silk capelet

Watching customers in the shop  handle my silk crocheted capelets, I realized  that while they are immediately drawn to them and enjoy the softness of the material, they have no idea how to wear them-- even seem intimidated  until I take the capelet off the hanger and throw it on.   Displayed in the shop the capelets may seem mystifying but  customers are quickly surprised how versatile and easy to wear they actually are.
  So here's a quick demonstration. We shot theses pictures real fast so please forgive the outfit and the silly poses. But as you can see these little beauties can be dressed down to go with jeans or fancy fancy . Elegant, funky and fun and the softest fiber you will ever feel!

the basic style

drape it back for minimal coverage( I feel like a super hero in this shot)

how pretty it looks from the back- the drape keeps it in place

pull it forward for a scarf effect

instead of putting it over your head- keep it doubled and throw it around your shoulders

place your favorite pin at the neckline

start to pull it forward

you've got a scarf!
Put your imagination to the test and find other ways to wear it.
next time- silk and bamboo wraps

oh no!

A storm blew through here Wed., Thurs. and Fri. night. OMG do we need a roof! The rain was just pouring in. A few things got damaged but we caught the worst of it before all was lost. Thurs. morning it was raining hammer and nails for hours. By the time I got out there I needed an umbrella in the store. Geoff ( my husband) went into action,( like the super hero that he is) ran upstairs with buckets and tubs while I moved all the merchandise to a safe place. He finally got it under control but by then the displays were torn apart and I had to dry things off & start all over again trying to set things back up so I could open at 11am. I have no pictures to show but I promise you - it was a drag. I guess I'm using my blog to kvetch but I'm sick of all the problems we've had since this project began.
The good news is - today I sold 1 of my giant cabbages! What a riot. 2 bucks closer to the roof! Thanks followers for allowing me to vent. Big sigh-
till next time...

oooohhhh pretty things!

I know my last post was a little wordy so lets look at some pictures. We'll start with some handbags and jewelry.

I made a few totes, fully lined with magnetic closures. Cosmetic bags, wallets and change purses to match. Of course no ensemble would be complete without a coordinating fedora and silk crochet capelet!

A closer look.

The wallet- It has a little bow tie on the front.

Fully lined with a zipper and magnetic closure to keep all your goodies safe. Fits a checkbook, a good stash of cash etc. If you prefer something smaller the change purse fits c.c., folded cash and change.

Cool greens and turquoise.

A little closer

Soooo pretty in pink and green.

An assortment of placemat handbags, cotton crochet, crochet rag bags and oops! You can start to see some jewelry, fabulous fedoras, swarovski crystal key rings and those funny flower things that keep showing up are pens with their very own bud vase.

I'll leave you with a taste of the real deal jewelry- fresh water pearls, crystal, garnets, citrine , amethyst, quartz and jasper all reasonably priced. We'll talk later about the crochet wraps and capelets.

And no good shopkeeper would be without the $10- rack of deliciously drapey necklaces. So drool on ladies till next time.
ciao for now!

Buttercup update

Opening day Friday June 25th! I had a few customers! Saturday they were driving down the driveway one after another. I couldn't believe it. Not everyone bought something but that was okay- at least people came. To think all we did was put a sign up. It's an encouraging start. So far the sales have been mostly jewelry but I did sell 1 birdhouse, potpourri , baby bears and a couple of tin flower pockets. This weekend was 4th of July and it was not so good. Only a few customers the whole weekend. I think people had better things to do than come to Buttercup. I can't imagine what!
We're working on a press release and maybe do some advertising to get out the word.
So I puttered around , painted the bench blue, the chicken pink and the birdhouse up on the little shelf blue and yellow. Decorated the doors and did some rearranging inside. I also met with a roofer. Still waiting for the estimate. Here is a new picture of the store front. Also a shot of my garden. That's what I do in my spare time.Check out these cabbages! July 1st and we've already got the biggest cabbages I've ever seen. Lots of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, brussel sprouts, st. beans
( bunnies are nibbling), flowers and herbs. We even have wrens in the birdhouse.


