Birthday Wish List

Just for fun, here are a few things I wouldn't mind getting my grubby hams on:



Pioneer Woman Cooks (image from Amazon)



One Yard Wonders (image from Amazon)

I feel the need to mention that I don't need new books and am always cool with preowned gifts.



Pretty Owl Wing Headband from Sleepy King.

I don't own anything from Anthropologie, and I wouldn't mind changing that (photos from Anthropologie.com)



Long-Stem Tights



Obscured Pinstripes Cap



Every Angle Posts

Don't even get me started on their dresses. I'm serious.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

I finished a couple of my weekend goals, and of course tried out something new this afternoon. I'll be back to show off tomorrow. :D

Lahja's Birthday Party

Our good buddy Lahja turned four the other day and was ever so kind to invite us to his party at the WOW Children's Museum here in Lafayette. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that we've never been there before the party.



There are all kinds of costumes. Felix wore this mismatched dino suit the whole time we were there.



There is a pirate ship. I heard Felix telling some friendly pirates that he wanted to pretend he was on a tv show called "Dinosaurs and Pirates." He was also going to "destroy everything."



Felix and Lahja built this with a little help and posed with their friend Nico.



Felix put on a train conductor hat over his dino hat while working at the train station.



Here is Felix and Galileo cruising through the drive up at the bank.

We had so much fun at the museum with out friends and can't wait to go back! Felix is shamelessly requesting doubloon donations for a membership to the WOW museum for his birthday. Ok, I am requesting in his honor because he asks me if we can go back EVERY DAY.

On my to do list:

This hat for my handsome little fella using this tutorial from clevergirl.



Adorable dino mittens from this tutorial by Mme Zsazsa.

These two are from Rae and Dana's Celebrate the Boy business, which I've been watching and have to admit that these are the first projects I want to make really bad. I think it's just because most of the stuff I put tons of time and effort into making Felix is never used. :( I think he'll like these two a lot though!



This pretty tshirt refashion from this tutorial from Crissybell. We are new blog friends (hope I'm not being too forward!) and I'm so happy about all the cute things she makes.

I have to admit that I have another elastic waist skirt cut out also! What are you making this weekend?

Let's talk a little about Style School

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

The first thing I have to say about Style School is that it was AWESOME. It has been really fun and totally gave me the guts to dress and live more expressively. Does that make sense?

I've always known that I like these things:
hats
big glasses
hair flowers
hair pieces of all sizes (including pretty big)
bright colors
buttons

plus more probably.

I didn't really have the guts or ambition to do anything about my love for more of those things. Now I do all of it in addition to new things I learned that I like.

I'm not sure how many of the projects I have finished, but I plan on doing almost every single one. I have a pile of supplies on my table ready to go!

Here's are my completed Style School projects:

My faux vintage brooch wreath



My photo wall art (with faux polaroids. double faux so far guys!)



My pocket pillow, which was a bonus project:



Chainsaw said he had had that shirt since he was 16! I didn't even know that when I cut it up, but at least we're using it now instead of ignoring it in the closet, right?

My quote pillow, which wasn't turned into a pillow at this time. It is now and looks cute with it's friend Pocket Pillow!



My first vintage tie headband- made from vintage handmade vintage ties!



My Woodland Yarn Flower Arrangement:



My Upcycled Embroidered Bag:



Am a little addicted to these vintage bags now, but that's a story for another day!

My wonky wooden fambly:


My embroidered cardigan:


Another thing I can't wait to multiply.

My wardrobe remix leg warmers:



I've made two pairs of these already!

I have a couple other projects I haven't photographed because I don't love them. I have much more to say about Style School...tomorrow! :D

Happy Friday friends! I'm going to go finish some cute new wallets and maybe even design a new wallet style. What are you doing today?

Lessons in using pets as accessories

Be careful they don't get too tight and cut off your air supply.



Maybe tell them that friends don't constrict friends?



Mr. P did something sick in his house, and I freed him while Chainsaw removed the evidence.

