March 2008 Hot Button Winners

Congrats to our
March Hot Button of the Month Winner!


Our March Hot Button of the Month Contest Winner is…Fran Colaianni from Katy, Texas. Fran's "Lady Ready To Face Her Fears" button was designed to encourage participation in a public speaking program.

"The number one fear is speaking in public - while death is 7th on the list (of fears)," Fran said. "Our intent was to make light of our fears by putting the spinning wheel on the button, so people can laugh and change it back and forth with their feelings."

This button is unique in that Fran added a metal "pointer" that can be rotated to indicate the feelings of the owner.

Fran noted that the button worked great. They received lots of positive comments and plan to us it for a membership drive this Spring.

As the March Hot Button of the Month winner, Fran will receive a $100 gift certificate to Badge-A-Minit.com.

The button entries keep coming in! Once again, it was hard to do, but we narrowed the entries down and awarded the title of March Hot Buttons to 8 designs. Winners receive a coupon for 10% off their next purchase at Badge-A-Minit.com.

Keep sending those designs and ideas! Remember: you can enter as often as you wish. We LOVE to hear from you and look forward to sharing your masterpieces with the Badge-A-Minit family.

Not sure what to submit? Here are some ideas:
- A one-of-a-kind button (maybe photo buttons made for each member of a sports team or a Birthday Girl button with the birthday girl's photo).
- A button with a saying that makes you laugh...or think...or feel warm and fuzzy.
- A button promoting a special event (a race, a concert, a family reunion).
- A button made with unique materials (sequins, foil, feathers, etc.).
- A button that earns money!

The list is endless - and we want to see them all! It only takes a few minutes to enter, so do it today!

Olive Garden "Hospitaliano!"
Danny Loschiavo of HospiPins.com in Chandler, AZ submitted this beautifully designed button. The trademarked "hospitaliano" logo is required to be worn by all Olive Garden employees. This artistic and orginal approach was very popular among Olive Gardens nationwide.
Chili Challenge
Every year, the Cedar Rapids Blues Society gets together with the Jimmy Buffet Club to do a chili cookoff. All the money raised goes to The Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids. Sherry Henderson of Love & Kisses in Cedar Rapids, Iowa submitted this promotional button. She's been designing and donating buttons to the event for the past five years! Sherry notes that each year, the buttons raise a little more money, and the contestants keep and display all of their buttons from past years!
MVP Award
Todd Reis of kac designs in Brunswick, Ohio, was looking for an inexpensive way to recognize his team's Most Valuable Players. Custom-printed ribbons and medals were too expensive, so he turned to his button machine! For just about a quarter, he made unique customized awards. "The coaches loved it and it didn't hurt the budget at all," said Todd. "AND it left some extra money for the girls for uniforms and additional tournaments."
Ethan's Eagles
Carol Cox from M.C. Lawn Care Service for Autism in Farragut, Iowa, entered this button for Ethan's Eagles, a team competing in the 1st Annual Walk for Autism in April. Each registering team member will receive a button and a t-shirt to wear to support Autism Awareness. "Ethan is my cousin's son, so this is a very special thing to me," said Carol. "I'm sure everyone that walks for Ethan's Eagles will wear the buttons proudly!"
Walk America For Preemies
Tina Casbarro of Unique Imprinting in Auburn, NY, started making these buttons when her twins were born eight weeks early. "A time that should have been a great celebration turned very hard when we spent our time praying that our babies survived," Tina said. She hopes that spreading these buttons all over the country will help prevent more babies from having to struggle to survive at such a young age. She plans to give the buttons to the volunteers that make Walk America possible. The buttons are also sold locally (and nationwide via the web) to raise money for the March of Dimes.
Keaton & Fairbanks
This button focused attention on the theme of the 15th Annual Buster Keaton Celebration in 2007. Presentors and celebration organizers wore the button, according to Carol Yoho of Topeka, Kansas, who created it. "Participants look forward to wearing the button and then adding it to their button collections of the event from past years," Carol said. "When archived photos and video are reviewed in the future, the look of the 2007 button will help organizers identify this 15th annual event at a glance."
Katie Sunia Gebauer Memory Buttons
David Sunia of Long Beach, CA, designed this button along with others in memory of his sister and best friend, Katie Sunia Gebauer. "The buttons were given to family and friends and allowed them to take home a memory of Katie," David said.
Irish Today
Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!! This button, submitted by Natalie Widder or Davenport, Iowa, honors the "wearing o'the green" at least for the day! Natalie made the button for fun - everyone loved it and wanted their own!