Weight Loss, New Dog, My New Desk and NEW Buttons!

Hello friends!

It's been really long since I did a post just about random life stuff.

I've been doing REALLY awesome. I have been so blessed to be so busy with my Etsy shop. I love waking up each morning to an inbox filled with orders and special requests. I love stretching my bounds with my creativity and seeing what else I can come up with!

I am still exercising a lot and have dropped a total of 45 lbs as of today! My clothes are ALL waaaay too big and I am seeing a big change in my face and middle section. I still have a lot more to go, but the difference is MAJOR!

We have had a bit of sadness and heartbreak around our family this month. Steve's most adorable and loved grandfather passed away after losing a long battle with cancer. Steve was with him right up until the moment he passed. His grandfather was such a loving, thoughtful man. Steve and his grandfather were extremely close throughout his life. I see a lot of him in Steve with his personality. The most heartbreaking of it all was seeing Grandma so heartbroken. Nothing I said or could do would have soothed her breaking heart. I hated that. He will be greatly missed by all of us.

Well, we did get to take a part of grandpa with us......we inherited his old guy, Duffy :) Grandpa rescued Duffy from being put to sleep after his owner was put into a retirement home. Grandpa loved that dog the short while he had him. We have been getting used to having a dog around the house.....yeah, we're cat people...lol. The cats have adjusted very well and simply ignore Duffy as he follows them around with his nose up their behinds (oy). Having a dog has meant going out for walks NO matter what the weather gives. Rain, sleet, snow or blazing heat this dog HAS to be walked. Thus.......the extra 5 lbs lost. I am really enjoying our multiple walks per day. It's good for the both of us. Duffy is a white poodle.....possibly a Bichon/Poodle, but definitely a poodle. And...being a little dog and especially being a poodle, he had to get a fancy rhinestone color and a new doggie wardrobe. Finding little sweaters and hoodies has been a fun new thing for me. Yes, he's already spoiled. Here is some pics the day he came home with us before his grooming!

Yeah. You see it. I decked out his color with ribbon, one of my felt stars complete with a handmade button from my "Sweet Talk" Collection. We've received tons of compliments on our walks already....lol (go ahead and say it like Steve does....."Oh, brother!")

My dad built me the most fabulous desk for my studio! For the last several years I have been working with a table that was hanging on barley........sagging deeply in the middle and covered in doodles, paint, scratches and glaze. I have always dreamed of having a gorgeous desk for my studio. Like many, I loooooved the Pottery Barn Craft Table but I wasn't going to spend that much for a table that will be heavy used. I showed the PB table to my dad and we made some sketches and tossed around some ideas. A few weeks later I had my desk. Ah, to put my Xacto knife down and not have it roll to the center of the table is so nice..lol. I chose a black stain for the wood and a granite top in blacks, tans and silvers. It's gorgeous. I tried to take some pics of it, but with the window in front of my desk, it was hard, but you get the gist!!

I love how much storage it allows! All of my button making supplies are in one cubby, my felt making supplies in the next and even an empty on on the bottom left side. The right side I store all of my packing supplies, envelopes, custom forms, tape, packing slip lables. The height of my new desk is just high enough that I can either sit OR stand while working. It has made my days creating much more delightful! He is available to create these desks for my scrappy friends if anyone is interested! Just email me :)


Thank you Dad! You are truly the best!!!!!!!

Well, in closing I would love to share my recent Etsy button sets, as well as a few custom orders I created this week.

The first set is a custom order of baseball/softball buttons. I had never made baseball buttons before, but I really loved how they turned out. I love this set so much I will be adding it to my shop soon :)



This is a brand-new listing to my shop today. It is titled, "Understated Elegance" Black and white swirls amoungst Swarovski crystals make this set of buttons a new favorite of mine!

A new popular seller in my shop is this set of buttons called, "Raspberry Chocolate Ganache". Layers of raspberry, chocolate and ganache richly make up this delicious set of buttons.

Anoter fun pink and brown combo to my shop. This set called, "Spring Scene" combines a bird and tree abstract-art-styled button with other matching buttons all in a set.

"Belle Fleur" Beautiful flower.............black, pink, swarovski crystals make this set of handmade buttons almost look like little edible truffles.

I hope everyone has an AWESOME week!! See you next week!

Tessa Ann