mm, button love!

i ADORE buttons. i have a ridiculously unhealthy amount of buttons. seriously.

i was looking through oodles and oodles today, and saw a few posts about buttons... oh, so pretty! (the most recent issue of threads has an article about buttons too, so i've kinda had buttons on the brain lately)

the part that amused me was the comments about how many buttons she had! that's barely any! i'm sure she has more hidden away, since all button hoarders seem to, but even so... i cringe to imagine what her commenters would say about how many i have!


this is my button box. note that it is overflowing. it is frickin heavy. also note that i have many more buttons stashed in various places around the house. as a matter of fact, i bought more the other day that aren't in this pile. when you think about how small buttons are, that's A LOT of buttons.


this bag is full.....


and those cardboard pieces sticking out of the left side of the box? they're full of buttons too!




see?


the green tupperware is also full to the brim, of pretty good ones.

(side note - i LOVE those tupperware containers! i have them in two depths, and they're AWESOME! i wish i could find more of them, and i wish they weren't only in ugly colours!)

here are some of the baggies inside (the pic was taken over a year ago, but they're still the same!)


very few of these are new buttons. very very few! i generally hate new buttons, and buy them only when absolutely necessary (such as with the owl garland and the owl ornaments). and most of them have been sorted already, so there are very few "crap" buttons in this box. locally i find buttons most often in small bags or sets, or on cards, so i only buy the ones i like. and when i buy buttons back home (oh, prairie thrift stores, how i adore thee....), i usually sort them before i leave, to avoid lugging 5 times as many (or more) buttons home with me.

i particularly love BIG buttons, like the kind that were often used on 60s swing coats, and bright plastic ones. i'm not a button snob, i buy ones i like, regardless of their "value", though it would be kinda cool to discover that i have something insanely expensive or something!

so yeah. i have a button problem! (i also thought it was amusing when she suggested a muffin tray for sorting - much too small for me!) i thought it was okay if i could contain it to one box, but apparently i've passed that point without realizing it... one day i'll find a way to properly store them all, as it is right now, what isn't loose is in ziplocks by colour. and i think i'm going to hang some of the boards of buttons on the wall in my studio, i just haven't gotten the floor in there clear enough for a stepladder yet! i also want to try checking some of them to see if they're bakelite, especially after seeing this post (via craftzine, apparently that's how i found oodlesandoodles!). that sounds so much easier than rubbing them until your fingers are sore! and one day i'll get around to taking pictures of some of my favourites to post here... i'm particularly fond of my curling set (curling! i'm so canadian sometimes!), and the little 40s cigarette pack.... oh, and the ones with rhinestones.... and the brightly coloured cut out onew.... that might be a big post!

surprise!! jar of whimsies!!

i got a jar of whimsies in the mail today!!

it was so very exciting. i did a personal swap for whimsies several months back, but the person i was swapping with had a lot of stuff going on in her life, and we lost contact. today i opened my front door and tucked in behind our buddha was a big box wrapped in brown paper. i picked it up and looked at it, not recognizing the return address, and wondered at the customs form - "what did i buy for $3 that's this big??" (you know that's a sign you do too much online shopping, when you forget what all you bought!)

unfortunately, the canada post clumsiness strikes again. (they're SO HARD on packages!)


luckily, it was wrapped in multiple layers of tissue, so the glass was all contained. i spent an hour sitting with it, separating glass from whimsies, and it was great fun. i got to see every item so much closer than i probably would have otherwise! (and i didn't cut my self at all, always a good thing!)



i divied everything up into groups, and marveled over it all!

all of the plastic goodies (i LOVE those little fish for some reason! and the halloween cupcake charms look vintage, they're so cute!)


the miscellaneous stuff (that earring is so cool! it's a little metal slipper!)


all of the wood and cardboard (i have a slight obsession with little wood game pieces, so these were great!)


the sequins, a little frame and KEYS!! i love the old keys!


sewing stuff! i have an absolutely ridiculous amount of vintage buttons - like a full sized box full. when you think about how little buttons are, that's a hell of a lot of buttons! i just can't resist them. i love the yellow ones she sent!


and the beads!! the glass pendant is so pretty, i can't wait to make something with the cherries, skulls and dice, and i really adore the vintage black feathered hearts, they're my favourite! i think between the sequins and the beads, i'm all set for my dotees!

