A tour through The Button Shop!

I've had a few requests to see where I create and work. Today, I am excited to share with you the place where all of the fun buttons you see in my shop come alive!

Upstairs in a small corner studio, brightly lit each day with warm sunshine and upbeat tunes. A cup of coffee or tea is always a necessity to keep the creativity flowing throughout my day. I love that I am able to live out my dream and work for myself creating little pieces of artwork; my buttons. I could have never imagined that I would actually be able to work from home and for myself. It really has been a fun, and educational journey so far. I've learned so much about business and customer service. I've learned what it means to work for yourself and put in more time that you ever would have thought about doing with your day job. (and love it) I am learning about the joys (being sarcastic..lol) of taxes as part of being a business owner. I'm enjoying the process of all of it. I only hope to grow and grow as each year passes!

Welcome to The Button Shop!

{disclaimer: I would have loved to have captured a better assortment of photos, but you get the gist!}

The 1st photo is a view of my work table and computer area. I am surrounded by photos and colors of things I adore and love. My sweet grandma Ann (whom I was named after) smiles down upon me throughout the day, as if she is there encouraging me, just like she always did :)

I love the built in crown molding-shelving on the back wall. I have filled this with photos, quotes and other things that have had special meaning to me throughout my life. I found the funky multi-color floor lamp at Home Depot. Yeah, it's a little wacky and crazy, but I just love it! That and my pink lamp's bright happy light is essential during creative times!

My talented, crafty father built this work table for me, inspired by the Pottery Barn craft table. I wanted lots of storage, it to be black versus the white table Pottery Barn, regular desk size, so I didn't' need a stool...andd a beautiful granite counter top. This table is where I spend 85% of my life..lol. It is used greatly and I just LOVE it!!!

This is the view as you walk into my shop. A bulletin board greets you with photos of buttons sand a "Welcome To The Button Shop" sign! I created a cute garland for my window that says, "Inspire." I've tried to take pics of it, as there are SO many details within each garland, but have never been successful.

From this view you also have my cute flower rug. When I found this, it was a must have. It just makes me smile :) I store my adhesives, camera, printer, computer manuals, and other things I use for making buttons in the 7 drawer unit.

The official "Button Shop!" Come in, sit down, sip some tea and start creating!

I use my old, beat up Making Memories jewelry-style box to hold things I use for my button creations. I love my Making Memories carousel. It holds all of my colored pencils, pens and other odd tools. I have used a couple cute vintage sugar canisters to contain my embroidery thread and tulle.

This is my view from my desk. The closet area has become a place to store all of my scrapbooking embellishments. I store all of my embellishments by color. It really helps when I have a project to simply pull out the drawers containing the colors I need! I also store my stamps, glitter, metal accents, and chipboard in these not-so-cute plastic containers--handy, just not cute ;)

The bakers rack was a 1st anniversary present to my mom from my dad almost 30 years ago. I think it's so pretty and it works beautifully for holding my little TV, my ribbon and felt supplies.
And..yes that's a little plate of buttons, set and ready to be shipped out to customers!

This is my view sitting at my desk looking to the right. All of my scrapbooking paper, and best of all my sweet old guy, Duffy. He loves that big fluffy bed, as you can see..hehe! He sleeps/snores. I work. This window, as you can see, gives me A LOT of natural daylight. I usually photograph my buttons next to this window. It works better than my light tent.

In the storage areas of my work table, I have filled baskets with the things I use frequently while working or creating. I love using these tags from Elle's Studio and Jenny Bowlin to handwrite "Thank You" notes to customers. http://www.shopellestudio.com/
This basket is filled with everything I need to pack up my button orders. My packaging toppers, my clear cello bags, tape, scissors, tissue paper, twine and my beloved vintage lace paper.

This is the view from my side of my work table. All of my clay supplies are handy beside me. The top shelf holds my wax paper and all of the opened packages of clay. Since I custom mix most colors for my buttons, this area also holds the clays needed for each collection, all together labeled, so I am sure to get the correct color each time I recreate a set. I even have little recipe cards for my formulas for colors. Top secret!! *wink*

The next shelf holds new packages of clay ready to be used, mixed and created with. This is my stock pile. This is only a 10th of what I usually have. I am waiting for the next sale at Joanne's to stock up!

The last shelf houses my mini-cookie sheets for baking my buttons in the toaster oven.



A grouping using just a couple of my favorite "T's" I have been collecting. We found the yellow "T" at a yard sale last weekend for just a dollar. Thanks DAD!

I keep my most used felt and fabric in this basket. It also contains the patterns I've created for my felt cupcakes, birds, robots, teacups, tiaras, scull and x-bones, leaves and flowers, as well as scraps of felt for those tiny details. I just love pulling this out and playing with all of the color that bursts out of this basket!

My assortment of acrylic paints. I just love all of the colors of paint together, messy with their drips and all. So pretty to look at ;)

A close up of those buttons ready to ship! I see some new ones in there! Can you spot the new designs? They are up in the shop now! I also have created a fan page for my shop. Come say hi! I will do special offers and discounts for fans there. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tessa-Ann-Designs/133681628067?ref=mf

I hope everyone has a fabulous week! I'd love to see your creative spaces too. Link up your blog if you've shared your creative space! I'd love to do a post on this in the future :D

xoxo Tessa Ann*