Lydie-Bug Ornament

This week a friend told me that her granddaughter has cerebral cancer. She's only 1 year old and the cutest baby I have seen. I cried so much for such tragedy. The baby, even at her young age is a true warrior. You can read her story and see her precious photos here: CaringBridge / lydianichols / Welcome



Inspired by her I made this ornament. I call it Lydie-Bug, that's her nickname. If you can please add her and her parents on your prayers, meditations or duahs.


You can find the pattern on my eSnips

Decorated Shirt with Tatted Buttons

A week before going on vacation I made this for mom. I tatted 4 buttons. Mom sew 3 on the shirt and the 4th one I made it into a brooch.

It's really a t-shirt and mom takes out the neck collar because it bothers her. In this one she sew gold e-beads along the neck line and sew the buttons with the tatted decoration.


Here is a close up of the brooch. In the button center there's a polyclay yellow rose. Those are mom's favorites. The patterns are original and I'm writing them to include them on an e-zine that will come soon.

Button Bracelets

After spending most of the day browsing and perusing the bottons I bought a few days ago I tatted these 2 bracelets. The pattern is an adaptation fo Karey Solomon and which appears in Tatting With Buttons. THe one up I tatted with thread #10 in Ecru and the buttons are like 1/4 inch, so I used less stitches than in the pattern.

This other is the same as above but I used the green Petra thread I bought with the buttons and the rings are made with Lisbeth in Countryside color. I love the combination of colors! These also will be posted on my shops.

More buttons!

Yesterday I spent another full day out of the house making some errands for a new medical insurance. The one I have now chenged a lot of the medicines policies and I ended spending over $300 in medicines per month plus my cholesterol medicine (the only one that worked fine with me) was taken off the medicine list and I won't pay $5.50 per pill!!!! So even if I have to change doctors and may be pay a little more for doctors visits I will gladly do it if I can save that money in medicines. Anywya.... After going here and there getting documents I need for the change I told mom I wanted to buy more buttons. She gladly did it. I was thinking she was going to scream "More buttons? You already have thousands of them!" lol She didn't scream to me, just looked at me like I'm from another planet, but I know she pleased me because at least I was out of the house walking. This morning I woke up with the complementary pains after a long walk, but nothing that half percocet and an ultracet won't take care off.

So I got my 2 bags of pretty and shinny buttons. This time a set with brown tones and the other bag with blues/lime green/purple buttons. They all look so pretty! Each bag is 250 grams, that's like a 1/2 pounder, right? I'really suck converting metric to English. lol

Also got this Petra ball in a very pretty and bright green that complements the green buttons. Petra is my favorite thread to buy while I'm in PR. It comes in #8 and #5 and for less than $4 per 100 grams balls I get very happy with this thread! Comes in a lot of pretty colors too. Only solids, but now that I can paint my threads with Sharpies I will experiment and make a variegated thread myself. :-)

This 4th of July I won't go out of the house. Mom already went to the beauty salon and left me here at home. So I'll spend the day watching the marathon of "Twilight Zone" at SciFi channel and tatting some buttons bracelets, headbands and flowers. See ya later. Enjoy the picnics and BBQs if you are having them.

Decorated Canvas Tote

I'm still in the long road of recovery and healing, but a few days ago there was enough "sunshine" for me to work in this canvas tote. I got 3 of them at a local fabric/crafts/etc shop. They were super cheap and came with a set of fabric markers and 2 stampers (leaves and a flower). I got 3 of them because as soon as I saw them, they screamed decorate me!

I stamped the leaves and paint them witht he markes and draw some stems. Then I tatted some decorated buttons that look like flowers and added a cute button butterfly.

I think it needs something else, but I can't get what is missing. May be some grass? Or more butterflies? Could you help me with ideas?

Also I got a cool set of 20 colors of Sharpies (permanent markers). They are supper cool! I have been painting the clear buttons I got a couple of months ago and also painting my tatting. Yes, painting already finished tatted items. This opens a great creative window. Can you imagine that you need something in an especific color and you don't have time or the money to buy the thread or to dye it. Then paint it with a Sharpie! lol

Here I used white thread for the rings and pink for the chains. I painted the picots. The colors bleed a little because I wanted them to be very dark. But I love the way it looks!!! The button was also painted with the Sharpies.