shopping! in person, and online...

sooo. in my quest to obtain more craft supplies than i will EVER live long enough to use, i've discovered a few really awesome shops. some of them i bought from quite a while ago, but i'm assuming they haven't changed much.

first of all, i adore etsy, really i do. i can find such awesome supplies there, and everyones customer service is so fabulous.

the first is spirit girl, who i've ordered from multiple times, and she's fabulous. it's always super quick, and i love my beads.

i've also ordered from evol pixie's supply, and while they took a little while to get here, it WAS over christmas, and everything was fabulous and wrapped so securely!

i ordered a bunch of vintage beads from peppermint soda, and they were all soooo gorgeous! and she sent some extra goodies!

and i ordered my mom's mother's day present (yes, very early!) from epoch beads, and it's great! she sent extra goodies too!

you know, i buy a lot of beads for someone who sucks at jewelery making as much as i do....

as for ephemera, which is my other major weakness (but is luckily used much more than the beads!), i've been buying that both online and in person.

i finally caved and investigated skybluepink after hearing about them for ages. my order came, and i IMMEDIATELY had to start crafting with it, i loved everything i got. her service was totally stellar (i e-mailed her to add to my order after i started obsessing), and her prices are really really good. plus, she ships to canada without ripping you off! i LOVE shops like that!

and i also checked out the paper flea market, after rackycoo raved about them. they too are pretty cheap, though they aren't so great about shipping to canada (why do shops insist on using UPS for intl packages? UPS sucks ass!). i haven't received from them yet, i had the package shipped to the US, but i'm excited about it.

in person, i finally made my way down to ruby dog's art house, after hearing about it for so long. what an amazing place! the selection totally makes up for the hassle of getting there (why is there never parking on main st? obviously this is an issue, hello city hall! and it drives me crazy when stores aren't open monday!) i got so much amazing stuff for collages and altered art, and used some of it on on the still-secret tip in pages. the owner was very chatty, and i ended up staying in the store for much longer than i anticipated, though it was totally worth it! very fun stuff, such as old cheques, and prescriptions from the 1920s, empty matchbooks with fabulous images on them, lots of cool postage stamps and old labels, that sort of thing. though most of the stuff is priced individually, they also have a bulk bag section, and i filled a good size bag for about $5. the front of the store is rubber stamping supplies, and i'm determined to go back to buy that virgin mary stamp i saw.... anyway, really awesome store, totally worth checking out. be aware that it is NOT accessible though, many of the aisles are too close for wheelchair or proper cane access, and a lot of the stock is low to the ground (i ended up sitting on the floor because i couldn't crouch as needed), and if you have pet allergies, you may have problems, as ruby the dog is a member of the staff!

also on main street is urban source, which i've been going to for years now. in some ways they're similar to the newer ruby dog's, but they carry less of the "old" ephemera. their stock is primarily items from other industries, available for recycling into art supplies. they also have a lovely selection of hand made papers and different colours of cardstock, and carry some more traditional art supplies such as writing utensils, magnets, glue, etc. it's a very small store, but definitely worth checking out. i always find fabulous stuff there. (also not particularily accessible, it's too crowded, though the bins and such are high enough that you rarely have to crouch. and the whole main street parking issue again!)

i also discovered a new art store in tsawwassen called sublime art supplies and gallery. i go out there twice a week for massage, so i'm really happy to be able to pick stuff up there (and be supporting an independant store while i'm at it). it's pretty small, but they carry a large variety of stuff, including lino printing supplies (the current obsession!). and they're in the town centre mall, so i can always find parking (including handicapped spots, which are oh so rare in vancouver), and it IS accessible!