Scroll down for giveaway goodness!

Giveaway time!

Giveaway is closed! Thanks to everyone for entering. :D

So my "something big" that was coming today is a big giveaway! Who doesn't love free stuff? If it's you, feel free to scroll past these pictures.



Holy smokes! Look at all that handmade goodness!






This adorable (out of focus, darn!) hat was made by Kiss My Button. I actually acquired this hat at the Denver Handmade Alliance swap that was right before the holidays. I think I traded a wristlet for this plum beauty with adorable bird button. Unfortunately, I don't really love how it looks on me, but I bet it would look great on you! I have several items from Kiss My Button that I just love!



One asymmetrical vintage sheet tote made by moi!



Three cards handmade by M. Heller Designs. These are also from the craft swap. She wanted one of my purses, so she swapped me a bunch of cards. Thought I'd share some with you!

One vintage lace collar with "pearls" on it. It doesn't have a closing device, which would probably give you a good excuse to go brooch shopping, right? I got this at an antique store.




Last, but not least, we have two pairs of vintage button earrings (one purple and gold, one white with blue flowers) and one houndstooth wallet made by me! I have to be honest and tell you that I accidentally melted a smidge on this wallet with my too hot iron. I think you can see it in the pictures, but it doesn't look too bad, I promise!

Wow! I think that's all around a $90 value. I'd try to enter, but I think I can restrain myself.

Ok, so this giveaway is open to all of my friends and enemies on the North American continent. If you're not on this continent but want to win, too bad! Just kidding, I'd let you sneak in if you were willing to help me pay for shipping. Hot Butter isn't exactly a super profitable business just yet.



How to win:
1. Go check out my etsy shop and come back here to leave a comment about what you like best or what you'd like to see more of from Hot Butter. Feel free to look at sold items also!

2. Tell your friends and enemies on facebook, twitter, or standing on the corner with a huge sign that you made yourself. Come back here and let me know. Links for twitter please. That way we can be friends if we aren't already!

3. Tell your friends and enemies on your blog. Come back and leave a link in the comments.

4. Follow my blog or let me know if you already are!

Ok, that ought to do it! Thank you so much for stopping by the Hot Butter blog. I'm trying very hard to promote myself better, and I could really use your help! I'll find a scientific method of winner choosing next Wednesday, March 3rd. Good luck!

Also- I added a bunch of stuff to the clearance section of my shop. I need to do some spring cleaning before I list new spring items! More to come soon!

Public service announcement:

CHANGE YOUR ROTARY BLADE. Do it now or yesterday (unless you just did it yesterday, then never mind) if you can!

I did it last weekend, and it saved my life. Woah, that was a little dramatic. Maybe it didn't save my life, but it did save my triceps from burning after a day of slicing with such force. Not anymore. Now it's like butter, and we know I like butter, right?

I had bigger and better things in mind for today, but my afternoon got eaten up a bit by taxes.

We got big stuff coming tomorrow, ok?

The fruits of my labor

I did it! Ok, I did some of it!

Here's the skirt I promised myself I'd make:



It's made from a vintage sheet, and I think it turned out AWESOME. It took me around an hour. I think I might shorten it a couple few inches or so, but I'm down with making some more of these as soon as I have the fabric!

I embroidered one of my 99 cent grandma cardigans for Style School:



It turned out pretty cute. I'm thinking about upping it's dorkiness by adding a big cursive A monogram on the other side. I think I got my newfound love for granny sweaters from my mom, who notoriously always has one at work. I don't think she wears them at home, but she has this baby blue grandma sweater that was always on the back of her work chair! Anyway, I've been wearing it all weekend. It's warm and looks good with everything, including my jammies.

Ok, gotta go to the post office and mail Laura's surprise package!!

I'm so happy he can see and smell!

I made Felix a sock monkey when he was really little. I sewed the whole thing by hand, and I gotta admit that he's a little wonky. I never finished him. He has been featureless for ages. Today, Felix convinced me sew some buttons on for eyes. Then he needed nostrils too. Nostrils are super important to Felix. That's why all his drawing look a little like pig people. It's all about the nostrils, see?



