Up early this morning. 3:30 am to be exact. I think that time is my new internal alarm clock. Luckily that's a good benefit of working from home, I can always squeeze in a little nap if needed. Though, it's crazy to get up that early, there is just something about the early morning hours that feels so peaceful. The quietness of the house, the lingering smell from last nights dinner, the streets are quiet and dark, cold and dewy. Brewing that first cup of coffee and tidying the house before I head upstairs to get to work. Growing up, it was a struggle to get out of bed each morning, and now I enjoy my early mornings. Who needs sleep anyway ;) ?


The snow has finally melted and it seems as if Fall is now making it's presence here in Bend, Oregon. The trees around our town were badly damaged from the snow, it was sad :( Due to the leaves still on the trees, the snow simply weighed down the branches and broke their limbs. Driving around town it looked as if a windy-storm had came through. It was so sad.


The day before the snow storm hit, I picked up some pumpkins and decorated outside our door. I am really looking forward to pulling out the Christmas decorations :)

I have really missed being a part of a scrappy-design team lately. I know I don't have tons of time to commit with my busy little button shop, but I truly miss it. When I saw a call for new designers at Card-A-Licious, I knew I had to apply. I LOVE making cards. To me, they are like little mini scrapbooking pages, without the photos! I was very excited when I was accepted to be a part of this fun gig! Every other week, we are given a challenge. For my first round it was: Create a birthday card that uses Red, Blue and Yellow. Here is the card I came up with!

I have not purchased any NEW supplies in a long time so this card was made using goodies from my old stash. The scalloped paper is by October Afternoon, the blue paper is Karen Russell, the polka dot paper is (I think) Jenni Bowlin. The Scalloped tag is by Jenni Bowlin. The yellow flower is by Urban Lily (are they still even around?) and a rub on by Fontwerks. Oh, and of course that is one of my handmade red buttons :)

Monday, is the October guest designer Feature for my button shop! We have the very sweet and talented, Kristina Profitt. She just emailed me her work and I cannot wait to share it with all of you!

Oh, I almost forgot! I've set up a page on Facebook for my Button shop! I will share new designs, as well as give special offers and discounts to fans periodically! Come say hi!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Tessa-Ann-Designs/133681628067?ref=ts

Have a wonderful day, friends!

XOXO Tessa Ann*

A Glimpse Of Winter!

I decorated our home for Fall yesterday, only to awake this morning to SNOW! What? It's only October 4th and we're covered in snow here in Bend, Oregon.

Like little kids, we rushed outside to capture some photos :) We just bought Duffy a winter jacket at Petco yeterday and it couldn't have been more perfect timing..lol.

There is a good 1 1/2 on the fence outside my window, where I am typing this. Steve is off getting us a hot chocolate. I'm going to spend the day creating buttons and filling orders. I have 5 new sets to share, so stay tuned! Have a great day!

XOXO Tessa Ann*

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*

Car blues and new buttons

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great week :)

Same old, same old here. Creating buttons and working hard at my shop filling orders.

Steve took me out to dinner last night which was so nice to get out and be around people..lol. We went to a local brewery and rooted the Ducks (UofO) along and had a couple Stella Artois brews and a fantastic salmon salad. Yum.

This is the only bad thing about working from home. You tend to get sorta lonely after a while and crave people and their energy. Don't get me wrong, I adore my internet buddies and I love being at home ;) but, It also doesn't help that we are now down to just one car. Steve now works in the next town away, so I'm basically stuck home all day. My beloved 1st car, my beautiful Lexus, "Lexy" (yes, I name my cars..hehe) went to the shop to be fixed a month ago, only to find out the repairs were more than the car was worth. whaaa, whaa! We were able to sell it (her.hehe) for parts, so we're saving up to buy me a new car. I have my eye on a cute baby blue or silver VW convertible bug. My mom keeps encouraging me to just go and finance one, but honestly, I don't ever want to be a slave to car payments again. So our plan is to save, save, save to get me one of these cuties! I'm 1/2 way there! Soon, I pray I will be FREEEE.. I just have to tough it out right now and be a sport ;) Hey, it saves on gas and is more earth friendly to only have 1 car, right? This I keep telling myself..lol!