and the other store i wanted to rave about is actually out in delta as well, in ladner, the upstart crow. (and yes, i did write this entire post for the purpose of raving about the store! well, not entirely)
they carry a lot of gift type stuff, made by mostly local artisans (i found the best birthday present ever for my sister there), but more importantly, they also carry art supplies and beads! their bead selection isn't huge, since they carry lots of other stuff as well, but it's good, lots of different things, and a lot of interesting quality beads. they also carry all the basic findings, as well as some fancier ones, which is really nice, considering my other closest options are paying the super-inflated cdn prices for bags of them at micheals, or driving all the way in to country beads in kitsilano when i need things quicker than ordering them online. they also carry a selection of beautiful glass hand made beads, which are pretty much out of my price range, but gorgeous to look at. their art supply selection is really good as well, though i'm rarely in the market for things like oils, etc. they also carry some scrapbooking/altered art stuff, like rubber stamps, ink pads, some paper, and some ephemera. the most important thing about the upstart crow is the service though. i've been going there for a while now, usually on my way home from massage in tsawwassen, and for the longest time the same clerk was usually there, pam. she was super enthusiastic and helpful and fabulous, and is apparently in art school now, which explains why i never see her when i stop in during the week. the last time i went in, i was looking for a specific colour of ink pad, and i started asking questions. the owner of the store was there, and she was so incredibly helpful. she pulled out all her own personal ink pads from the studio in the back to test them for me, and took the time to show me her favourite ink technique, and had me try it myself. she also chatted with me about block printing options, and sold me a block printing medium to mix with regular acrylic ink at a VERY good discount. she showed me a few other things, but really with no pressure, and she must have spent at least half an hour with me. seriously, SUCH good service. i was really impressed. (while some areas of the store might not be accessible, the vast majority is spread out enough. they always have multiple staff working, and with their awesome sevice, i don't forsee an issue if you can't reach something. the majority of their stock is displayed high enough that you don't need to crouch or anything. they're on the street, not in a mall, but i believe there are actually a few street handicapped spots along there.)



okay, this post makes me look like i've been spending a lot of money lately.... not that much, i promise!

shopping, papercrafts, block printing

i forgot to mention that when i went to langley on friday i also discovered a new thrift store i'd never been to (how random! i thought i knew them all!). it was because i got lost, which is unsurprising, i ALWAYS get lost in langley! it's some bible for missions thrift store, and it's on 200th just past fraser highway (you know, the road you're SUPPOSED to turn onto to get downtown!). anyway, i got some great crafty stuff, including textured pink fortrel (damn i love fortrel), and some awesome vintage buttons (as if i needed more!). i don't know if it'll be that fabulous the next time i go, the crafty stuff might have been sitting there for a while, but it's definitely worth a shot, and it's right next to an upholstery store that apparently sells vinyl, though they were closed last week. so it'll be worth the trip!

i went to the scrapbooking store today, and found the best thing ever. i've wanted a crop o dile for a while now, for multiple reasons. they can punch through super thick stuff really easily, which will be great for my poor stiff hands, and they do it quietly, which will be great for late night crafting!

they're about $40 in canada, and only $26 in the US, so my sister went across the border to try to get one for my birthday, and micheals was out. they called a few other micheals, and no one had them, so she bought me my xyron instead (which i LOVE!).

but i still wanted a crop o dile! i found them at the scrapbooking store today for $34, but they came with more! purple, in a purple carrying case, with 400 grommets just waiting to be set. i was so surprised by the price, since it's LESS, but has MORE, that i asked about it. the clerk went and asked and came back and said that the purple sets were actually made up for a deal on the shopping network, but the store was able to get some of them. so it was very cool! i rationalized by telling myself that i had a $10 card (from filling my stamp card, i don't even want to think about how much business i've given that store!), but i still ended up with a fairly large bill... i can't resist paper and trims!

i got some trims to use on inchies (as if i don't already have trims), and i also picked a couple little pigment ink pads. i can never bring myself to buy the full sized ones, so i collect the little ones in all different colours. i was super happy to finally get a good shade of red in pigment ink though, i've already been playing with it tonight.

tonight i've been working on my tip in page, and i'm so in love with how it's going.

i've also been playing around with my sacred heart stamp i made a few days ago, and i've gotta say, i'm pretty disapointed with the material i carved it out of. pieces of the flames and the thorns are already breaking off. i'm sure my cleaning it with a toothbrush probably contributed to it, but it's a very soft toothbrush, so it shouldn't have hurt it that bad!

i'm hoping the blocks i bought at opus on friday will be better, i'm going to work with them tomorrow.


i also picked up a copy of cloth paper scissors, which i've never read before, and the new stitch'n'bitch book, son of stitch'n'bitch. and i ordered a few crafty books online after christmas, as well as some back issues of sommerset studios, so i've had lots of new inspiration lately. i'll post more about them once they all arrive.


and i think i'm now officially DONE spending christmas money on craft supplies!