Oh Happy Day!

I am SO excited!

I just hit 300 sales today in my Etsy shop, NaNa's Things!

I have been opened a little over a year and a half and had no expectations or goals for sales in mind when I first opened, so I think that is pretty good!

A wise administrator at Etsy said something I will never forget. She said not to worry about how many sales you have on the little ticker on the sidebar of your front page......... it matters what your profit margin is. Who knew what that meant, but I am slowly understanding this small business thing and I think I get it now (I watch Shark Tank, ya know).

Actually I have learned a lot in the time I have had my shop on Etsy. I figured out a lot of the steps of getting started on my own and signing up for all of Etsy's newsletters and blog and helpful emails has really added to my understanding of running a small business.

The support of the multitude of other sellers is wonderful too. I am part of 10 teams on Etsy ( I just can't resist joining when it sounds like it is so me!) and there is a lot of feedback and help and favoriting, and hearting and Treasuring each others items. That may sound foreign to you if you are not a part of the community of Etsy, but it is all part of the networking and fun of it.

Did I say fun? Yes! I am having a blast buying and re-selling vintage items. It is a passion I have had since I went antiquing and thrifting for that perfect find for my own house over 20 years ago, and have renewed my passion by hunting for and buying vintage things for YOUR house!

There is the thrill of finding that unexpected item you didn't know you had to have, while you were looking for something else.......like these botanical prints I found today while looking for a frame for a wedding gift.....

 

They are beautiful French botanical prints framed in gold gilt frames. I will be listing those in my shop soon.

 

I have many items like these in my shop but my taste in vintage is endless....I love it all! I recently picked up this vintage garden trowel and vintage red handled hand rake to be used as intended or as decoration in a garden potting table/flower pot/spring time vignette....whatever the imagination allows!

 

 

I do have a passion for vintage buttons and doilies and although I don't craft or sew as much as I used to I do have a few items in my shop that I have handmade or handsewn.

 

There are a few  different styles and sizes of the vintage doily table runners that I hand sew together, and this one is my favorite....

 

 

There are vintage button garlands, buttons on purses and buttons on bracelets that I have made....

 







 I would love for you to visit my shop. It is quite eclectic and I am listing new items almost daily.

 

Who knows, you might find that ballerina troll with the purple hair you've been missing since the 80's!!

 

AnnMarie :)

 

 

 

Linking up with these great parties!

 

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

 

Marketplace Monday

 

Let's Get Social Sunday

 

Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

 

Wednesdays Adorned from Above Blog Hop

 

Aloha Friday Blog

 

Weekend Wonders

 

Bloglovin' Blog Hop

 

Weekend Showoff Blog Party

 

The Meet & Greet Blog Hop

 

Reviving a Beloved Treasure

I am always thinking of new and different things to do with my vintage button collection for The Button Lady shop on Etsy. I never thought I would be in the repair business though.

I was completely flattered when Christine contacted me about fixing a vintage button bracelet that had completely fallen apart and was not wearable. She had seen the bracelets I had made that are listed in my shop, and liked how they were put together. She sent me a picture of hers and then I took my own "before" and "after" pictures.....

The buttons were literally hanging by a thread on this thick, elastic, woven gold thread. It actually looked worse than the picture because when you held the bracelet up, the buttons dangled off of it about an inch. This was going to be a challenge, not ever sewing on this type of material and having to figure out where all the buttons originally were and make them all fit again!

I decided I was up for the challenge though because I am so drawn to this type of jewelry. This bracelet is exactly what I modeled my bracelets after. I saw one behind the locked glass in a case in an antique store in Skaneateles, New York. So vintage, so pretty. I asked the clerk about it and she couldn't give me any information as to their history or age. I decided I had to make some from my buttons collection.

Then my wonderful sister Debbie, being the avid Ebay shopper, presented me with a large tote full of vintage buttons that she had been buying and collecting for me. What a surprise when I opened one of the cigar boxes (she had used her collection of cigar boxes to store them) and there was THIS bracelet....

Wow! It is 2" wide and just full of beautiful vintage buttons. It is such a treasure to me that I instantly understood Christine wanting hers to be repaired so she could wear it again.

It was back in Burbank, California in 1990 that Christine had a coworker that made these lovely bracelets to sell at craft fairs and button shows. She was a passionate collector of buttons and made a hobby of collecting, trading, selling and buying and studying antique buttons.

Christine wrote these memories to me....

"I think what drew me to the bracelet was one particular button, a white ceramic one with little painted blue and red flowers...that one just called to me. I think because it almost looked like a drawer handle for a little chest or something, I'll never know. The rest of course are gorgeous, but when she gave me a selection of perhaps 3 to choose from, it was that button that did it for me. EVERYWHERE I would go, someone would comment on the bracelet. I liked it because of it's "tightness" - meaning nothing dangled or clinked...it was just there and lovely. I used to wear it everywhere, but once when I lost a button, I stopped wearing it. Seeing it just sit there in my jewelry box would break my heart. As the years progressed, the thread lost it's elasticity...Which is why I'm so glad to have found you! One of the things I do know about button collectors is that they are very passionate about their buttons, knowing the history of each one...having a bracelet with so many antique buttons, it's mind-blowing to imagine the story behind each one, isn't it?"

Yes, it is and it is that passion for buttons that keeps me looking for ways to use them.


Here is the finished product and there is that white button with the blue and red flowers Christine was talking about....

Christine told me about a beaded watch she has that was bought in Maui a few years after she got the bracelet. It too needs repair now.......any beaders out there up for a challenge?

AnnMarie :)

Wedding Day and Bracelets to Wear

Good Morning! Today is the wedding day of my dear friends Lou and Bonnie. Lou's sister Debbie is here from Ohio for her brothers wedding....she is also a dear friend and a sister to me. She knows I have a passion for buttons so she has been buying and collecting buttons for me in Ohio and presented me with a HUGE stash of all kinds of colors and sizes of fabulous vintage buttons. I was overwhelmed! In the stash was the most spectacular bracelet I have ever seen. I first saw bracelets like this in an antique shop in Skaneateles, NY, behind the glass in a case. I believe it is the way these were originally made and I loved the look. I went home and started making them to sell in my Etsy shop, The Button Lady. I know the time and work that goes into making one of these bracelets, not to mention the time gathering and matching the buttons to be used. So you can imagine when I opened the box with this bracelet in it......WOW!

Can you say Vintage?! I actually am going to wear this today to the wedding because as it turns out it matches my outfit exactly! And I am bold enough to wear this and it is kinda ME!

Here are a few samples of the ones I made.....they are definitely more wearable and each one is one of a kind.......they are listed in The Button Lady shop. One of these with your holiday outfit is all you need to accessorize!

Have a wonderful weekend!
AnnMarie