Enough of that!

I have 9 new button sets to share! I spent the day yesterday focusing on new designs. Here is what I created.


Have a great 3 day weekend! We are heading to a family reunion tomorrow. We are praying for nice weather, not the rain that our weather guy promised. Drive carefully if you are traveling!


XOXO Tessa Ann*

(I am starting to create solid buttons to coordinate with the fancier sets. This will keep the price of the fancier sets down and give an option to add on!)

I hope everyone is enjoying their week. Kids are back to school, the hot days are starting to become less frequent and morning walks are crisp, cool and refreshing. Fall is truly my most favorite season. From the golden array of colors draping trees and streets to the light sweaters and trips to Starbucks for hot cocoa, fall is truly a magical season that is never long enough for me!

Steve and I have enjoyed taking our bikes out in the evening and riding around our neighborhood. There is just something about getting on my bike and feeling the breeze on my face as I peddle, that makes me feel alive and like all is well in the world. I guess it's sort of a nostolgic feeling, that takes you back to being a care-free child, riding your bike around your street until dark approached or mom shouted for you to come in. It also doesn't hurt that it's a great, FUN form of exercise :)

We have a family reunion to attend this weekend. I have had mixed feelings about going and I feel very guilty about that. Maybe selfish is the right word? This reunion is Steve's side of the family and with the recent loss of of Grandpa, it's tough, emotionally, to go back to their home and see Grandma there, but no grandpa. He was the one who would excitedly come to greet us when we arrived. He was excited to show off his yard, his garden, his hobby. He told us many stories of his life and I enjoyed listening to him share so much with us. They both have always made me feel very welcome and a part of the family. I miss him dearly. It's just so soon, but I have to suck it up and be there for Steve. I know it has to be even more difficult for him to go back, so I need to be there for him and be strong like he was for me when my beloved Grandma Ann passed away.

I've spent some time creating some new goodies for the Etsy shop! I used to have quite a variety of felt flowers and paper posies in the shop, but when the buttons became such a hit, I stopped making as many. It was time. Time to fill the shop up with more goodies :) I even created some felt flowers that would be lovely as a brooch! Don't worry, there will be more buttons to come! In the next few days many new styles of buttons will be added to the shop, some to coordinate with the following goodies!

Have a great week and I hope you enjoy these little handmade creations!

a

s

Okay, so not updating my blog has been a big guilt of mine. I used to update regularly. Sometimes daily. With my transition from scrapping to spending 99% of my time creating my buttons for my shop, my blog has suffered greatly. But, mostly, I have been struggling with what subject matter to write about. What would re-interest my readers? I used to share quite a bit of my scrapbooking projects and my personal life here. With the pop up of the smack blogs (you all know what I mean..hehe) I started to really sensor what I said here........and now that I'm not scrapping as much as I'd like, I tend to share my Etsy creations. I never want you as my readers to think I am trying to sell, sell, with each post :) I guess I just figure it is better than not posting at all.

Well, that is about to change. I am going to find balance. I am going to share fun tid bits about my life, my art and my dreams....just like I intended when I started this blog.

So with this blog post, I vow to be a regular blogger, a hopefully inspiring blogger, and a honest-real-life blogger. The good, the bad, the ugly. I will not sensor my feelings or experiences in fear of the "nay sayers" a n y m o r e.

Okay.......enough of that! On to the goods! I mentioned in my last blog post that I was ask to join the girls at www.scrapjacked.blogspot.com to jack "CandyMandy." In addition, I also was asked to sponsor the jack. There is still time if you would like to join in ! The inspiration piece from "Candymandy" was fun and I really enjoyed putting my spin on it!

