New Czech art glass button styles on the way!!!!

Recently one of the button makers I buy from in the Czech Republic sent me some pretty pictures of new button designs. They are all so pretty, I can't wait until my order shows up. It will be a while, hopefully by the July Brimfield show. I Made a huge order! They don't make them until they are ordered and they are all hand pressed and hand finished. All those things take time. I am able to mix and match any finish on any button with any color glass and paint. It's so fun putting the orders together. I never remember what I ordered and it's like Christmas when I unwrap them getting ready to take my pictures for eBay.

I ordered a bunch of these pictured below but can't remember which ones. I know I got the dark blue iridescent and the pinkish ones near that one. They are smallish buttons only available in one size that measures about 11/16, the same size as the new mini dragonflies that have been so popular.

The picture above and below are close ups. Aren't they gorgeous? The buttons pictured below are about the size of a quarter in lacy and iridescent finishes.

Below are 2 factory cards of new offerings. Unfortunately you can't upload very big pictures to this blog but if you click on the pictures they will show actual size.

I can't wait to see them in person....

...and order more mmwahahahah!!!

Emily

The End is Near

The end of the petsitting weekend that is...

When you live in a seasonal area holiday weekends can be a drag...Not this one though. Instead of hiding out from all the tourists and traffic I've been petsitting and dogwalking for my friend Patti. She owns Paws*n*Claws petsitting service here on The Cape. While she is away, I run her business. It's turned in to a nice little random part time job for me. She's got me booked for a weekend here and a week here and there so she can actually have a life as well as a booming business, not easy to do when you are a one woman show. It's a nice break for me to get out of my sewing room, get some exercise and to not think about what I should be making or cleaning.

Since Thursday I have been doing overnights for an ancient dog named Barnaby who's nearly deaf and nearly blind yet still mackin' it in the lap of luxury! That's fuzzy ol' Barnaby at the top. It's been nice to be paid to sleep at Barnaby's house but I have not had any internet access in the evenings. How addicted I have become to the internet, if not addicted at least dependent! It's been nice having a break though. Barnaby's house looks over the salt marsh and flats that lead down to Cape Cod Bay in Yarmouthport. The sunrises and sunsets have been AMAZING! Barnaby is too old to go very long without having a pee so I have been able to catch a few sunrises this weekend.

This is a picture of my favorite dog clan on Patti's customer list. This crew lives in a multi-million dollar home overlooking long pond on the Brewster side. I visited them a few days ago. The Great Dane is Gracie, I just love her!! She's my favorite dog out of all Patti's clients. Gracie lives with Jackson the fat yellow lab and Mickey the little wiener dog who has the sweetest light blue eyes. Can you see him down by Gracie's feet? Gracie's head alone is bigger than my Boston Terrier Sasha!

More soon...Emily

I love Brimfield!

A few shots of my booth at 5 am before the show.

Pretty antique hardware below my neighbor from Maine had in his booth.

This post turned out totally backward because of the way the pics upload to this blog so bear with me. My brain still feels a little fried from talking to so many people and working so hard in such a short amount of time. I have thought of going back to doing a longer show in Brimfield since there are so many to pick from. But...I have such good neighbors and J&J is a very busy field.

I think my camera is tired too since it died when I got home. Thankfully I was able to get my show pictures out first. I Just bought a Sony Powershot SD750 Digital Elph and I really love it. It's not a cheap camera but I am taking photos for my ebay and etsy listings on a daily basis so it's worth it.

I was way too tired to go back to Brimfield and shop on Sunday so I hit a few of my favorite spots on the way home instead. I bought these goodies at another one of my favorite dumpy little flea markets.
This was blooming upon my return. It's called a Flowering Almond My friend Lucas came over today and we divided a bunch of this for him. He rolled out of here with about 40 iris plants too, we are over run! The Almond is my favorite and only has flowers for about a week. I just love the color.

