Leave a comment to win a set of my flower embellishments (oh, yeah, and some new layouts..)

Okay, so here is the deal.

I would love to see some of my handmade felt embellishments on your pages. I lieu of setting up shoppe on Etsy, I would love to give away a set of (your choice) flowers to TWO of my readers!

So post a comment or question in my comments section and I will draw 2 winners. You can choose which set of flowers you would like by checking out my shop to the right of this post -->

I look forward to hearing from you, especially all of the lurkers out there..(wink)

Okay....now about my new pages!

As you can see, I have been playing around in my scrap room again. I stopped by Michaels last weekend just to pick up some adhesive and well....you know how that goes. I ended up with a basket full of goodies. The new Amy Butler is absolutely divine! I rushed home and found a pic to scrap and off I went creating away.

Just a little bit about the layout: The photo in this layout is one of my senior pictures. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. My entire family, horses and all, loaded up and headed out to the country side to the most picturesque ranch, where the photographer resided. We literally spent all day taking shots all over his property. It was so fun.

I can't believe 12 years has gone by since that day. Just creating this page brought back so many memories of my life back then, what I dreamed of what I wanted to be. It's amazing how you think you have it all planned out and THAT'S the only option..........only to have an entire decade pass and maybe what you've planned really played out the way you wanted or is something entirely different than you had imagined. I have always thought of life as a path in which we have hills and turns, we never quite know which path to turn on or go up........ and only if we pay attention to our intuition and our faith, we will always choose the path we are meant to travel. I hope that makes sense. I guess I am feeling all philosophical this week.lol.


Bare with me here in my extreme rambling session...

Moving right along ;)

Again, going back in time with this layout.This is my sister, Heidi and I in 1984. I can't say that I remember this day.....but, I did have a story to tell when I was choosing these photos to scrap.

The title sums up my journaling perfectly. From day one...both our appearances and our personalities were totally opposite. My mom would always call me *Day* and Heidi *Night*. Yes, we did have our sisterly quarrels, but as we've gotten older we are great friends and confidants to each other.

This was just one of those pages that was *fun* and came together quickly and I love the outcome. I had a hard time choosing what my background would be....black, white, aqua, orange???

Decisions, decisions......

I finally liked the kraft cardstock for the background. I felt it made the colors really "pop". I hand cut the adorable rainbow and flowers pattern and jazzed it up using a brown pen and Sassafrass Lass buttons. I chose to add my journaling on the rays of the rainbow. I thought that was the perfect location. I thought about writing it around the parameters of the layout, but ended up using creating a line border instead. I used my ruler and a brown micro tip pen. I used an aqua colored pencil to highlight the brown line and couldn't resist taking it just a notch further by adding 2 dots at the end and circling one of them with a white pen.

You see. Sometimes I just can't stop adding stuff.

And, um ya know....typing this blog post. Rambling.

Well, I look forward to hearing from you and sending 2 of you some goodies!

Enjoy your long holiday weekend!!
Hugs,
Tessa Ann

Sleep deprived, Rude neighbors, Views, Mom's day and Scrappage.

Oh boy, I am beat. Exuse me if I am a little on the punchy side ;)
My eyes are heavy as I type this, so forgive all of the possible typos..lol.
It was one of those sleepless nights.....again.
I have been going through a spell of not being able to stay asleep and boy does it suck ;) I even resulted to taking a natural sleeping pill called, Melatonin and even that was a no go. 3 am rolls around and I am still tossing and turning...heart is racing--that's another annoying part of it...
Go figure though, around 6 am when I finally drifted off to dream land our most *considerate* neighbor decided to let his little Yorkie out to potty and SCREAM...that's right not bark, BUT SCREAM/BARK. This has been a routine for this neighbor lately and I totally came unglued and yelled out the window..... "DO YOU MIND?!?!? HAVE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS"!!!!! Ooops...bad me. Crazy lady yelling, slamming the window shut...{blush}
So...you guessed it.....another hour to fall asleep and then the phone rang an hour later. UGH, what gives???..lol.

