Fall Fun

Hello....

Hello, Hello. I have finally gotten the chance to sort of revamp my blog. Eeek. It so, desperately needed it. It's been pitiful, really. There are many reasons why it ended up looking pitiful and to keep from boring you to tears, I will not indulge you. But, good news. My blog will now be more than just announcing a new collection, expansion, sale or giveaway. Yes, those are great and needed from time to time, but I want to give readers something more enjoyable to read. So, let's make this fun! So, with that being said. Here is to the best of my intentions. Wish me luck!

Help!!

I posted on my facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dainty-Button/187487127949802 about revamping our blog and asked for feedback and suggestions. I think maybe one person commented, but I did have a few email me. I've been asked many times to share DIY's with my blog and fan page followers, as well as customers. I won't be sharing any DIY's about my own personal work and recipes, but I will be posting some great ideas and such, that I'm a big fan of and hopefully, it will inspire others. As far as my own work, that's why I'm in business : )

Ok, on to my post. I'm blabbering...

What's your favorite season? I think out of all of my friends and family, fall is probably a favorite. I can't recall many telling me summer or winter. It's usually either, Fall or Spring. I think this is because the weather is so nice. It's either, right before or after you feel like you're in hell or going to freeze to death. I would have to say that Fall is my favorite. Summer is ok, but honestly, I live in San Francisco, and we don't really get a summer. We don't really get any seasons, for that matter. It's pretty much the same year round, give or take a couple months during winter that actually feel like we're having a "winter". But, "Fall" is still my favorite. I can always feel it in the air, starting around August. The energy of everybody's summer winding down and school starting back up. I get so excited. I'm a HUGE holiday person, so I think one excitement is knowing the holiday season is so close. So, as I write this post on the eve of Labor Day, I can't tell you how excited I am to just get tomorrow over with. I guess, it "officially" seems like fall once we bid Labor Day "goodbye". 

The past week as been so hectic. Our family moved, which is by far, the worst experience. I hate moving with a deep passion. But, during this hectic week, my mind was going crazy with all sorts of new ideas. It's always during the most busiest, hectic times, when this happens. Not sure, why. In the midst of moving, finding a new home for my dog (horrible experience) and processing orders, it's a wonder, I'm this motivated. Ha! As I knew the Labor Day weekend was drawing close and it was technically the last summer "hoorah" for many, my anxiety for fall seemed to increase and the reality that the season was actually here, because even more exciting. I'm a huge entertainer and baker, during the holidays. Love it! I try to throw a Fall/Halloween party and Christmas party. Last year, I wasn't able to throw a Christmas one, because I was experiencing the first holiday season of retail. This year, I'm more prepared and a party is on the list! So, look for a lot of posts this season, with fun party and entertaining ideas, as well as baking tips and recipes. I'm sure there's a few of you out there, that enjoy it it, as much as I do.

First, I thought some of these ideas might be fun for my shop, Dainty Button, but after much thinking, I realized they just weren't a good fit. Mainly, shipping would be a pain in the rump. And I don't need to add any more work to my already busy schedule or any more "pains to my rump". But, they're such fun little ideas, I want to share! So, for those that have asked for fun little DIY's and tutorials, here you go! Maybe you can find some great use for them this season. I know, I will be trying them, myself.

Candy Apples

Don't these look amazing?? Another reason, I love fall! Candy and caramel apples. As soon, as I get settled in to our new home, I will most definitely be trying these guys out!

Recipe Ingredients

• 12 very small Red Delicious apples (from bagged apples)

• 1 cup each light corn syrup and hot water

• 1/2 cup red cinnamon candies (like Red Hots)

• 1/4 tsp liquid red food color

• 12 (8-in.-long) clean twigs, thin wooden dowels or candy sticks

• 2 cups sugar

Recipe Preparation

1. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
2. Wash and thoroughly dry apples; remove stems. Insert twigs firmly into stem ends.
3. Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; stir until sugar dissolves. Attach a candy thermometer to side of pan. Continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 250°F (wipe down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush occasionally to prevent crystallization).
4. When mixture reaches 250°F, add cinnamon candies and stir just to blend. Continue to cook until 300°F, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and swirl in food color, tilting saucepan, until blended. Let mixture settle for a minute until bubbles slow down.
5. Holding an apple by the twig and tilting pan, dip and swirl apple until coated. Lift apple and gently twirl over saucepan, letting excess drip back into pan. Place on prepared baking sheet, twig up. Repeat with remaining apples.
6. Allow apples to stand at room temperature until candy coating hardens, about 1 hour. Candy apples can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.

I'd love to know if you try these, and how they turn out. I'm thinking these would be a fun addition to our church's College and Career Fall Party.

Candy Corn Craze

These are great little party favor ideas! I did them last year, and it was a huge hit!

What you need:

1. Mason jars or jars of any assortment adds uniqueness and variety.

2. Candy Corn

3. Mixed nuts or one particular type

4. Ribbon, notions, buttons, string, name tags, etc.

Get to it!

1. Simply mix Candy Corn and mixed nuts into each jar. Shake well, to give it a good mixture. I alternated with Candy Corn and mixed nuts, while shaking (lightly), as I alternated. The mixture was even and perfect.