I think the secret to this years garden is horse poop. We had a friend deliver a ton of great horse poop and the garden has gone ballistic. We are totally organic so we do have some bugs but what are you going to do. I hope there's plenty for all.
Next time - a few images of merchandise.

construction story

These are the only pictures I could find of the barn and it's in 2 pieces. This is the side the store is in now. I'll dig around for a better shot.





Okay I promised the story-- I'll try to be brief.
I never thought of taking before and after pictures so there's not much to show, but for starters the barn used to be red. Last year I decided to change the shutters and trim on the house from red to yellow, so of course I couldn't stand the fact that the barn was red. "Okay- I can paint the barn." ( who was I kidding?) Did I mention it's 50' tall at the peek?
The doors were falling apart so we needed new ones, the foundation-- crumbling ( "a little cement - that will patch it"- another joke!) The barn was divided in two by a 22 foot wall- "we can knock that down and move it another 12 feet over to give me a nice feng shui" - only thing is, it was a load bearing wall!
Do I have you laughing yet?
What about the floor ?- "well we can throw some hay down- it will look cute. "
"Gee I wish that window could open..."
So it went ---on and on and on and on...till- yes, we were over budget and the job wasn't finished. "Oh crap- I never thought about lights and outlets."

So to start- the foundation got some steel rods and cement, the interior walls became raw hickory, run horizontally to help secure the foundation and cover up the ugliest cinder block you ever saw. The doors were made and installed , I started to paint the exterior, we decided on a gravel floor which my husband shoveled in 1 shovel at a time. I did throw some hay around for effect. The ceiling got power washed and painted ( 6 gallons of paint!)- husband power 1 more time, the wall did get moved and the window does open. Track lights and outlets were put in with the help of a great neighbor and "voila!"--we did it!

Now I hope I have enough merchandise to fill the 400 square foot space. I still needed fixtures. We ran around to antique stores looking for the perfect pieces that would be functional and have the look I wanted. We found a great old cabinet (painted dark red- why is everything in my life painted red?) An old antique ironing board for $7.50 ,an antique baby sleigh for the ducks , a table top for my counter desk, a bench for $20.00 that displays pillows and sort of an old married bookcase-like piece of furniture that the baby stuff is in. It all had to be painted and I wasn't going to spend anymore $$$$--- so they got painted with odds and ends left over from the house. It all turned out kind of French country blue and yellow.

Yes! It all worked great. I stole some pieces from the house along with a couple of chairs. My husband made some shelves out some left over hickory and 3 days before opening day he started the signs.
I got 3/4 of the front of the barn painted with the help of a friend's backhoe that lifted me up in the bucket so I could reach up to around 30' or so. At least it's respectable-looking and obvious that it's a work in progress. How am I going to get the last 20' done? I keep saying: "what if no one comes? What if I don't make any money?" I keep answering- "well some of the work needed to be done anyway."
Jeeze Louise- What was I thinking?

welcome to buttercup boutique

I am new to the world of blogging. Since I have opened a little barn boutique of handmade goodies my husband decided it was time for me to meet and greet the world.So- to anyone interested here's my story. My husband and I moved to upstate N.Y. from Brooklyn 3 years ago. Bought this old 1850 farmhouse with some land and a big old barn. It's been a long road. FIX, FIX, FIX! A money pit. Long cold winters. Too much time to think. Uh oh, another brainstorm. That means trouble! Why don't I open a little store in the barn? It probably wouldn't cost too much (wrong), doesn't look like too much work and when it's done I would have a little store and make some money! Well I won't bore you with all the details but OMG - it was expensive, wasn't easy but I do have a little store.
A quick look inside- oh yeah - that's me the maniacal maker

So that's it. A few of my favorite things. Some fashion, handbags, jewelry and hats. Great smelling dried flowers, potpourri and bath products. Baby stuff. Pillows, wreaths and wacky birdhouses. The problem with us crazy makers is that there is never enough time in the day to make all the things you want to make- your mind works overtime at night thinking of new ways to make a pillow or sew hair on a doll and this is the result. Buttercup Boutique...
Next post. The trials and tribulations of the construction and OMG- now the roof is leaking.
Open for business! Thanks to my unbelievably patient husband and P.S. he made all the signs. I only hope this crazy endeavor lives up to these fantastic signs!