Bella was just checking out my recently purchased vintage sock monkeys. For some reason sock monkeys always make my dogs go a little nuts. I love sock monkeys, the uglier the better! They are sitting on an awesome spool chest I bought on Sunday. I will keep it a while and store all the Czech glass buttons I sell on eBay in there. it's in amazing condition. What a find! The glass knobs are all original too. I have a soft spot for spool chests. They make such good storage for beads buttons and all the stuff I use to make jewelry. I am up to 3 or 4 now and can't seem to part with any because they are all full now.

It was great to see my dealer friends that I only get to see at the Brimfield shows. I was happy to see so many familiar buyers as well. A good number of people let me know they found me online or in one of the Brimfield dealer guides so I guess all the shameless promotion is paying off!

It did rain on us a bit on Saturday, we has a few super busy selling hours then the skies just opened up. It didn't slow down business much. Brimfield shoppers are fanatics and won't let a little down-pour keep them from treasure hunting in the J&J field. Besides all the shoppers we get all the dealers that have been in town making money all week. There are 8,000 to 10,000 dealers in about 20 fields that cover a mile of rt 20. You really need to see it in person to believe it. Only on eBay could you see more antiques in a day than you can see at the Brimfield shows.

We knew it would rain at some point so I did my big vintage fabric display in the back of the tent so things wouldn't get too soggy. I has so much fabric in this load and I sold a lot of it. I was so happy to see all the cute Japanese girls that buy 50's fabric and vintage clothing from me. Could you imagine traveling half way around the world once a year to come buy antiques in Brimfield? I guess I am pretty lucky to only live a few hours away.

This antique buggy was in the booth next to mine. You never know what people will bring. The only thing missing is the horse.Below is some of the vintage fabric in my booth and a crazy Lucite spaghetti lamp globe. This was taken after the opening rush and I had already sold a bunch of stuff from this area.

This is my friend Aaron. He is a young dealer from The cape, not a shriner. I bought a big bag of 1920's valentines from him. He's the youngest antique dealer I have met so far. Aaron has a great eye and had some really nice antique glass in the booth.

Above is a lovely English beaded needlepoint piece.

Below is the gal everyone was looking for before the show opened...She sells coffee drinks and snacks out of this cart. She probably has that cage to protect her from hungry dealers who have not had any coffee yet.

Pretty painstakingly hand made sailors valentines and paintings below by Nancy walker of Little Compton, Rhode Island. What incredible work. She's also an accomplished painter.

This is Nancy's daughter and my friend Susan, she sells lots of amazing vintage and antique jewelry and Danish modern stuff too. Those are some more of Nancy's paintings in the background.

Above is my view from inside my tent. Check out those giant antique doors across the way. It dried up pretty quickly and Saturday was absolutely gorgeous.

These pretty bags are made by my neighbor, you can look her up on Etsy at http://www.josewsvintagebags.etsy.com/

Her name is Joann Whittemore aka the bag lady of J&J

I wish this picture was more in focus but this is some of the Friday night dinner club. My diagonal neighbors are a great group of guys that all rent a huge tent together. I usually do a lot of shopping in their booth.

This is Jim, a fellow dealer who sets up in another field. That's a depression glass candy dish he's drinking a rum and coke from! Only in Brimfield.

These are shots of my booth

This cute shopper chose to wear the vintage apron she bought from me.

I sell a to a lot of creative people. This lady bought the blue chenille from me and Made patchwork burp cloths for her baby.


Can't wait for the July Show! See you there.

Emily

Brimfield Scramble

This week I am doing the Brimfield scramble to get ready for the show. There is lots of packing and cooking to do still. The trailer is already full up to the top and the van is getting there too. There are shows that run all week but I just do a weekend show in the J&J field which is open on Friday and Saturday. I am so excited to get out and sell. The dogs are getting antsy because of all the packing. They know I am going somewhere! I have a great load of antiques and vintage linens in addition to my handmade goodies and new Czech art glass buttons. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather. So far it is looking good with just a chance of a passing shower on friday. You really never know in Brimfield since it's in a valley things can change so quickly!! I can't wait to see my Brimfield friends and favorite buyers. I hope to meet a few of my ebay button buyers as well. Ok...i am still whipping up a few more crazy cakes pieces too. I just can't stop!!

