reaching my goals and finding a way to get others to take my art as a profession dream more seriously, but I'm also realizing how difficult some of those things are. How much work they can be.

It seems for every completed project there are many that were discarded. I know this is part of the process, art takes practice and experimentation and many many mistakes. The same goes with building a career out of a hobby. For every item on the list you cross off, more seem to appear. When you are talking about the handmade industry mistakes feel like a scary (and expensive) thing. I've been working on getting my business liscence, rebranding my buttons, creating retail ready packaging, having the blog re-done, saving and purchasing equipment that will make production faster and less expensive... I hardly have any experience or prior knowledge in many of these things. While there are great resources out there, sometimes I just wish someone in the "know" could hold my hand through the process a little more. I am working on getting the buttons into retail stores.

I love the sense of community that can be found in the handmade industry. I love it. We cheer for eachother, we make friends, we re-blog, re-tweet, "heart" and "become a fan" of other fellow crafters. We send the prettiest packages and happy mail. When I made the first set of chipboard buttons I had no idea I would love doing it so much. I had no idea how big of a role it would play in exploring other forms of art. I hope you know I consider all of you my online community. I'll try to share the process of making my art dreams real, I believe it will happen. I believe that soon I will look back on this process (obstacle course) with relief, gratitude, and perspective on what could have been done differently. I will try to share my advice, tips and triumphs along the way.


What are some of your personal goals/triumphs?

Thanks for your support. And thanks for reading.

Dark hair

This girl went dark again...bits of red, brown and mostly deep purple on top. Black underneath! It feels so different to not have any blonde in my hair but after only a day I love it!!

Wednesday eye candy

I'm feeling like we need a little mid week eye candy! How about instead of just doing one large reveal every month we break our DT projects up into weekly segments? Every Wednesday I'll feature one design team member's work!

First up is Stacey Young, whose work I have admired for almost a year! I love her unique style. Her layering abilities are simply amazing and all her layouts have a very colorful and whimsical feel.

Thanks for doing such an awesome job! Aren't those boys of hers such little heartbreakers? Seriously! Be sure to visit Stacey's blog for a quick tutorial on her painting and layering technique! I love seeing all those buttons on one page!!!

Stacey's top layout features the newest set of buttons going up in the shop today! These bright buttons have a nature inspired theme, some funky spraypaint and lots of bling!