Goodnight...

Do you have a night time ritual? Bronte and I have done this every night for the last 15 years...I try to read or play on my iPad and she tries to wiggle her way in front of my face. Every night. And I love it! Lol

What Do These Have in Common?

They were all created based on the wonderful sketches of Kristine Davidson!!!
The week before our wedding, I had a bit of the jitters so I needed to keep myself busy (All the wedding planning was done months ago!)

When I downloaded the Creative Scrappers eBook  I felt so inspired!  I don't normally create that many layouts in such a short span of time at home.  If you haven't downloaded your copy of the eBook, I highly recommend it!  100 Sketches for 8.95$ is a fantastic investment to get you out of a creative block :)
Thanks so much for dropping by!!
Steph

ps  Big shout out to Kristine for another awesome blog design!!!  Love it!!!
(This first one is my fav, and of course it was created a couple of days after our wedding!)

Distractions in Metal Clay.....

From the Wedding Jitters that is!!!  I'm trying not to become Bride-Zilla...and I've been successful thus far!  6 days left and all the planning, arrangements and payments have been made....so I'm left with only my excitement and butterflies!  Oh how I can't wait to marry Dave!  Not to get too sentimental, but I swear, every minute I'm with him I thank my lucky stars he came into my life <3

So, onto my crafty distraction post!  This is what I did this weekend to keep my mind occupied and the butterflies calm....I made a few simple pendants to give to my family members next weekend, and then I finally turned on my Paragon Kiln and fired them!  As many of my friends know, I have been nervous about turning it on...don't ask me why, I guess I just wanted to make sure everything was fire-proof and safe. 

So here is the digital controller ramping up!  It has to go to 1200 F and then hold there for ½ hour to properly sinter my Silver Metal Clay.

Here are my test pendants!  I even fired one with a small round CZ for a bit of sparkle...

I gained so much confidence after that firing, I couldn't wait to make a few more pieces....so I was up before everyone this morning, getting my metal clay area ready...

Its so very different than working with Polymer clay.  First, there's the cost....silver has gone up significantly this past year, and then there is the drying time.  With fresh clay, I may have 5-10 min of working time (and that includes hydrating it a bit in between).  It is a real challenge, and with those two factors combined, makes me a bit nervous for now.  I know that once I'm used to the medium, I'm sure it won't be so intimidating...but for now, I make sure I have planned my design and prepare my working area in full before I crack that package open! 

Happy Sunday!
Hope you have time to make art today as well
Steph

A very Scrappy week!!

Just finishing up a lovely 10 days of vacation, back to work tomorrow!  (I'll need extra coffee in the morning, I know it!)

We had a super fun visitor for 3 days... Kristine came by to scrap and do a bit of Lush shopping!!  We have so much fun when she visits, and its so adorable to see the cats fall in love with her one by one!  She was even able to scratch Mr. Flowers on the head, and not too many people have been able to do that over the years (he was a feral cat when I took him in, so always very shy and scared of strangers). 

As always, we scrapped the week away and I was able to finish quite a number of layouts!  Here are a few of them:

Thanks for catching up!
Happy New Year!
Steph

A bit of Doodling...

After watching Christy's post a few weeks ago, I couldn't get it out of my head!  I HAD to give it a try!  Its not at all what I expected...not as soft as hers, but I still like it :)

All in all, it took about 3-4 hours...I began with a coat of gesso, then once it dried I used permanent pen to doodle my design.  Once that set, I then used my watercolor crayons to get the base color, with shadowing with my Pitt Pens.  I used a fixative to make sure the watercolor didn't react with my Modpodge....added a few stamps and textured!  It was so relaxing!  Dave noticed I was "in the zone" and let me be for the ENTIRE process!  (He is such a  keeper!)

Steph
xo

Mixed Media Monster Flower!

Here is the Mixed Media Flower I created on the monster canvas I mentioned a few posts ago!  Its a whopping 22x30!

Check out the experiment with the modeling paste...I grabbed the top of my Basic Grey Precision File Set to add the circles! Its quite handy with that little handle :)

Thanks for taking a peek!

Steph

xo

Loving Mixed Media....

Hi Folks!
Just thought I'd pop in and post a few things I've been working on this Christmas time!  Thankfully my family doesn't read my blog much hehe

These are all 8x8, and I have to say I think this is my favorite size to work with!  I made a big monster of a flower a few weeks ago (22x30) and I think it was just too much space for me right now.  I have more super large canvas', but I'll save those until I find my "style" with the smaller ones.  At the moment, I'm sticking within the "She Art" comfort zone (Thanks Christy Tomlinson!!!)

Hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas!

Cheers,

Stephanie

A differnt Style?

Just a few layouts I was able to complete during the last LCOM crop in Moncton...another fabulous weekend with Kristine and the girls :)  So much fun....and check it out, 8 layouts completed!!!

Kristine says my style is changing: I'm not as messy/grungy....I didn't really notice until she mentioned it!  I think it may be that I'm getting my messy fix with the mixed media art I've been dabbling in and also, I tend not to spring my sprays and paint when I go to crops!  tee hee funny how little things like that can change things up!

hugs
Steph
xo

Another year, another Birthday..

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had the opportunity to scrapbook with my bestie Kristine a week ago (yay!)  I was able to finish 6 layouts...I'm not sure what it is, but we she and I get together, its like a scrappy marathon!  We both get so much done then when we scrap alone LOL

My birthday snuck up on my while I was away in Saint John...and although I was bummed not to celebrate it with Dave and the boys, Kristine more than made up for it!  She came over with birthday cupcakes and we scrapped the night away!  It was wonderful!  I managed to get this layout done that evening.  My new tradition: to scrap the past year highlights...because I don't know about you, but I'm starting to forget things as that number gets higher  LOL

When I got home from my trip, Dave and the boys had this waiting for me!  Isn't it adorable!  It was so "Whimsy-like" just loved it!!!  My boys rock!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Steph

xo

The Reason why I Scrapbook...

This past week my work brought me to Saint John, NB and I was able to scrapbook all three evenings with the lovely Kristine!  The hotel was kind enough to let me have one  of their large conference room tables all week, so we had lots of space for our scrappy supplies.  I finished 6 layouts during this time, but felt this one needed its own posting. 

Although, I've always thought of this blog as a more of a place to share my love of scrapbooking and other artsy crafty stuff, a bit of my personal life gets thrown in for good measure.  Its really difficult for it not too considering how much of ourselves we tend to put on a scrappy page :) 

If you've ever visited before, it would be obvious that I am a cat lover.....7 cats in particular have my heart at this time in my life....and this layout it about the cat that started it all over 15 years ago.

Seymour (aka: Boogie the Booganator, Boogs and Boogie Woogie) has been showing signs of his age lately.  The most recent being a serious kidney infection that put him on a 21 day antibiotic regime...and the vet asking me to read between the lines and prepare myself.  He was gentle about it, but I know how serious it is especially in combo with his hyperthyroidism.   I'm trying to stay positive, but at the same time trying to prepare myself for the inevitable.  Its a fine balance, and I try not to dwell on the negative. 

This layout helped me process my feelings with a bit of hidden journaling , capture the moment and remind myself to enjoy.  Enjoy every moment.  (and lets have hope that there will be many more!)

Thanks for letting me share

Steph

xo