Come find me in booth #A62 in the J&J field. Coming up Rt. 20 look for the big red barn on the left.

I will post lots of yummy show photos when I get back.

More soon... Emily

B-day goofing off

It never ceases to amaze me that there seems to be a dog hair in almost every good picture I get! This basket brooch was among the goodies I got at the flea market this past weekend. So many bargains! I can't get over the detail, every mark on this pin was struck by hand. The basket is hollow soldered 3-d construction, so cool. The way it's put together is incredibly detailed and the pearls have subtle pretty color, each unique. Each is half drilled and set individually. I took a silver-smithing class a long time ago. Maybe that's why I appreciate this kind of work so much. I found working with sterling stressful!! So easy to make a mistake while soldering and ruin the whole thing. such unique construction.
Today is my birthday. A number of great things happened to me today. Even though I had to renew my driver's license today I only waited 5 minutes for my number to be called. The picture is terrible but aren't they all? My dad brought me a hilarious card that plays accordion music that made the dogs go insane; which was also hilarious. Dave took me to lunch and I won 10 dollars of our bill by picking a number out of a hat. At the little thrift shop near the registry I found this incredible 1950's pink and brown vintage Brother sewing machine. It works really well, they made great sewing machines in the 50's...So much better than the plastic crap they are putting out today. This baby weighs about 40 pounds! Dave also bought me a super fancy pink and brown chocolate cake for after lunch.
I also heard from many of my favorite folks with happy birthday wishes and messages.

I did manage to get something done this morning. This is part of a Crazy cakes order going to Magpie in Boston A really hip place which supports all sorts of indie designers and DIY crafters.

More soon...Emily

I need to see some sunhine

Bad news on the TV and bad weather here on the east coast have got me down. Makes me want to stay in bed and eat real cakes!

I've been going through my massive button stash and pulled out some really cute buttons for spring and put them in my ebay store

Cute handmade Czech glass novelty buttons

Emily

Treasure Hunting... And more sewing...

Hello all,

Here are some lavender sachets I make for craft shows and a few shops. They are really fun to make. I have hundreds of images and love that iron on printer paper! Been making tons of them and filling vintage suitcases I display in. It's tough to come home with any suitcases because shoppers usually talk me in to selling them!

The images are from french postcards and come out so dreamy with the heat transfer process. I back them with vintage rose fabric, then fill them with extra fragrant lavender.

I went out treasure hunting (as my friend Susan calls it) today. I bought these 2 vintage plastic bead necklaces for the dogs. They were only a dollar each. Sasha immediately snapped the purple pearl necklace and we have been stepping on stray pearls all afternoon. I will vacuum tomorrow, I swear!

Look at those faces! That's Sasha on your left and Beefy Bella on your right. They spend most of their day distracting me from my sewing and eating sticks and dirt out back in their dog yard. Sasha also has a unusual fondness for rope.

Just bought this rolling laundry bin and filled it with vintage fabric in the creepiest mustiest estate sale house I have been in lately. The fabric is actually really nice vintage 50's stuff. It just needs to be aired out I used to work for the estate company that was holding the sale. it can be fun but it doesn't pay well enough for me anymore. I really miss it though. Going through the entire contents of a home in just a few days before the sale is held. You never know what you will find stashed away by nutty old people!

More treasure hunting tomorrow. Wellfleet Flea market here I come!

Emily

Greener Pastures

A few recent cheery cakes

I was saddened today to hear of the passing of Kurt Vonnegut one of my all time favorite authors. I think everyone should read his book Player Piano in their lifetime.

So long Kilgore Trout

R.I.P

Emily

Listed this cake in my etsy shop www.crazycakes.etsy.com yesterday. I bought some incredible fancy trims from a new source. Couldn't wait to try them so I whipped up a few more cakes. The trim on this one is my favorite trim used on a Crazy Cake so far.

