Polka.Button Earrings

I finally got round to taking some pictures yesterday of the earrings I've made recently using the polka dot buttons I posted about before and some vintage lovelies I found at Lincoln's Affordable Vintage Fair.

Lovely pinky coral polka dot buttons, also available in purple...

Bright pink and slightly larger buttons

Diddy lilac polka dots, also available in black and red for a more retro twist!

Beautiful vintage buttons, the detail on these is so lovely!

Some more vintage ones, photos do not do these buttons justice, they are a beautiful amber which catch the light magnificently

Coming soon to a folksy store near you! But if you cant wait for that then just message me for more details!

Have a lovely weekend!

Vintage Kimono Silk Buttons and Shoes

These are some buttons I made for my final collection using vintage kimono silks. The fabrics are sooo lovely and I have alot more left over from my collection, so when I have abit more time I will be turning the beauts into buttons and then some of those buttons into jewellery!

Today I was working on some shoes for my collection, I'm going for flat sandels or bare foot, won't really know until the dress rehersal on Thursday. These are just some basic flip flops wrapped in fraying strips of kimono silk, I really like how they turned out!

With Love from Japan

I've mentioned my collection a few times, but not really said what is all about! So here is a sneak peek...

As you have probably gathered from the post title, my collection is intitled 'With Love from Japan' and is a Spring/Summer 2011 collection.

My mood board

This photo was taken before my critique last week and I didn't really have time to take many photos, so they are not the greatest quality by any means, but I really love these two outfits, and don't these ladies look lovely in them!?

The collection uses vintage kimono silks in the most beautiful prints and a selection of jersey and viscose. Its mostly grey jerseys with splashes of blues and purples from the kimono silks. It has a soft romantic mood with very flattering shaping and fabrics. Hopefully when I have more time (once this fashion show is done!) I will upload the rest of the collection and any photos from the fashion show itself!

Crochet Notebooks

How fast time does fly! Since my last post I've been very busy working on my final collection for the University of Lincoln fashion show on the 21st of May. Only a week to go ekk! If you want to have a look at past shows or even come along if your in the Lincolnshire area then visit Coming into Fashion for more information.

Aswell as working on my collection and portfolio I have managed to squeeze in abit of non uni related sewing Introducing the Crochet Notebook!

For anyone who loves to crochet or is just starting out, this hook rool/notebook is so handy! Crochet is the perfect travelling hobby and this organiser makes it that much easier. Or it can simply be used as an ideas journal, to keep in your handbag for those inspirational moments out and about, with a few pens and pencils stashed in it! Inside is a notebook for jotting down stitches and ideas etc, and 4 pockets of various sizes suitable for tiny or chunky hooks and pens. Organiser has a flap at the top to secure your hooks, pens and notebook, it’s all tied up with a pretty ribbon and finished with a handmade Polka.Button label! 

I love this William Morris print cotton with the little touches of pink in the flowers and the olive velvet ribbon is so yummy! Inside it looks like this....

If you click on the photo to enlarge you will hopefully be able to see the embroidery detail on the pockets.

Another beautiful print (I do love my florals!) stunning colours of pink, lilac, jade and amber and more pretty ribbon, this time in the form of polka dots!

If you would like to commission a crochet notebook then please drop me a line for more details! Otherwise there will soon be a range of notebooks available on my folksy store.

Polka Dot Buttons

I found these buttons in my local haberdashery and couldn’t resist them, two of my favourite colours and polka dotted too, bliss in a button! I think they will shortly be made into earrings, so I will have a few pairs left over for my little shop, but I will have to keep a pair in each colour for myself...

Have a great weekend!

Fruits of London

I do hope everyone had a very merry Easter, mine was lovely! Lots of doing nothing with good people, followed by a trip down to London to visit my Grandparents and Cath Kidston! I have been to a few C.K stores including Bristol, St. Ives and Covent Garden, but the flagship store on Marylebone High Street is by far the winner, two floors chock full of loveliness. I managed to refrain from spending too much, somehow I only bought exactly what I intended to buy which was... FABRIC!

Clockwise from top left: Provence Rose in Mint green (one of my favourite prints, I have matching glasses case and card holder!), Floral Gingham Blue, Paisley Blue and Spray Flowers (which I have in the form of a sewing box which I got for Christmas, I’m very lucky). The top two fabrics are more of a cotton lawn whereas the bottom too are much softer brushed cotton. They are all the new haberdashery weight fabrics, they had a lot off choice and it was hard to pick I must say, it’s a bit like going to the dog pound and finding a lovely dog but having to leave behind all the other lovely dogs with their sad eyes! Well for me it is...
I also managed to squeeze in a trip to my favourite haberdashery to buy lots and lots of self cover buttons in 3 different sizes along with some velvet ribbon, which I will show you in use very soon I’m sure! I spent most of the afternoon at my Grandparents making up buttons and endeavoured to continue doing so in the car until it got so dark I could no longer see! My hands were pretty sore after all these buttons but I think it was well worth it, they are so beautiful like Iced Gems or little sweets. YUM!

I bought these larger buttons to make into button rings, as you can see I got straight into my new C.K stash with the button in the middle (it may have to be a keeper).

I started my earrings yesterday, I’ve been experimenting with a few different glues to get the best possible finish, so all these lovely buttons will very soon be made up into earrings such as these, as well as hair grips, rings and cuff links for the lads!

Don’t forget tomorrow is my ‘buttons of the week’ feature, and I have something rather lovely to come!

Thank Buttons it's Friday!

Once a week (most probably Fridays) I'm going to post some of my favorite vintage buttons as it seems a shame to let them go to waste. I love vintage buttons still on the card so when I found these beauts in my local charity shop I was having them! 'Moderne' and 'Foreign' and ever so pretty with the painted flowers and tatty old card, worthy of framing possibly!

Have a lovely weekend!

Folksy Shop!

My Folksy shop is up and running! Well almost, just got to stock it up which I will be doing over the next couple of weeks so have a little look, and browse around Folksy too! Some of you may have never heard of Folksy but I bet alot of you are aware of Etsy, basically its the same but a british version so no annoying US Dollars to worry about and you can support our very own British artisans! Its a relatively new service which is growing all the time but needs your help so spread the Folksy word! There are lots of lovely unique products, lovingly handmade by all sorts of different artists and designers for a variety of price ranges.

Enjoy!

Hello!

Welcome to the blog of Polka.Button! As I said in 'About me' I love all things to do with fabric, crafts and buttons! My favorite prints are florals and polka dots as you will find out very quickly! This blog is a gateway to my store at Folksy where I will be selling my crafts, as well as being somewhere for me to ramble on about my day and share my favorite things with anyone who cares to read! I hope you enjoy, I will have weekly posts on my favorite buttons and my polka dot finds aswell as updates from my store and news on up and coming fairs, so keep checking back for random treasure!