I am totally taking a nap today.





Okay enough whining. Sorry guys!






We had a really nice weekend. Steve and I took a beautiful scenic drive around central Oregon, where we were reminded how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place. We went through our list of things we were thankful for along our drive and it was nice to just reflect, visit and most of all be together. Throughout our drive we did find something quite odd . As we passed the rolling hills of lush green grass and beautiful pastures with the most rich views of the snow- capped moutains....9/10 homes had their curtains/blinds closed. We started to joke how we wanted to stop by these closed off homes and ask why they have closed off their blinds to the most beautiful views....or check and see if they were alive or something...haha. So strange....home after home after home....windows were covered by something......no light allowed to come through. So sad. So depressing to live there. I don't know how you could live in a place where you have such beauty surrounding you and not want to see it?





We returned to Bend and I got to do a little clothes shopping. YAY! Getting new clothes always makes me feel good, fresh and inspired. I loved all of the pretty colors in this season and soft textured fabrics. I spent waaay too much (sorry, Steve) but I now feel like I have something to wear that makes me feel good about myself again. Strange how that works, huh?





Sunday, Mother's Day, I had my mom and dad, sister and bro-in-law over for a late lunch. I prepared my scrumptious lasagna and there was NONE left. It was that good ;)


We had fun laughing, visiting and playing a little Guitar Hero. I tell ya, I have turned my parents into kids again, by buying them this game for Christmas. They now have Rock Band and all of the set ups for the game. Um, yeah. They invite friends over and play together...so funny. It makes them happy and they enjoy it so much...lol. It totally cracks me up watching them.




We ended the evening by watching some movies and I scrapped a couple layouts. Here they
are :)

"BOWLING" Yet, more time with my family. It was a fun Saturday in April, where we all enjoyed an afternoon of a little friendly competiton.....my family is VERY competitive..lol. Well, mostly my Dad and Bro-in-law, Aaron.... Okay.... Me, well....I tend to be a little on the competitive side too. I used a TON of photos for this layout....7 photos. Some of them are blurry and grainy, so I turned them black and white to make them more cohesive. And...what's a bowling layout without circles? I also loved using my new Doodlebug loopy alphas. They are adorable!

"THE PINK HAT" Okay, so I really don't like this page all that much. It's sort of *goofy* in my eyes. Maybe it's that silly grin on my face in my favorite hat, or it's my wild color combination. I just sort of said...eh, it's done. I have no more ideas to put into this. I guess we all have those pages that just don't come to light the way we had hoped. Ah. well :)

Well, that's it for now. As always thanks for stopping by and saying hi! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!!!

Much love,

TessaAnn

New adventures, a layout and Etsy.

It's been so long since I've updated here. Each day I say to Steve, I sooo need to update my blog, but I never do. Bad Tessa!


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

Feeling inspired....and it's a good thing.

Hi all!!

I hope you are all well and having a great week! I have been having so much fun creating with all of the new lines my LSS has gotten in over the last few weeks. I have several pages to prove this..haha.

The weather in Bend has been so beautiful over the last few weeks. My parents held their first BBQ of the season. We played badminton and had a blast. It was so nice to get outside and just goof around :)

I have also made a really difficult decision over the last couple of weeks. I have decided that I want to get back to scrapping for fun and for ME.


So....I've stepped down from ALL of my design team spots and teaching at my LSS. While, I really loved being a part of the teams I was on and teaching, I just need a break from any sort of obligations and requirements. I wanted to be *free* again to scrap when I want and what I want....submit if I choose, upload to galleries if I desire........like I started out doing before the DT bug bit me and I lost myself in why I love this hobby in the first place.

So.....it was time. And you know what?

I've never felt so inspired to be free to create as I please.