2. Add your own decoration on the jars. I added ribbon, buttons and little notes on the front for my guests.

This was super fun and thoughtful. A yummy gift to give your guests.

Fall Fashion Find

My other favorite thing about fall, besides the food and entertaining is, fashion. I absolutely adore fall fashion. I live in a city where I can get away with wearing more of it, year round, but during the fall, it's even more fun. Recently, leafing through different fashion magazines, a style stood out to me, that I was anxious to try. 

Knee socks and stockings with booty shoes, open toed shoes, etc. I know, I know. There is a fine line between wearing knee socks and booty shoes or shoes of any type, for that matter, as stylish fall fashion and looking like a sleazy Catholic schoolgirl. With as much fashion expertise, as I have (however much that is worth), I recommend to wear it carefully. Ha! 

So, the last couple weeks, thanks to SF's wonderful "fall weather", I've been able to test the waters, a little. Here's what I've come up with...

I'm always asked where I get my shoes. Well, a variety of places. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for" but on the other end of that, I'm also a firm believer in "deals". I hate paying an arm and a leg for my wardrobe. I shop at Target, Forever 21, thrift shops, etc., and I'll hit up sales. I'll admit that Nordstrom is my favorite department store and I'm guilty of frequenting it, quite often. But again, you get what you pay for. I live in a city where thrift shops are incredible. I know, not all people have that privilege, but I think if you look at the right places and know what you're looking for, you can find some great deals. I said all this, to say that 80% of my shoes have either been on sale, stores such as TJ Maxx, Marshall's, etc., thrift shops or, ok, I'm contradicting what I said earlier, gulp...knock offs. If the shoe is fab, I'm going to buy it, even if it is a knock off. Sure, they may only last a couple months, but what a wonderful couple months, those will be. I just don't recommend doing this with your entire shoe closet, otherwise, you will stay broke, for having to replace them all the time. 

Stockings...

Another one of my downfalls is, stockings. Love them! What's not to love, besides the lack of circulation part? Ok, that can be annoying. I stumbled into Forever 21 this weekend. And boy, I shouldn't have. There, at a huge table were tights and stockings of every color, style and print. All under $8! The mustard colored tights you see in the last picture, are one of my choices. Absolutely adorable and they're comfy. Sometimes, when you pay a cheap price for stockings, you get what you pay for. These are not the case. They're sturdy, enough control, but not cutting the circulation off. I'm thinking of purchasing a few extra for stocking stuffer ideas. Seriously, go check them out!!

And the last little fashion trend, I liked was light floral skirts with stockings. A couple that I've worn the last couple weeks...

Ok, so this picture is totally random, but you get a good idea of how I pulled off the knee socks and booty shoes look. I generally, would not have done this before, but for some reason, I love the look. 

That's my little sister, who looks amazing for just giving birth a month ago! 

Fall fashion is a wrap, for now!

Let's get to down, to business...

If you follow my Dainty Button facebook page, then you will know that we just concluded a HUGE Fall Giveaway, last week. A $200 SHOPPING SPREE! Yep, tis' true! I also, have a Giveaway Friday, every Friday, as well. Normally, I do not post our winner publicly. I used to, but due to a certain situation, I decided to start contacting our winners privately and leave the option up to them, whether they wanted to announce it. I have decided to announce these winners and hopefully, they will not mind. Due, to the time crunch I'm under, I'm hoping this is ok. Eeek. It's my pleasure to announce our lucky winners. The Fall Giveaway was a little tricky, with over 75 entries on separate days, I had to have 3 other people help me choose our winner. We chose our winner by drawing a name. Random.org wasn't a good fit for this giveaway drawing.

Fall Giveaway

$200 Shopping Spree 

winner is...

Giveaway Friday, last week featured a dozen of our very popular Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Cake Pops

According to Random.org

our lucky winner is...

Each winner has 24 hours from within the time this blog post has been posted, to redeem their giveaway. Please private message us on facebook, email us at daintybutton@yahoo.com or simply comment on our wall or twitter. Once we are contacted within 24 hours, we will send out an official Giveaway Email. Thanks everybody for helping share Dainty Button and participating. This is not the only giveaways we have. Check in throughout the week for a chance to win in our other giveaways! 

And to end this blog post, I'll be introducing a little Dainty Button project. Virtual Trunk Show. I've seen a couple of my friends do this and have always wondered if it would be a good project for my lil' business. So, I'm going to give it a try. It may completely bomb, but I won't know until I try, right? So, who wants to host Dainty Button's first Virtual Trunk Show? There will be a couple perks, such as a discount for every order placed through your hosting. And it's super easy! Without, spending too much time on this subject, if you're interested in hosting, a couple things to keep in mind:

1. Comment below with your email address or email me at daintybutton@yahoo.com.

2. Once you've received a special email from me, be on the lookout for a post on our facebook wall that will be encouraging all that are interested to participate. The participation in this post will determine, whether your name will be chosen to help host a Virtual Trunk Show. 

If all goes well, the first time around and it's a success, I'll continue doing it.

Ok, so this a complete wrap of this new revamped blog. How do you guys like the changes? Any ideas, suggestions, feedback? Feel free to comment or email me at daintybutton@yahoo.com. I'd love to hear from you!




Sincerely,
Charity