More soon... Emily

Cool covered buttons for DIY folks

Eye candy! I just listed a few sets of covered buttons on ebay. I made ponytail holders with a lot of them and saved the prettiest sets to sell online. Most of them are made from vintage hankies, I just cant stop buying them! I also had some old damaged linens that still had pretty embroidery so chop, chop. I went to my favorite dingy indoor flea market today and bought from my favorite smelly old junker. Found an amazing antique treasure, a real antique! I will post some pictures of it soon...Need to take some photos of it. I love wooden antiques wait till you see it. Now all I need is to know more about it! I just keep staring at it. Anyway back to the covered buttons. I did get a nice embroidered table cloth to cover buttons with and I am going to go do some now. Emily

Enough about Brimfield already....Well almost

I have Brimfield on the brain! The May show is right around the corner & I have been think about my load of junk for this show and my set-up a lot lately. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Brimfield shows over the past few years. I promise to take lots of pictures at the next show too.

A friend took the photo below of me putting my hair up in a booth that was filled with beautiful repurposed architectural elements like ceiling tin. I think this is from the July 2005 show. I like to take a day and come town to shop since the field I set up in is only open Friday and Saturday.
Here is something you don't see every day. A middle aged biker looking fellow wearing knee high logging boots and a manskirt shopping for antiques. It's tough to find time to take photos because this is a really busy show. I am glad he didn't catch me sneaking a picture. He looked pretty tough. I wonder what he collects. Big antique shows like Brimfield are the best place on earth to people watch. Where else can you see a one legged man (on crutches) running by your booth at 6 in the morning looking for rare cast iron pans. I kid you not, his name is Jerry and I see him at every show.

Below is not an uncommon sight, during show week, but one that always astounds me. I took this photo while we were waiting to get in to the J & J field to set up last September. It always cracks me up to see this kind of packing job. Is that how his chairs get that nice patina??

At last May's show we sold for 2 days in torrential downpours. I am still amazed my tent did not fall down! We still had lots of happy shoppers including these gals who bought cake they are holding.

This lady pictured below had on the most incredible outfit. She did the embroidery which covered her jeans and jacket. This one was taken 2 or 3 years ago.

This lady was a total hoot, don't Know how my neighbors got her hula hoopin' but what a great picture. Her friend went in to town and got some wine & came back to have a few cocktails with us.

Only in Brimfield!!

Emily

Rainy days

Well, rainy days are no fun for the dog walking and pet sitting business. Hopefully tomorrow will be better but you never know on Cape Cod, things can blow in so quickly!

I have been packing some display cases getting ready for the May Brimfield show. These look so nice all set out in the case for display. Brimfield is a dusty place so it really helps keep things nice to have them in a case of some sort.

Magnets galore... made these button magnet sets this winter and just found these really cool little tins with clear covers. So great for display and it makes such a nice finished product. Almost makes it look like I know what I am doing! These came out so pretty. I hope they sell well because they were really easy and fun to work on.

These bracelets were made, by me, from old Bakelite drawer pulls or handles, cinnabar beads and of course I had to throw in some antique glass buttons. I have sold quite a few of these over the years. The hard part is finding good old Bakelite!

These were not so fun to make, they took way too much time but people like them and they match some rings I make . I don't think I will be making any more once they sell out. They will be taken out of rotation or as I like to say off the "Emily's Greatest Hits" list...LOL
That's my 2 foot long ball of hair above!

Just love these button rings & recycled junk jewelry rings. I did them over the winter before the DIY chanel showed the world how to make them I might add! I could make these every day! One of a kind things are so fun to make, endless possibilities excite me! I sold some on etsy in my shop www.crazycakes.etsy.com They are called GLASS KNUCKLES. I sold them last fall at The Wellfleet Oysterfest and in Brimfield at the September show and they were a big hit at $24!
Just thought I would add this Crazy Cake...
It's the nicest and biggest cake I have made in some time. I didn't want to mail it out! It was totally fun working with the buyer and having her help choose the chenille colors and textures. She has bought a number of pieces from me and is a very sweet lady.

I am well worn from a long day of dog walking... Only about another week to go. Not sure I could do this all the time. Projects are piling up around the house calling my name when I go by. Did I mention I have an obsessive compulsive sewing disorder??? If much time passes without me producing a pile of stuff to sell I get a little loony.

Emily