It's like a breath of fresh air. I am not thinking...oooh!... I need to get this-and-this done, instructions written up for this, oh, I almost forgot I have "this" and "this" to get to "so and so"....or staying up late just to finish up a deadline.

And now I think to myself...... Why was I doing this? What for? What was in it for me? Other than all of the pretty things I got to play with for free. I don't mean to sound bratty AT ALL with this statement, I just have to be REAL and HONEST about it all.

Before I say too much more, I'll 'open my mouth and insert my foot' (blush a bit) and just post some dang layouts...hahaa.

Well, enjoy your day!
Much love,

Okay this is going to be a really long post with lots of layouts and goodies :)

Hi there! I hope everyone is well and getting a glimpse of warmer weather. It has been beautiful here in Bend over the last couple of weeks. Steve and I have enjoyed quite a few days at the part soaking in the sunshine...aaahh.. Here are a few layouts from last week when we did a little picture taking at the park :) Always fun!

Previously, I posted that the layout I created using the lovely Liz Qualman's Spring sketch was selected as the cover layout for Scrapbooking & Beyond Magazine's Spring issue. I was SO excited when Steve brought the issue up to my scrap room to show me. Although....I seriously think he was more proud and excited. Naaaah....I was jumping up and down. Being a scrapbooker, and like a lot of you....one that submits work to various publications, you can imagine what an awesome reward it was to be chosen for a cover. Okay, nuff about that here is the picture I took of the actual magazine :)

In other news.. (just had to say that as it makes me laugh when the news people say that..lol) I've been invited to be a part of the Bad Girls Kits design team. I love the girls that are on that team and feel SO at home there. The kit this month was so eclectic and inspiring. Here is what I did with it!







In closing here is a favorite layout of mine. I wanted to document our Sunday afternoon's. I usually feel like creating and watching movies and he *always* joins me (along with Mozart, our fur baby) to watch movies and sip on yummy coffee. I love that he *wants* to be there and encourages me along the way. He is always great about suggesting "what else" I should do with my work and kindly hints that maybe something I am doing is not working so well. He will get up and start opening the drawers to my supplies... looking for the perfect embellishment....saying, "What about this?" and "What if you did this..." I am really thankful that I have a sweet guy who is so receptive to my addiction...um, and someone who feeds it.ha!!!



Well.......that's it for now! Off to cook up a scrumptious dinner for my sweetie!
I hope you ALL have a wonderful week and find time to create!
XOXOX---Tessa Ann

Back in action! ( and my most embarrassing moment to date...ugh)

Wow, I realize it has been forever since I updated here. As some of you know I attended CHA with Tinkering Ink last week. It was wonderful to see everyone again and meet a few scrappers I've never met. Here is a picture someone took of our team in our adorable shirts that match one of the papers from the "Wild Woodland Line".



It was fun! We had a new shirt to match a different paper each day. Loved that :)