I chose to scrap about my mom and my sis. "My Peeps" They really are. They are always there for me through thick and thin, to bring me back down to earth and I have such a crazy good time when we all get together.

PRODUCTS USED: Paper: Anna Griffin; Journaling spots: Anna Griffin; Flowers: Prima; Ribbon: Joanne's; Alphas: American Crafts; Labels: Jenny Bowlin; Pen: American Crafts; Buttons and Bird button: From my shop www.tessaann.etsy.com

I was scanning through my Picasa photo program looking through older layouts when I came across an assortment of layouts and projects I created for Right At Home Scrapbooking that I neglected sharing. These were some of my favorite creations! So, alas, here they are!

Steve and I are not much into "roughing it" as we call camping. LOL! We enjoy being outdoors and love doing outdoorsy things, but sleeping on the ground underneath the stars just isn't our thing. Our perfect solution. Yurts. Yes, these funky little outbuildings are super cozy and clean. And...you can still get that feeling of camping!


You have lights, a futon and bunk beds, a quaint little kitchen table. We rented some movies at Redbox and watched them on the laptop while we roasted our dinner on the fire..hehe. That was fun :)

In each of the "YURTS" on the kitchen table was a journal. Each person or family that had rented the yurt would journal about their experiences while staying there. Oh, my...some were so funny, some were quite disturbing and some were very explicit and interesting. We both poured through this journal, laughing, and at times cringing at some of the stories written by other campers.

"ROMEO" I've shared stories in past blog posts about my horse, Romeo. I've had this sweet boy since he was just a yearling. I spent my teenage years training this beautiful horse to be a wonderful show horse. My parents keep him now and it breaks my heart they are talking about selling him :( I admit I don't ride him anymore and he is such a good horse that he needs to be with a family who will ride him. Sniff, sniff.



This layout "Decade" documents our 1st 10 years together as a married couple. Just last Friday 8/21 we celebrated our 11th anniversary!

Awww.....this one makes my heart smile. This is my sweet grandpa cotton. My dad's, dad. He came to visit and we surprised him with a birthday party. He has always been such an important part of my life. When we were little, Saturday night my parents would drop us off at Grandpa and Grandma Cotton's house and we would go to church with them the next morning. I have found memories of him and grandma singing along to hymnals and me falling asleep on his shoulder.

Well, I have a huge pile of orders to be filled sitting upstairs waiting for me to tend to. My shop has been so busy and I am eternally grateful to finally be able to work for myself and live out my dream. TO CREATE! I still have to pinch myself every once in a while that this little button dream of mine is working out so well :D

I hope everyone has a great week!

TessaAnn*

August Guest Designer, Breanne Crawford!

Happy Monday, Friends. I hope everyone had a really nice weekend!

For the month of August, I have a super fun guest designer! Welcome, Breanne Crawford!

Breanne's scrapbooking is always super pretty and feminine with a funky, colorful flare... just like her personality! And, it doesn't hurt that she has the most beautiful little baby girl to scrap about!

Enjoy the interview and the fun layouts Breanne created using my buttons!

"LOVE" Ooh...look at all the pretty flowers surrounding the sweet photo of Breanne and Madelyn :) I told ya she was a cutie!! Breanne used a button and link from my "Buttons & Links" set. She centered her flowers and tied a little tag to the link. So fun :)

"PRINCESS" What a pretty girlie-girl layout of Breanne's beautiful Baby girl :) Breanne used a couple of buttons from last month's Button Of The Month selection.

"15" Aww...a great close up of lil Madelyn :) Love how Breanne stitched the 2 pieces of scalloped cardstock together to create a corset-look. Great idea! Breanne used my strawberry button from my "Fruits of Summer" collection.

Okay...now on to the interview. Let's get to know Breanne!

