Monday Creative Team Feature: *Rachel Mason*

Welcome to The Button Shop's 1st Creative Team member showcase! This Monday we have our Creative Team Member Rachel. Take a moment and get to know Rachel and be inspired by her fun scrapbooking style! With this post we are also giving away the set of buttons Rachel chose to work with to one lucky reader!

Hi! My name is Rachel and I am so thrilled to be a part of this creative team. I have been married to my best friend for almost 8 years and am mom (and cleaning lady) to four needy pets. By day, I am a veterinary technician at a large clinic in Kansas City. By night (and on the weekends), I am crafter extraordinaire...or at least try to be! I love to sew, paint, knit, and am learning to crochet. but my true love is scrapbooking and photography. I say both are a cheaper form of therapy. When I scrapbook I prefer to use odds & ends, bits & bobs, and whatever scraps I have laying around to create emotion and transfer my feelings to paper. Through the lens, I attempt to capture those imperfect moments of life that make people truly human. In my spare time, I play in my Etsy shop that I have filled with vintage goodies! I hope you enjoy what I have made with Tessa Ann's fabulous buttons!

Rachel chose the "Rainbow Bright" Button set for her projects this month! This set of buttons was a perfect choice for embellishing her childhood photos. I love how Rachel used the bakers twin from our packaging to tie to the centers of each button. Be sure to read her journaling. It's just too cute to miss! Simply leave a comment below to WIN your own set of these buttons!  (winner will be announced next Sunday 2/7/09)

 

  

Job well done, Rachel!  Thank you for inspiring all of us!

Custom orders....

Custom orders. Each one presents a new challenge and with each one I learn something new and my skills expand on so many levels. I love seeing what the final result is when the customer shares their project with me. I am always so proud to see my little handmade button shining brightly on a handmade sweater or scrapbooking page.

Terra, of Terra Dawn Photography contacted me this month to create custom buttons that matched her adorable owl logo with hearts surrounding the owl. I was pretty excited how they turned out and even more thrilled when she showed me this photo!  Teal and Red. *drooling* Yep. My favorite colors. She is using these for charms on the gifts she gives to her clients. LOVE it. If you need some good eye candy, visit her blog. I spent a good hour there pouring over her amazingly photography, particularly the wedding photos. My sister just got engaged and I just had to share it with her. So many wonderful, beautiful, creative ideas. www.terradawnblog.com

The schedule has been full of custom orders since the beginning of the year. This year we now are able to take on large orders for scrapbooking kit clubs. Our buttons are wonderful for the kit clubs simply because I can custom create any design to compliment the theme for the month. We were just included in the January Kit for Timeless Daydreams and have some upcoming kits that will be featuring our buttons as well. I ♥ that :)
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My lovely and talented friend, Kristina (actually the one who made my new blog so cute) requested a custom order of happy, colorful cupcake buttons. This is what I created for her. I have made a variation of this set available in the shop.


I have a lot of customers that order custom buttons to match the paper lines they are working with for their scrapbooking albums. This is always a fun challenge and fun to try and get the colors just right. This custom order was to compliment the papers from Basic Grey Origin's line.  Again, I have a smaller set variation in the shop available.

Many more custom orders up on the list to finish and to create.

Join us Monday for our 1st Creative Team spotlight. Our 1st spotlight will be Rachel!  There might even be a button giveaway! Stop back on Monday and say hi!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. It has been a cold and wet one here.  Steve and I went out last night with my family and had dinner at a super cute diner called, Lolas and then to Seven for drinks and karaoke (no, I do not get up and sing..lol..even though I'm a singer, it kills me to sing karaoke, I am tooooo serious about my music.haha. My parents LOVE it and its's cute to watch them..). Well, thinking about a nice nap or getting my workout in. The nap sounds better right now.. :) 

See you Monday!
Tessa Ann*

Announcing The 2010 Button Shop Creative Team!!!

We had an amazing turn out for our Creative Team call!   Each day my inbox was filled to the brim with applications. We enjoyed pouring through each and everyone of them.

With  50+ WONDERFUL submissions to go through our job was not easy. It was down-right HARD. You are all SO amazingly creative and talented. I would have loved to have worked with all of you!

After much thought and consideration, we feel we have chosen a great group of crafters to represent our 1st Creative Team. 

We are proud to announce our 1st Button Shop Creative Team! Please help us welcome..

