I've been doing really well. Bend has had some lovely weather over the weekend. Saturday morning, Steve and I took a 3 mile walk along the Deschutes River and afterwards relaxed in the grass at the park soaking in the sunshine. It was so nice and refreshing.
I had my parents over for dinner Saturday night. I've been trying out a lot of new recipes and so far everything has worked well. Steve has really enjoyed having home cooked meals. This means we have to exercise twice as hard..lol. So, on Saturday I made a dish my mom loves. Steak Diane. Decadent and rich, yes it was. I also made proscuitto wrapped corn on the cob which didn't turn out as good as it looked on tv. Ah, well. You never know until you try it.
Yesterday, Sunday, I worked on the new venture I have been pondering for a while.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been researching and planning a new venture into the world of Etsy. I thought it would be fun to try out and see how it goes. I opened my shop yesterday with my first items. Fun decorative pillows. I plan on also making handmade scrapbooking embellishments like the flower on the pillow below. It's been blast sewing and doing something different. A change of pace is always good!
So here are some of the pillows I have been working on. The first one is my personal favorite. If you know me, you know I love polka dots and hot pink. I think this little pillow totally has a "scrappy-feel" to it.
<------I handmade the flower on the right corner using some felt, fabric and...of course, my beloved black and white polka dot ribbon. I plan on making similar flowers in sets and putting them in my shop. They would be adorable on mini books, cards or even layouts, don't ya think?!?
<---- This pillow was SO fun to make. I embellished the flowers with My Minds Eye orange buttons and stitched them on with aqua thread. The trim across the bottom is a vintage item that I found at a local vintage shop. 
<-----This pillow called, "Lime Swirls" was definitely a labor of love. I had no idea that adding the beaded trim would be so difficult and challenging. But, after Ellen, Dr. Phil and Oprah (haha) I had it figured out and it turned out so pretty. This is a really big pillow and SO soft. Now, I know how to add trims without 3 hours of trial and error..lol.
<--------I called this silky pillow, "Silky Chocolate and Flowers". This fabric is GORGEOUS and I would love to make a bead spread out of it stuffed with down. It's so rich and soft. Love it!On another note, I have created one page in the last month. I couldn't wait to play with the new Basic Grey Sultry line. I chose to create a page about my dear friend Rachel. I met Rachel through going to CHA with Tinkering Ink. She works for them in their office and attended the Winter shows this year and last year. We really hit it off as friends and have so much in common. She's one of those people that instantly I felt like I knew her for a lifetime. She lives in Utah, so we don't get to see each other often, but when we do get the chance to chat, we can literally talk all night. Love that girl!
Well, that's it for now. I hope you are ALL doing well. Again, thank you for your most encouraging words and taking the time to share your experiences with me. It has provided great comfort to Steve and I that we were not alone. But, for now...............moving forward. Life is good.
Loves,
Tessa Ann
