Fragment: ABOTONADA

So...my little baby is GROWING...

It all started out with a little treasure I found one day at an art exhibit in Casa de Teatro....I then tested my creative habilities by trying to make one myself...when I saw that the result was pretty decent, I began to make little gifts to people with my new creations...then I pondered: if I bought one of these so excitingly, I assume other people will do mine...so I started selling...I came up with an allusive name and started my ABOTONADA blog....with my sister's and my mother's input the ideas kept moving forward...from bracelets to necklaces to earrings to rings and the most recent, headbands....then came the business cards, which I made in like 2 minutes one day, out of recyled materials...then came the little jute and felt gift bags....then came the bill/receipts with my logo.

I've sold quite a bit of ABOTONADA creations and my skill keeps getting better and better. Never in my life had I learned-or even been remotely interested in learning-how to sew a button! In our super traditional culture, knowing how to sew a button is sort of a pre-requisite to getting married, same as cooking ;) I couldn't do any of these two, until my own need of learning came about..."I can not go on with ABOTONADA and not know how to sew a button!", I thought. I NEEDED to learn...so....."Mom, can you show me how to sew a button?" My look was sort of shy, hers was more like, "FINALLY! :)" P.S. cooking is still on the waiting list!


These days, my terrace is full of buttons and threads laying on the floor. I love going up there and looking at my organized "buttoned" mess; it gives me this little pinch in my heart that makes me feel: ALIVE. ABOTONADA has been therapeutic even! It's kept my mind busy, my hours productive, my soul cleansing, my pocket filling a bit more ($), infusing my stubborn self with passion...WHAT?! passion? A little word I've been searching for........for quite a long time.

Fragment: NAPA VALLEY

OK. So, first things first! A little word on Napa, California:

The reason that I stopped blogging in the first place was because I travelled to CA to visit Pushy and spend the holidays. I went for 2 weeks and sadly spent the first 5 days SICK :-/ First, I got food poisoned and then, I got the flu (due to the weather change, I suppose). So the first days weren't all that HAPPY. My very good friend RATONCITO came with me to CA and I felt so guilty that I was sick; I kind of ruined the plans
:(

Anyways, between little moments of feeling better and feeling terrible, I was able to enjoy some amazing restaurants and a couple of wine tasting experiences ;) I must say that, just like I imagined, Napa Valley is my kind of place! Food and wine are the main characters of the valley's culture, and two very good friends of mine ;)

The views are heavenly! Vineyards everywhere, beautiful homes, mountains, lots of greenery, cozy little towns here and there. Wonderful restaurants and bars with very professional staff. Lots of wine to taste! It is certainly a must-be-lived experience.

Amongst the fabulous restaurants that we visited are the following:

COOK (St. Helena), SMALL WORLD (Napa), CHOW (SF), FARM (Napa), BOCADILLOS (SF), Q (Napa), VILLA CORONA (Napa), THE ORCHID CUISINE (Healdsburg), WASABI & GINGER (SF).


We also visited a couple of cute towns like Calistoga, Sonoma, Napa, St. Helena, Yountville, and Healdsburg. And of course, I was a happy camper every time we found antique shops, flea markets and/or goodwill stores! This gorgeaus vintage headpiece I found at a goodwill store in St. Helena. I'm so in love :)

Pushy's little home was adorable! It is soooo tiny but oh, so perfect! His home is on a farm/small vineyard; such a peculiar place to live :) I loved it! I spent lots of time making my button bracelets there while Pushy worked and while I recuperated from all my sickness. I got some good work done, so that was GREAT!

We visited San Francisco a couple of times, but only on my way to the airport did I get to see the GOLDEN GATE. However, it was night time, so I couldn't get any pictures :( Ratoncito DID get his photos at the Gate and took this wonderful picture!

As of me, I only got the toll receipt as an evidence that I crossed this super famous bridge! ;)

Fragment: CRAFTING

I've been crafting a lot these days and enjoying every minute of it. But I'd also like to sell, and I feel I'm so bad at it!! I mean, I can't complain; I've already sold a couple of bracelets....but I'm not sure I have the guts to go up to people and show them my stuff, it sort of happened last night :-/ This is why I like it the 'etsy' way...can't wait to be able to have my shop set up and working!

How is it that people do it?! It has to be a natural gift/talent! or maybe a quality that I can (and will have to): LEARN.