Rachel Mason

Amy Priddy

Bridget Baxter

Leslie Ashe

Beginning the 1st Monday of February and every Monday thereafter, one of our Creative Team members will be showcased along with their Button Shop creation. Prepare to be inspired!!

Congratulations ladies!!  We are delighted to have you be a part of The Button Shop!  Again, thank you all for sharing your creativity with us. We are going to keep your submissions on file for future Features!

Button Shop Update

It has been a busy week already in the button shop! I have enjoyed working on many fun new designs for Spring and Valentines Day.  I have been receiving MANY applications for the Creative Team and oh, boy....this is going to be a very difficult decision. There are SO many talented, creative applicants to choose from. You all are not making my job very easy ;-) hehe!  Thank you for submitting. I have really enjoyed pouring over each entrants application.

Aside from working in The Button Shop, I have been experimenting in the kitchen a bit more. I made cupcakes for Steve's co-workers and a great salmon dinner last week. When it's cold out like it has been, it is nice to just stay in the cozy warm house :-) Santa brought me an Ipod Touch, so we have both enjoyed playing games on it in the evenings. I totally love this toy, I can answer emails when we are out and keep my shop stocked and re-filled at all times. And...twitter and facebook right at my hand ;-) 

The new designs, as well as a custom order that I ♥! 

I was asked to create a set of buttons inspired by Cosmo Cricket's "The Boyfriend" collection. She wanted to have coordinating buttons to match the papers she was using. This set here was inspired by the set I have below (somewhere down there). I am sure I will create more based on that custom order.

This set is called, "Sweetie Tweetie"  another fun "Valentines Day" themed set of buttons.

This set was inspired and named after my mom :-)  She LOVES purple and whimsy, so this had to be named perfectly, "Rosena Louise"  She was very flattered ;-)

A pretty set of music themed buttons, "Melody" :-)

Alas, that custom order I absolutely LOVED creating!

Have a great night!

Creative Team Search for The Button Shop!

Would you like free buttons to create with each month, and in return share your creations? 

The Button Shop is looking for a Creative Team of 4 crafters who are well-rounded in many varieties of crafts. Do you sew, knit, quilt or scrapbook? If you do, this would be fun for you! If you do all 4 crafts that's bonus!Each month Creative Team members will select their new favorite set of buttons from the shop!  This will allow my Creative Team to have total creative freedom with their projects each month.  Each week one Creative Team member will be spotlighted here with their project and a small Q&A.  In addition, I do ask that each Creative Team member post about their projects on their blog and any other social networking forums they are involved with. Occasionally, I will ask you to create a project tutorial to be shared here.

 Your term as a Creative Team member will simply be a  fun low pressure gig that allows you to play with some really fun buttons :)

Each Creative Team Member will design for the next 6 months. (Feb-July)  

To apply: Simply email me at shoptessaann@yahoo.com with the following information:

    ♥  What makes my buttons a good match for your projects?

    ♥  Please share your blog/website and Etsy/or other shop you may have.

    ♥ Please share 2-3 projects of your choice that showcase your best work.

The Creative Team call will end January 25, 2010. Creative Team Announcement will post here live 12:00 PST,January 29, 2010 

A bittersweet Christmas

We had such a lovely time at the cabin again this year for Christmas.We enjoyed playing games, cooking and visiting. We even went down to the pool and sat outside in the hot tub in below freezing weather. Christmas was everything it should be together as a family.

It has been hard to even write this post, as going on about all of our happy times over our Christmas holiday seem so bittersweet after the news we received December 26th.

We all arrived home with the most devastating, heart breaking news. My grandma Wheeler, my mom's mom was in a car with 5 of my family members when they were struck head on by a truck who had hit ice. We lost my grandma that day and it's been really hard to grasp. I am grateful my other family members, though injured will recover and be okay. I am thankful no other lives were lost in this tragedy.

I have so many wonderful memories of her and I'll cherish them forever. She taught me how to sew, how to knit and crochet. She was patient with me as a child and would read to my sister and I, allowing my sister to "pretend" read the books by making up stories based on the photos :)   She would play in the river with us and take us roller skating. I remember how she would let me steer the car on country roads when I was getting ready to learn to drive. I loved watching movies with her and trying to guess the plot with her. I remember how much she loved Christmas candy (the hard candy in pretty swirls) and how her spot was on the love seat next to the fireplace...where her coffee, glasses and cigarettes would rest near by. I remember her smell and how she would record my height on the wall in the hallway each visit. I loved her. I miss her.   So, sorry about not posting a new update about Christmas. I just didn't know what to say.