This is a drawing of Laura's mom.



See how happy he is? He instantly started hugging it and claiming his undying love. Also, if the monkey walked on all 4 hands/feet he would look like a dog, right?



Here we are all happy together. One reason I'm happy is them giant spectacles. I don't like sunglasses, but I'm thinking about leaving the lenses in these bad boys for the times when I HAVE to wear them. I end up having to borrow Chainsaw'a sun spectacles on road trips when I am driving and blinded by solar rays! Not anymore!

How to spend $14.50 like a champion:

1 big chalk board
1 vintage carry on bag
2 metal baskets
1 vintage clutch
5 pounds of coffee
1 espresso machine
2 cardigans in shades of blue/green

and my personal favorite...



This cool leathery turban/gypsy looking hat that I may or may not be wearing backwards. I love it so much that I tried to make it look romantic in this picture.

Some other things that I should probably tell you regarding this particular thrift store- it's for a food bank that is in the same building. That is how I got 5 pounds of coffee for $5. I bought a bag when it was $2 a pound and was willing to pay that for a couple bags when I went into the store. When I saw the drop in price I snagged a whole bunch, which is awesome because I wanted to include some in a package Felix and I are putting together for someone in Korea. Someone who is unable to find coffee that is not instant that does not cost her life savings. Someone who is my favorite. Did you guess who?

Laura!

Anyway. They usually have bread and bakery stuff in the thrift store for FREE. I think it's day old. Free bread is unlimited to anyone, and sweet stuff is a limit of 2 packages per family. So I got some free bagels because there was so much free bread today that they had extra tables out to put it on.

I would also like to thank the universe for once again hooking me up with my soul's greatest desires. Ok, so the universe hasn't solved all my problems, but it did do me some BIG favors today:

1. Saw a hat like my new favorite thing ever on etsy, loved it, wished I could have it, etc. This one cost me less than $1, and an older man behind me was jealous!

2. I've been wanting some metal/plastic bins to put cleaning supplies in- like one for bathroom stuff, kitchen stuff, etc. Thanks universe!

3. Cheap coffee? Oh universe, you shouldn't have!

4. $2 super nice espresso machine with "perfect froth" to present to my favorite man prize, Chainsaw? Yes, please!

I'm starting to have a very hard time paying full price for things. Not because I'm cheap, but because it doesn't seem to make sense to pay full price when I can get what I want for much cheaper. It takes a little more work, but it's worth it in so many ways!

Sharing is Caring!

I've been pretty lazy this morning. By lazy, I mean cruising the internet and sponging off the genius of others, and by that, I mean tutorials! I should probably make one sometime to give back. Anyway...

How to hem your own jeans and not look like a dork by Sutton Grace.

How to make leggings. Isn't this video cute? I could go for a smidge more info maybe.

Weekend Goals

I usually waste my weekends. Like I spend all week watching Felix, sewing, cleaning, blah blah blah, and the weekend comes, Chainsaw isn't working, and I do pretty much nothing. I do sleep in one day, usually Sunday if you need to know which morning is more kosher for early (and by early I mean after 8:30) morning calling. I have friends whose kids wake up while it's STILL DARK. Not mine, ladies, and if he does wake up while it's still dark, he can turn the light on and play with his toys until Mama's ready to drag herself out of bed.



Not this weekend, kids! Ok, I do still plan on sleeping at least until 8:00am or longer on Sunday. It's good to stay consistent on some things, right? So here are my goals:

1. Measure windows. I want to make curtains. I haven't found the right fabric/sheets yet, but knowing the measurements I need will be a step in the right direction, right?

2. Make this skirt from Freshly Picked.

That looks so easy that even I should be able to do it! I think all I would need is some big ol' elastic. Which brings me to..