But of course, I am super loving all the little trinkets that go with getting my own little 'business' going...love the name ABOTONADA, the whole concept of my shop, making the bracelets, thinking about color combinations and names, love blogging at http://abotonada.blogspot.com/, love the motto of my shop "What's in or out is less important than what's YOU: your passions, your personal style." -Entre Nous, Ollivier

Something that is really cool is that other people are being inspired with my doings like I have been inspired by others before! People have left wonderful comments here and on facebook about my blog and about ABOTONADA, and it gives me a tingly feeling that confirms that I am doing things that I'm meant to be doing ;)

"Last week's FRAGMENTS..."

So many things have happened these past few days! Where to start......????

Well, for starters, last sunday I got a gig playing "PETER AND THE WOLF" in Santiago (a town 2 hrs north of the capital, the 2nd capital of DR). "Pedro y el Lobo" (in spanish) is a fantastic children's story, composed by the russian Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. Prokofiev wrote both the music and the text. A narrator tells the story accompanied by an orchestra. Each character in the story is represented by an instrument which plays a specific theme every time the character comes into scene. I play the clarinet, so I was the CAT!

Click here to listen to the themes, especially the cat's theme ;)

http://www.philtulga.com/Peter.html

It was certainly a good experience! I enjoyed it and played it decently, I believe.

Secondly, I've been wanting to write about my new hobby/business/craft! ABOTONADA by NenyGQ ;) Visit my other blog to learn about what I've been dedicating lots of my time to, lately http://abotonada.blogspot.com/. ABOTONADA is the solution that I have found until I move to Cali and open my Etsy shop. The blog is in spanish, so for the non-spanish speakers, basically, I LOVE BUTTONS and have found a cool way to use them! I found a little treasure the other day that inspired me to make these bracelets, and I'm enjoying it so so so much! I have lots of buttons; new ones, old ones, found buttons, purchased buttons, and buttons borrowed from my grandma's collection ;) I've already gotten orders! Today I have 4 bracelets to make, YAY!


Also, last wednesday, I received a phone call for another gig! A local band was to have their debut concert and wanted me to do the background vocals and play some clarinet on a couple of songs. I was so excited! It's a form of gig that I hadn't really tried before, but it sounded so like ME! The band has the lead vocalist's name, JOSE BRACHE, and a friend of mine is the musical director and the man of all the arrangements. I loved all the songs when I heard the CD, and spent the last 3 days playing the disc over and over, so I could internalize the music and learn the vocals.



The concert was last night...and it is unfortunate that the turn out was really low, in terms of the amount of people that attended. I guess the band spent so much time taking care of the musical aspect, which was FANTASTIC by the way, that they did not attend the marketing aspect of the whole deal sufficiently. So much work, and such a gem, not to be appreciated because of the word not having been spread. However, THE SHOW MUST GO ON! We went on stage, the curtains opened, and with the very few people that were there, we gave a very nice performance ;) At least, I enjoyed it FULLY! It was once again, another FABULOUS experience in my life! Ahhhhhhhh, love those ;)

"WitTy ButToNs"

There is something that has been fervently on my mind lately: OPENING MY OWN ETSY SHOP! How exciting is this?! It is so cool to find something that brings out the passion for action! I hadn't felt like this in a while...

So, I already technically 'opened' my shop, but still have to set it up with a name, a banner and actually post listings of what I will be selling. I've deciced that the main material of my creations will be BUTTONS. I will make button bracelets, button earrings, button rings, button necklaces, button covered frames, button bouquets, button fascinators and headbands...button THIS, button THAT...basically, anything I can alter with buttons! I love buttons! I love button shopping, hunting for button treasures in my grandmother's sewing closet, and crafting with buttons. Therefore, I think a focus on button creations is THE way to go for my etsy shop!

Here are a few samples of what I will be making (these are made by me)...

BUTTON BRACELETS:



BUTTON BOUQUETS:

I've been thinking of names for my shop, and so far I've come up with the following list of tentatives:

BUTTONFLY, BOTONES, UNBUTTONED, WITTYBUTTONS

I think I like WITTYBUTTONS best! What do YOU think? Please comment ;)

As far as the banner for my shop, I've found some nice ones on etsy. I can do it myself, but for starters, I think I'll buy one. I can focus on making my own banner later on, depending on the course and the shape that my shop takes. Here are a few samples:









I like them all! It's so hard to choose! The first one is my absolute favorite, though...please, DO comment ;)

Anyways, yesterday I got a little downer. International carriers like FedEx, DHL, UPS are relatively new in DR. Therefore, the fees are ridiculously high to ship to USA! I found out it would cost aprox. US$50 to ship a bracelet to New York!! It's impossible :( Therefore, I figured I will have to wait until I move to California to start my shop...BUMMER! I was so excited.........wait a minute! Have I written about me moving to Cali????? Mmmmmm, next posting ;)

Fragment: CRAFTING

I went button hunting a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't had a chance to write about it with all the hecticness of my cuban friend coming...but now that I'm resuming all my chores and personal activities, I remember that I have a wedding to keep planning!