I'll leave this post with photos of our time at the cabin. It truly was a memorable Christmas, despite the sadness at the end.

I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday. Wishing you ALL a safe and happy New Year.
Love,
Tessa Ann*

Sunday's Sale Of The Day

NEW!!!

Each Sunday I will choose a set of buttons in the shop to significantly reduce in price. This is a good chance to try out my buttons if you have not had the chance to!

Our 1st Sunday Sale is for this lovely set of 3 snowflake buttons. A beautiful set of buttons for many of your crafting projects!  

Wouldn't these be lovely stitched to a beautiful hand knitted scarf or cowl?  What about stitched to a beautiful silvery sweater, or even as an embellishment for a quilting or scrapbooking project. 

All of my buttons are machine washable, so the ideas for creativity are truly endless here! 

Only $3.00 a set! Get yours now while supplies last!

NOTE: I will be back next week with an announcement for details to enter our Creative Team search!  If you are a well-rounded crafter and enjoy knitting, sewing, quilting and scrapbooking this call is for YOU. 


Have a wonderful Sunday!
Tessa Ann*

The good stuff

Today is just a silly, random post about what I am loving this season.
What are you enjoying this season?

Here are mine!

♥Sparkling Mineral Water♥

It's no secret with my family. I am addicted to this water. Each week I stroll over Wholefoods and load my cart up with Italian Sparkling Mineral Water. They are amazingly refreshing. Water, Carbonation and a hint of fruit juices and the best NO SUGAR! These have totally replaced my once diet Pepsi addition.

♥Apples and cookbooks♥

With the cold temps we have felt like staying in more. And, I have felt like cooking and trying new recipes. My collection of cook books is growing and I've been itching to try them! The not-so-healthy goods go with Steve to work. No temptations, no thank you ;)

Apples are wonderful so many ways. I love to slice them up and eat them with a wee-bit of peanut butter or plain. Have you tried baked apples? They are AMAZINGLY delicious.....not healthy, but quick and so good. Here is the simple steps.

1. Using an apple core scoop, gently scoop out the core of an apple (sorry I don't know the correct term. ha!)
2. In a small mixing bowl add oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter and mix together.
3. In a glass baking dish add water about 1/4 way. Add apples
4. Sprinkle the inside of the apple with cinnamon, a few pats of butter and fill with oatmeal mixture.
   
5. Bake 350○ 25-30 minutes....or until apple is tender.
   

♥ Decorating ♥

I love that once a year I get to transform my home into a beautiful Christmas wonderland :)

♥Breakfast♥

I love making breakfast for Steve each morning. I didn't always do this, especially when I was working outside of the home. I just didn't have enough time. Steve loves breakfast bagel sandwiches. We typically eat eggs and turkey bacon or oatmeal, but on special occasions, I make this sandwich for him.

Cook it all up and you get this!
I don't get to eat this though. The bagel alone is 260 calories. YIKES. Simple eggs and turkey sausage for me ;)

♥Baking♥

Last year, my parents gifted me a Kitchen Aid. I don't know how I baked before I had one. I love using it. I made Steve's work Chocolate chip cookies and over the weekend I baked Snickerdoodles and Peanut butter cookies. They all went in to the freezer for Christmas at the cabin.

♥Cinnamon♥
When I was in Portland with my family a couple months ago, I found this most decadent, yummy smelling soap at Sephora.
It smells just like Big Red gum. My bathroom smells so good after a shower using this. This is my 1st Philosophy product and I am now hooked. Have you tried any of the other scents? What should I try next?

♥Movies♥

We subscribed to Netflix recently and I love being able to listen to movies....I say listen, because my head is down working most the time..lol while working on button orders. Turns out there are a lot of great movies that I have not seen.

♥Skin Care♥

Living in the high desert means DRY skin. And with the cold winter weather, and walking duffy in it, my poor skin takes a beating. I have been using this product from www.LUSH.com called, Sweet Japanese Girl. I buy this each winter season and use it a few times a week to exfoliate and moisturize my face. It makes a HUGE difference.


What are your current favorites?

And the winner is.........

Brianna Soloski !