3. Go to the craft store in Boulder. I've looked everywhere that craft supplies are sold in my town for yellow piping and the perfect black and white fabric to make a ring bearer pillow (for a dog!) for a friend (of a friend)'s wedding. She also asked me to make card wallets for her bridesmaid gifts, so maybe I should add the making of 7 wallets to my to do list.

4. Pick a Style School project to work on. I can't believe Style School is pretty much over. :( At least I have managed to stretch it out indefinitely by having tons of projects that I'm behind on.

Took a sick day

Sorry I was absent yesterday, but I felt the need to take a sick day. So I spent all day on the couch, sleeping when I could, and watching kid shows with Felix when I couldn't. If I hadn't of felt crappy, the laziness would have been absolutely delicious!



Here's a style school project I finished the day before my sick day. I think I did kind of a bad job. I didn't have a small enough brush and ended up giving myself weird marks above my eye. I didn't have black paint, so I used a fine tipped black marker, which bled on the wood of Chainsaw's face. I might have to redo Chainsaw completely and fix my face somehow! I need to get some black paint!

New hair flairs are in the shop! So if you want to look fancy, go check them out. :D

Hair Flair

So I have clean hair today AND I made a couple more silk hair pieces.



This one is lavender and has a pretty white and gold vintage button center.



This one is all mine! It's buttery yellow, and the center is part of a vintage clip on earring I got from Grandma Mary Ann's collection that my stepmom Kris is the executor of these days. It looks so snazzy, and, even though we never met, I think Grandma Mary Ann would approve if she were here!



This cutie is the hem of a tie dye dress I cut up for another project. I absentmindedly crocheted it one day, and it now resides on this hair clip. It has triplet sisters that joined forces into a braided rope I wear as a necklace from time to time.

This is my Upcycled Embroidered Camera Bag for Style School.



I think it turned out super cute! The hardest part was threading the needle with yarn, but I got it worked out eventually. The project was to turn a bag into a camera bag, but I don't think I'll use it for that. I'm not sure if I'm using it for good or evil yet.

Oh Pioneer Woman, please stop it.

I'm talking about the recipes. It's a good thing I don't have her cookbook, because there wouldn't be enough nights in the week. I might have to add it to my birthday wish list! Anyway, I told you guys that I made the Shrimp Linguine last night, right? It was awesome. I spend part of tonight reading several pages of The Pioneer Woman cooks, and I really need to go to the grocery store.



I could really go for some of these.



And this salsa looks great. Making my own salsa has never crossed my mind, but the idea of being able to customize the chunkiness of my salsa is very appealing.

It's not like I recently discovered The Pioneer Woman, but I mostly stuck with the Confessions and have seen the error of my ways!
Photo source

Happy Monday!

I skipped out on posting last weekend because I was pretty boring all weekend. Nothing to see here folks! Actually, that's not true.

I made this pretty pink silk rose hair piece.





Isn't it glamorous? No action shots because it's quarter past hair wash day around here. I know, gross, right? :D



Here's the pretty pin cushion Sara Kate made me for Leigh Ann's swap.



This is the one I made for her. This is her photo. I was going to the post office right after I finished this, so I packed it up and sent it before I remembered to take a few photos. Oops! So special thanks to Sara Kate for taking a lovely photo.

Chainsaw bought me this gorgeous ring for Valentine's Day.



I know it kind of looks like I lost all my fingers in a factory accident, but it's just hard to take a picture of a ring that is on your finger and hold the camera still to get a clear shot. I really like how cool it's eyes look in this photo, but they are actually citrines and look yellow in real life. It's from etsy shop Western Mountain, and they have tons of cute stuff! I think the owl eyes are supposed to be birthstones, but I liked the citrines best.

I followed a bit of Pioneer Woman's advice and made Linguini and Shrimp for special VD dinner. It was super easy and extra delicious. I couldn't find already peeled shrimp and enlisted Chainsaw's help for that part, but it tasted like a million bucks. I'm also pleased with the knowledge that I have an extra pound of shrimp in my freezer waiting for me to eat them. They're shaking in their shells, which they're lucky they have!