As always I had a wonderful time. We enjoyed nice dinners as a team in the evening at Down Town Disney and had fun chatting and taking pictures of each other. We took turns sharing our "secret talents" and our "most embarrassing moments". For the life of me I couldn't think of one....not saying that I've never had an embarassing moment---oh, yes I have. I just couldn't think of one.......That was until I was on my way home in the Seattle Airport. It was around lunch time and I decided to go and sit down at one of the restaurants, read my book and enjoy lunch and a nice glass of wine. Sounds great so far, huh? Well I had about 15 minutes until my plane borded, so I requested my bill. Again, no problem, right? I handed the lady my debit card and when she returned, she stated my card had been "reported lost". I was totally confused and had NO idea what she meant. I started digging out all of my other ID's (insurance card, drivers license, CHA badge) all the time stating "It's my card, I didn't report it lost"! She finally took me over to the computer screen to prove it and indeed it said "Card reported lost". Oh boy, I thought. I only had $11.00 in my purse because I always use my debit card and I don't carry credit cards.... The tears welled-up in my eyes. "How in the heck was I going to pay for my meal"? Totally embarrassed I explained that my husband works for the bank our card is through and that I would call him to check it out. Luckily he picked up his line right away and checked our account. Yikes. Someone had stolen our debit card number and charged $600 plus on our debit card that very morning, so the fraud department had froze our accounts to protect us. Greeaaat..... Steve said he would call the fraud department and call me right back. I explained to my waitress who due our language barrier, started yelling, "Why your husband need to call the FIRE department!!" I finally said "fradulent department" and she totally got what I meant. By this time I was panicking and had only 8 minutes before my plane left. I remember sitting there stressing..."Steve, hurry please call me back!" when I decided to just call my mom. All excited to hear from me she answers the phone, "Hi! Tess, how are you!?!" I lost it. I started sobbing (yes, this was SOOOOO damned embarrassing---I totally lost it, right in the middle of the restaurant) Sobbing, I said to her, "I am at lunch here in the airport and I can't pay for my meal!! (sob, sob)" I quickly explained what had happened with my card and she tried calming me down saying don't be embarrassed you will never see these people again. She told me to give the phone to the waitress and she would take care of it. Oh, man. I totally thought I was both missing my flight and I would be rolling up my sleeves and washing some dishes in the back. So mom to the rescue!! I paid and ran to get on my plane, which luckily was a short distance. Red faced, watery eyed I took my seat and was relieved that MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT was over.

So....I lieu of this most embarrassing moment, I challenge you to share yours here, or better yet create a layout about it....that's if you can stomach it..lol. I'll draw 2 names and RAK both of you! I dare you..lol. Yes, I can laugh about it now, but man-o-man I wanted to crawl under a rock.


Changing key here, I would like to share one of the last layouts I created for fun, just before I left for CHA. As some of you already know, I used to study opera in college and dreamed of being a famous opera singer. Um, that lasted until I met my dear love, Steve and I changed my mind completely. Do I miss it. You bet, but I wouldn't change the life I have for nothing. Here in Bend, OR we have a local opera company, so the opportunity is there if I choose. Up until last year I still worked with a vocal coach, but after much thought I stopped. I just wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go in. Going professional meant a lot of travel and being away. This was the year I was suppose to do the Met Opera Audtions. Maybe I'll change my mind before I am too old, but if I don't I am perfectly content with what memories I do have of my years singing.

This layout was about the time in my life where I worked so hard for the State competition and won "State Champion Mezzo Soprano" It was such a huge honor for me and in these pics I can't believe how young I looked..lol. My parents took these pics the day after I won the title in front of the University of Oregon Music Hall. I'll never forget that night. Sitting with my coach and other singers awaiting the placings.....3rd place goes to ____________, 2nd place goes to ___________ (honestly when I heard 2nd place, I thought there was no way I had placed.....just as I was thinking ah, bummer, but at least I tried I heard everyone in my group SCREAMING and I heard my name, "Our State Champion Mezzo Soprano goes to Miss Tessa Ann Cotton of Coos Bay, Oregon!" I barely remember running down from the balcony, down the isles on the stage to receive my award. It was so sureal and I couldn't believe I had accomplished my goal. It really taught me that if I worked really hard for something I could achieve anything.


If you have gotten to this point, thanks..lol. I meant to keep this post short, but once I get started sometimes I can't stop..haha!