Thank you for your comment! You have won a $10.00 Gift Card to The Button Shop! To redeem your gift card, simply visit The Button Shop and pick what you would like to use your gift card for. Email me at shoptessaann@yahoo.com with your selections. {If you go over, no problem! I'll simply invoice you for the difference. You will also receive FREE shipping! }

Thank you everyone who left comments in the last couple of posts and especially those who shared their favorite ways to use buttons on projects :)

The Button Shop has been busy creating new buttons. I will be doing shop updates likely today and tomorrow with fresh new designs. I have a beautiful set of Cherry Blossom buttons that I can't wait to share with all of you. We have lots of new designs up our sleeves EVEN new sizes! JUMBO sizes!

In closing, I would like to leave you with some inspiration from an amazing site called, http://www.weheartit.com/

All things......pink, pink and MORE pink!

There will be more giveaways coming very soon! I am also going to be doing a feature on "Customer Creations" that I will discuss more in the next post. I am also toying with the idea of putting together a *small* design team. So many thoughts for the upcoming year.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tessa Ann*

December Featured Artist Rachel Mason -leave a comment to win a $10.00 Gift Card to The Button Shop!

I am proud to introduce the beautiful work of Rachel Mason for the month of December. Rachel worked with my "Snowbird" collection, as well as my "Snowflake" button collections to create these amazingly detailed projects below. Enjoy and be inspired by what Rachel has created for us! Grab a cup of warm coffee, tea or cocoa and sit back read Rachel's interview and see her amazing projects!

.:Win A $10.00 GIFTCARD to The Button shop:.
Leave a comment below about what you ♥ about using buttons on your crafting projects or a compliment to Rachel's work today and you will be entered into a drawing for a $10.00 Gift Card to The Button Shop! (GC details will be posted along with winner's name on Friday 12/11/09 NOON PST.)

.:The interview:.

1.) 1.) Tell us a little about YOU and how you are involved in the scrapbooking industry?

Hi! My name is Rachel. I am wife to a handsome and supportive railroader and mom to 2 crazy boston terriers, 1 neurotic jack russell terrier, and 1 needy cat. We currently live in an adorable old home in Kansas City, Missouri. Because of my husband's career with the railroad, we live an exciting life, moving every couple of years. While this lifestyle can occasionally be difficult, it does provide lots of scrapbooking inspiration! I began "officially" scrapbooking in 1996, while still in college, after a friend introduced me to Creative Memories. I have continued to evolve my style over the past 13 years, working for a local scrapbook store and designing pages for other people. I have also been blogging since 2006 (www.rachiesplace.com) and just opened an Etsy shop that offers vintage love and crafting supplies (www.rachiesplace.etsy.com).

2.) What led you to scrapbooking? Do you remember that *first* time you sat down to create a page?

For as long as I can remember, I have collected memorabilia and photos...scrapbooking was just the logical solution to a "storage" issue!

3.) When you sit down to create, what are the essential items in your environment that you need to feel in the "mood" to be creative?

I am a super picky scrapbooker so setting the creative mood can sometimes present a challenge. My essentials are a clean studio, my iMac and Canon printer, and a happy movie playing in the background (current favorites are The Wizard of Oz, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc.).

4.) I feel most creative when.........

I feel most creative a night when the house is quiet, the pets are sleeping, and my husband is napping on the couch or watching tv...if the family is content, then I am content and feel creative.

5.) How do you decide what you are going to journal about... and what is your favorite way to document journaling?

For me, journaling is more than just the basic facts of the photo (who, what, when, where), it is documenting how I felt or where I was at that time in my life. It is also often a personal reminder to slow down...to enjoy the ordinary and don't sweat the small stuff. My favorite way to journal is similar to my overall scrapbooking style...messy and scattered.

6.) What did you enjoy most about working with my buttons. How were they a good fit for your project?

I LOVE Tessa's buttons. I prefer to scrapbook with lots of loose elements...this gives me the freedom to mix other embellishments together for that "eclectic" look that I love. The buttons Tessa sent me to work with were beautiful in cool colors with a sparkly touch...perfect for coordinating with my snowy photos.

7.) Share with us your most favorite crafty creation! What are you most proud of creating?

My favorite project? Hmmm...I have lots and lots (each new project is my favorite). My most RECENT favorite though is a yarn wreath that I made per a tutorial from the Constant Gatherer (www.theconstantgatherer.blogspot.com).

Thank you for sharing your amazing creativity, Rachel!!!