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

A little bit about me.... I just turned 24 years old. I am a brand-new mom to the most beautiful girl in the entire world (Madelyn just turned 4 months). I am a social worker and work with abused and neglected children. As far as involvement in the industry, I'm really NOT involved anymore... When I got pregnant, I just didn't have the energy to scrapbook anymore so I backed away from the industry a bit and now that Madelyn is here, I rarely have the time to scrapbook for myself, let alone anyone else. The only thing I'm a part of now is scrapjacked (http://scrapjacked.blogspot.com/), which I LOVE. I am so clueless with the scrap industry these days! LOL!

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

I started to scrapbook before I really KNEW what scrapbooking was. It started in magnetic albums in 7th/8th grade, using some random diecuts and cut-out neon-colored paper to decorate. I then discoverered about.scrapbooking.com where I really LEARNED what scrapbooking was and there was this whole awesome community of people who opened my eyes to so many new, cool things.

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?-

a not-crying, hungry, needy baby. ;) - chocolate- good music

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

i have a really good story to tell or i have a really great photo or i have some emotions that i need to get down.

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

I have to admit... I am awful about journaling lately... I find that a lot of the documenting I do in every day life nowadays is through my blog and through a personal journal I keep to my daughter. When I sit down to scrapbook, lately, I just focus on the photos.... I feel like there is only so many times I can say on a page "I just can't believe how much I love you. You are the most amazing thing in the entire world."

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

Oh man! They were SO much fun!! I really enjoyed trying to figure out different sort of ways to use them and really just have FUN scrapping. It was a sort-of challenge to come up with layouts based around a project. I absolutely adore the detail on the buttons - it's just amazing and even more beautiful in person. And I definitely need to get my hands on some more now....

7.)Share with us your most favorite layout and why this layout is your most favorite.....WOW. This is difficult. I have so many different "favorite" layouts for so many different reasons. This question totally made me go through some of the files on my computer and I'm awed at some of the creativity on some of the layouts. Some of the depths of emotion on some of the layouts. Some of the stories that some of the layouts tell... i guess i'm going to have to choose this layout, though. it was one of the first, if not the first, layout i did after madelyn was born... and i think it gives a lot of hope for what's to come since i really don't remember a lot of what happened on that first day ;)

Thank you, Breanne for sharing your scrap art with us and the fun insight into your world of creativity!

Tessa Ann*

Buttons, Buttons and MORE Buttons!

The button shop has been busy, busy and my creativity has been pushed to so many new levels. School buses, radios, giraffes, zebras, whimsy bugs...so many new ideas and inspirations, so many yet to create! You just never know what's going to end up on a button..lol :)

Friday, I will have the talented, Breanne Crawford here as my Guest Designer and her super scrapbooking pages along with a fun, insightful interview.

I am also guesting at the ScrapJacked blog, so this means me scrapbooking. YAY! My layout is a work in progress and I'll show it off to you sometime this week!

Okay.....now for the eye candy! This set is for my final edition of the Buttons Of The Month club. I decided to let this go to be able to focus on many more designs and custom orders in my shop. Just a few remaining subscribers are receiving these fun, colorful buttons, titled, "SUMMER GARDEN" I didn't even make myself a set..lol. It's funny I make so many buttons and never keep any for myself. I've got to work on that! I so love these :)




"Back To School" buttons. This was fun to create! The school bus was tricky, but now that I've made several, I've got it down!
A custom order for a really cool customer! These too were super tricky, but ended up being some of my favorite buttons to create!
Another custom order. This customer wanted buttons to match, Cosmo Cricket's, "GIRL FRIDAY" collection. I just bought some of that paper and LOOOVE IT...of course I didn't make any for me...lol
A spin off of my "Sex in the city" buttons.. These glow in the dark and the city lights up when in the dark. Kinda fun :)
A little boombox and some boy colors. This set is titled, "Lets Rock!"
And...I've done many things for the Fall season.



"Pumpkin Patch"
This Fall Leaf feltie would be so pretty on a sweater, or even better a scrapbooking page! I even used a button from my "Autumn Textures" button set.

Have a great afternoon!