So button hunting was of course, DELIGHTFUL! My sister took me to a pretty big mercer's shop and guided me directly to the buttons section. There were 5 aisles holding jars full of different colored, sized and shaped BUTTONS!!!!! Oh my!! I felt like I was dreaming!!!!! So after an hour or so of choosing the ones I liked most, we went home and layed them out on the table...

This is me sorting out the white and ivory buttons for my wedding BUTTON-bouquet!! EXCITING!

The wire sticks I'd already found at a local craft shop a couple of days ago. I was hanging out with a friend and when we drove by the store I got a hunch that I had to go in! I was so excited to randomly find exactly the wires that I wanted: green and sort of thick for sturdiness.

Yesterday, I went to my sister's house with my toolbox holding all the buttons and the wire sticks..."LET'S GET TO WORK!" It was fun and relaxing making the button flowers...this is what I love about craft making, it's so therapeutic! I think we had a successful first try at button-bouquet making ;)

(my newest obsession)

One thing I've had very clear: I want a wedding that defies all the cookie cutter stuff!

And some of the things I want very different are the bouquet and flower arrangements. First of all, because I am not and never have been much of a flower person; secondly, why is it that we do things without even asking WHY we do it? Why do we cut a cake for someone's birthday? Why does the bride HAVE to hold a bouquet of flowers to walk down the aisle? Why throw the bouquet? Why wear a garter? Why, why, why?? Ok, I don't want to sound like such a rebel, I do appreciate symbolic things because they spice things up, they hold a certain charm...............but why not give it a little twist that will make it YOURS? My bridesmaids won't have flowers, instead, they will carry lanterns and place them along the aisle to adorn my way to the altar.......as of me, I WILL carry a bouquet, but I've been wondering for the past few weeks, how can my bouquet be different?

I started skecthing ideas in my little notebook...and I came up with something interesting. Vine sticks tipped off with attached fabrics, colored papers, and buttons! A scrapbooked bouquet! YES! This would be soooo ME!

And of course, I logged on to etsy and searched for button bouquets to see if anything like it would appear...and to my surprise and extreme satisfaction, it does exist!! People do these crazy things I think about! I am so not alone in the world...it feels good to know there are others that feel my way ;) BUTTON BOUQUETS, my newest obsession! Check them out on etsy.com, there are so many! I wanted to buy this one from the seller letters4lilly for my wedding bouquet but then I thought, this looks easy enough to make; I can go buy buttons that I fall in love with, and make my button bouquet myself!

It will have much more meaning this way ;) I am so excited about this!!!!! I can't wait to go BUTTON hunting!

Fragment: SCRAPBOOKING

My scrapbooking space...

I began scrapbooking after my first semester in college. In an intent to keep all those great freshmen memories, I took lots of pictures and wanted to organize them to show my family when I went home for Christmas. So I went out to look for a cool album, but instead bought a RED BOOK (honoring the colors of the school, M'ville) with black cardstock paper. I glued my pictures and decorated each page with keepsakes and ephemera that I'd saved the last 5 months.

What I didn't know was that what I'd done actually had a name...it was an official hobby here in the states! SCRAPBOOKING!

And so I became obsessed with all the scrapbooking goodies at craft stores, and any other general store I'd visit, like Target or Walmart, and would be fascinated for hours just browsing. But all these cute little things were/are sooo pricey! So, I would just buy whatever was on sale. Everytime I'd go to a store, I would head to the scrapbooking section (it even has an exclusive SECTION) and hunt for treasures that were 50%-75% off and so. In no time, I had a storing bin full of my own scrapbooking goodies, YAY!

And like this, one of my favorite pass times was born! Scrapbooking for me is therapeutic. I am such a nostalgic person. Since I was a little girl, I love reliving memories, keeping things that would remind me of a special event or a special someone, hunting for little treasures...scrapbooking just makes sense for me! Saving my treasures in beautiful books created by me......I can spend hours sitting in my scrapbooking workspace. No matter if I am sad, happy, stressed out, worried, nervous, excited, etc., when I scrapbook, I channel everything into those pages...and all of a sudden, everything seems clearer, better, focused and in place.