How goes your Facebook page?

Button necklaces, kids art smocks and sock monkeys rule my online time.

How many people spend time running a Facebook page, and do they wonder why? Why do I run Facebook pages?  It's a way of keeping in contact with the wider world of crafting. It's a challenge to conquer yet another technology.

I run three pages and I ask myself, why? Maybe I thought it could direct buyers to etsy and madeit shops. Does it?  Maybe it does.  Does extra traffic from Facebook transfer into sales? No, I don't think so. Do the Facebook pages help in selling off stock that has begun to clutter our houses? I wish.

What about spending hard earned dollars on Facebook advertising?  No, but thanks for offering, Facebook.

Comments?

Win win. Storage cubes win and a prize win.

This morning it felt like I had two wins. We managed to put together my flat pack storage cubes successfully. First win. Then my etsy Down Under Street Team award prize from Nicole arrived in the post. Second win!

Sock monkeys! lostsockshome: it's a new etsy shop!

www.lostsockshome.etsy.com

Olympic rings button bracelets. Should I list them in my etsy or madeit shop?

Researching the sequence of the colours lead me a merry dance, especially when I read so many differing views on the internet about the colours representing continents or countries. Note that the designer never said or wrote anything about the colours linking to continents or countries. The 5 rings appeared after the first games where athletes represented every continent, and are interlocked to represent the idea that the Olympics are universal bringing together athletes from the entire world. 

French educator and sportsman Pierre de Fredy, Baron de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games in 1896, and after the 1912 games he designed the flag of the Olympics.  Every national flag in the world contains at least one of the colours of the rings, which are (left to right) blue, yellow, black, green and red, on a white background. He designed the flag in 1913-1914 after he saw a similar design on an artefact from Greece. 

The flag was to be used for the 1916 games but those games did not occur due to the war, so it was first used at the 1920 Antwerp games in Belgium. After the 1920 games the flag could not be found, and a new one was made for the 1924 games.

For those who want to link the 5 colours to 5 continents, maybe it goes like this (or maybe it doesn't.)
Africa - black
Americas - red
Asia - yellow
Oceania - green
Europe - blue
(Antarctica white)

George Clooney was on TV so it wasn't hard to keep fiddling with buttons, and I completed these five bracelets as the movie ended. Should I list them in my etsy or madeit shop?

Front page worthy!

Sometimes I make a treasury that is worthy of appearing on etsy's front page. But none have made it....yet!
Lead on by Liz on Etsy:

'via Blog this'

Vintage buttons upcycled.

These beautiful blue buttons from France were found in a little country shop that was closing down. I'm so lucky to have good friends who have an eye for a great button find! The bracelet is now listed for sale in hundredsofbuttons' etsy shop.

I

Hot pink, black and aqua

Hot pink, black and aqua wedding colours!

Cherry pipping

Isn't this the best little tool? When we were kids we used to take all the stones out of cherries when we were bottling! Can you imagine the stained fingers?

KK

I sent a handmade necklace in lilac, to Leeanne. I received a lovely selection of covered and colour matched buttons from Andria. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody else's surprises!

Vintage buttons

When vintage buttons fall into my hands, something happens....

Guess these 3 MESTup sellers...

Melbourne Etsy Street Team met up for lunch. Can you guess which MESTers relate to these 3 photos? Here are some clues: one makes neck warmers, one doesn't charge enough for her pearl earrings, and one makes art smocks. Ah, you want a prize!  OK speak nicely to me, leave me a comment, and I'll see what I can do.

Choker, princess or matinee?

 A cake from the church fete,

an afternoon with navy blue buttons,


 and I'm done!

One collar length, one choker length, one princess length, one matinee length and a bracelet!

Put salt on its tail

The way to catch a wild bird is to put salt on its tail. That's what my dad told me, anyway. So I put salt on the tail of this one...

and look what happened....
The moral of this story is, leave wild birds alone!

Thanks to Samara for featuring me as this week's Dusty Diva http://maddabling.blogspot.com/

Paper bird

Who saw the article in Melbourne's Herald Sun last Saturday, featuring Carol's paper birds? Well, lo and behold, there she was at Healesville market on Sunday. We had a good chat (surprise, surprise!) about etsy and MEST and DUST, and I bought a kit. Carol even gave me a 'fellow crafter' discount!   My kit has Japanese paper, but what a nice way to make an invitation, a thank you, a music teacher's gift, or even a house warming memento made with the appropriate page from the Melways.

Carol and her husband said they are so busy they need more time to stock up their etsy shop, Itchy Bird.

Melbourne MESTup!!!

There were so many exclamation marks used yesterday at the Melbourne Etsy Street Team meetup, some spilled over into my blog title!!!

 

 Kate from BigDreamsEmbroidery

 Andria, from shagpile

 Leeanne, from thecabbagepatch                                                                        Sylvana from bsylvar

                                          
Oh yes, and couple of us were actual football tragics;
 Kass from made'n'found  (Kass established MEST) and Jan from jskipcreations

       Kate's embroidery makes a great banner.... Turn around, Jo!

                                        
There's Jo from ruby-jo finally looking at the camera!
See more pics here.

PDF what's that? a new line? Free to DUSTers?

Anyone can make their own DIY button bracelet or button flowers by following my photographs and instructions! It's a new line in my shops: button tutorials delivered through cyberspace!

The first two DUSTers who ask me, will get them free!

My UK pupil

A lovely etsy customer, who now calls herself my UK pupil, bought a bracelet kit from me. She was so pleased with it that she went on to make a necklace and another bracelet.  I gave her a mark of 11 out of 10 for this stunner! Well done, Bev!

Scrap bookers, card makers, who wants Noddy?

... and what did you think of Mr Plod?

My friend didn't know what to do with her damaged children's books. When I told her that lots of people crave them for their craft, she happily handed them all over. I've listed some in my craftumi shop and also on etsy. Now there are only three more boxes of books waiting!

Glam button cuff

These button cuff bracelets are a new line for me and I'm pretty pleased with them. I think they're very glam!

Black and white button cuff by hundredsofbuttons on etsy

It's a new price range for me, too. (What are your thoughts at $60 USD?)

Mum's button tin, Dad's army button

In my Mum's button tin I came across a brown button like this, which I recognised from my dad's army greatcoat. He and every other farmer in the district wore their army clothes in those years as they were soldier settlers and didn't have much else. That brown button became part of my personal favourite necklace.  This dark one was picked up recently from an op shop and I put it in the centre of this grey green necklace. I was pleased with the effect. What do you think?