What do you do when life gives you buttons?

Yesterday was "payday" and I told mom to get some canvas totes we saw a couple of weeks ago for $3.99 with markers and stamps to decorate and some bags of buttons. I saw this cute bags with tons and tons of buttons. Gosh! All of them shiny and pretty. Who can resist them? Not me, that's for sure! Each bag have over 300 buttons of all shapes, colors, sizes; with 2 or 4 holes and some with shanks. I got a pastel-tone bag and a clear tone bag. Aren't they amazing! So I went happy with my booty home. How much I spent in buttons? Ahem... Just a mere $12. But I deserve this treat. Buttons make me happy. lol Okay, now I'm being silly. So now... What to do with so many buttons?



Make flowers, of course! The brown caramel buttons are from a previous pattern I made. The 2 variegated ones and the pink are designs I made last night. The browns are for a t-shirt mom wants to decorate (still need to make 7 more) and the other 3 are going to decorate one of the canvas tote bags that I bought yesterday. I already paint one with the leaves and stems. Just need to make 2 or 3 more and sew them. I think I can finish one tonight and will take a photo.



Patterns for the flowers will come soon. I'm also making some butterflies. A few of patterns are on my web site.

Extreme Tatters Round Robin - Camille

I signed to the Extreme Round Robin a while ago. I forgot to post about it. But here is what I made for Camille, who is my 1st partner.


This is a button I made when I was with the button fever, thanks to Jane. lol The pattern will be available later. The thread looks pink but I think it's the reflection from the flash. It's white, with silver bugles and pink glass seed beads. I love this pattern. Pretty quick to do too.


This one is a mini doily I called "Faerie's Ring". I need to re-tat this one for the upcoming book of "Wings for Hope". If you notice the outer repetition looks like little faeries. I'm thinking in using different colors to "pop" more the design. So now you have a little preview of the upcoming book. ;-)

Here is the photo of everything I sent to Camille.

Still thinking of Spring

In this area where I'm living I see sheeps and goats often. So I decided to make a baby sheep. Cute, right? I think she will be a very good friend to Ayla, my mini-dragon. Ayla told me that she promise not to eat her. lol

The pattern is by Martha Ess and it's on Jane's site. I used an ivory color button that went perfect with the thread, which is DMC Petra #8.

My thinking of Spring I think will take me home (in PR). I need to make a short visit to NY for something personal and while I'm there I can take a small detour and visit my family in PR and also visit my doctors. I'm running low in medicines, so it's a great opportunity. I will stay only a few weeks. Not as long as before. Hubby is already crying because he'll miss me. :-( But this is for my own good and health, so he understands.

Playing with buttons

What happens when you have a box of beads and a jar of buttons like this one?


Buttons with tatting!!! I have been following Jane's adventures with her MOP (mother of pearl) buttons and her "new" way to add tatting to buttons. I must say that is very, very cute and fun!!! I understand now it's a little tricky to write the pattern because it depends on the size of the button and thread.



This flower-button I made it using a 3/4" 4-hole button, frosted green bugles and glass seed beads. There's an "E" bead on the center of the button. The color of the button is a strange green, looks more like a dark blueish olive green. The thread is black cotton perle El Beida #8. I think I have to adjust the counting a little bit on the center's rings and the joining picots. But I really like this one. I was going to continue playing but the light bulb in the room went off and hubby is not at home to change it. The light in the room is a white fluorescent one but the rest of the house is the regular yellow light and I can't tat very well with that light. So I have to wait until the morning to make more buttons.

Thanks Jane for the inspiration!!!

Motif 23

This is a heart that I love!!!! The pattern is by Inga Kristersen from Denmark. For the pattern if you send her an e-mail she will send you back a password to download it. I used some buttons that come is nice big packages at Walmart. They are like 1.5 cm and they are dusty rose. But they blend really good with the pink and white thread. The overall heart measures less than 3 inches. this is one of those patterns that you can make a dozen per day! lol