Enjoy your week!
Tessa

Tinkering Ink's "Peek-a-boo" album

Hi there!
I am excited to share the "Peek-a-boo" album by Tinkering Ink. This album is so fun to work with. They have created an album that combines both chipboard pages with fun windows and in between each of those pages is clear acrylic pages. When I received this fun little album I couldn't wait to get started. Here is what I created :) If you visit www.tinkeringink.typepad.com you will see an awesome album by Pam Callaghan using both albums combined---totally colorful and I wish I would have thought to mix both albums together---duh..haha! Well, there are only 2 more days before I am flying down to Winter CHA in Anaheim, California. It's always so fun to be a part of and I love meeting people I've only "known" from online. If you are at the show be sure to stop by the Tinkering Ink booth, I'd love to meet you in person :) Oooh..I almost forgot, but I am so stoked about this: One of my layouts was chosen for the cover of Scrapbooking and Beyond Magazine. I was floored to learn that my creation would be on the cover of the Spring issue. Well, that's all for today. I am off to the gym and then to Barnes and Noble to pick out some good reading material for the flight over. Take care and take a sec to say hi. I always love hearing from *you* lurkers...ha! Hugs, Tessa

Tinkering Ink Sneak Peeks!

Yay. It's that time of year again. Winter CHA. I love this time of year when manufactures produce fresh-new lines. New inspiration. New ideas! Love that!

I especially love being able to work with it before anyone else sees it. So fun :)

Today I am sharing 2 new lines from Tinkering Ink and will add more each day. Enjoy!

This line is perfectly called, "Al Fresco" I am in absolute *love* with these colors. Bright, colorful. Perfect for all of your summer or even easter photos.

(this layout actually has a fun cut edge. The white was just to be able to scan the image without seeing a ugly scanner bed..ha)


Yesterday's sneak peek was "Thistle Hill". Quoted from Tinkering Ink's blog: "Inspired by the beautiful landscapes of Scotland, this line will have you hearing bagpipes and pulling that kilt out of the back of your closet. Don't have a kilt in your closet? Okay...well just scrap with this beautiful line then!

A great scrappy week :)

Hello!

Just wanted to pop in to say Hi! I've had a great "scrappy" week and have been quite productive. It has been so cold out that other than the work and gym, I have been staying inside. That means time well spent in my scrap room :) I made 2 mini albums this week and a couple pages.

For quite sometime now I've been eyeing the Bo Bunny word albums at my LSS and finally decided to give one a try. I chose the "LOVE" album because I thought it would be quick and simple. And..... actually it did come together very quickly. I received this colorful kit from CROP ADDICT which included the gorgeous, colorful Scenic Route V-day papers. I knew it was going to be the perfect fit for this book. The only tedious part in working on this book was tracing the letters and cutting them out and gluing them to the album. It honestly took me 2 hours..lol---only because I was watching TV at the same time ;-) But, once that part was finished I got to dig into my stash and embellish like a mad women..lol. As you can see I used plenty of rhinestones and Stickles to cover a house, but it's so pretty in the sunlight. Thinking back now......i'ts funny how I used to cringe at the thought of putting glitter or "puffy" paint on my pages.......and now I absolutely *LOVE* it. Funny how your ideas and likes change over time.

I wasn't able to take any pictures at Christmas this year. I thought I had a fully charged battery, but when I arrived and tried to start taking pics....the camera was dead :( My mom let me borrow the card from her camera so I could upload her pics.....so that was good.
To create this fun little book, I cut 2 pieces of 12x12 cardstock in half twice to create a nice 6x6 mini book. I added pages using Hambly transparencies in between each chipboard page...just for fun ;-) I used Scenic Route papers and stickers, along with KI Memories epoxy stickers, rhinestones and buttons and tons of other goodies I had in my stash. This was SUCH a fun little book to create to remember our fun Christmas day.












This layout is using the pics of Steve I took the day he built our giant snow man :) Sadly the bottom part only remains on this snowman, but at least we have the memory captured..right?! To create this page I used last winter KI Memories and some other fun goodies.

The last page I have here I made last night. I invited my mom over to scrap with me. We totally cranked the tunes up and got our groove on while creating. In addition to finishing up the Christmas album, I created this fun page of my sis and I.

Off to watch some movies with my sweetie. I hope everyone has a wonderful night and a great week ahead.

Hugs,

Tessa Ann :-)