Stephanie's Creative Zone

Expanding on my business!!

2012-01-17T16:07:00.000-08:00

I am going to do some back tracking here. Back in November I was looking at Facebook and I saw some very pretty roses made out of paper. I commented on the beautiful roses and Anna Fearer from More Paper Than Shoes invited me to join her group.

This was the first time, since my sister Loretta passed that I had ANY interest in make ANYTHING out of paper. I had packed up all of my stamping and paper products. I couldn't bare to see them as this was something I did with Loretta!!

I took a class of Anna's and started to make some roses. I feel I caught on very quick. Here are some of the early roses.

After some practice, I believe I am getting better.

These are a 1/2" across!!

These too!

January is a mixed month of emotion. My youngest son James birthday is the 21st. Gwen's 7th birthday is the 19th. That same day, my Mother passed away. Gwen and I talk about that day and every time she says that, she saw my Mom going to Heaven when she was coming to this earth!! Who knows, I believe her!! Also this month on the 13th my beloved Brother Rocky passed away. Can't believe it has been 1 year for him and 7 years for my Mother and Father. It was 3 years in July that my sister Loretta passed.

OK Lord, No more for a while, please?? Looking forward to February 2012!!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe 1/2 the month of January is already over!

December came and went. Christmas was a little depressing for me. I am not working and couldn't buy all the things I wanted for my children and grandchildren. The adults, we all trade names, so that was fine. I usually get to spend a lot on the grandchildren. This year I had to keep it to a 5 present limit and under $50.00 each for each child. After the children opened their presents, I realized that they were happy with what Santa bought. They each sat and played with their toys. It was a difficult holiday as it was the first holiday my oldest son Chris and the 2 daughters Kraysa and Gwen, spent without their Mother there. Their Mother and Father are in the process of a divorce. It will be better next year!!!!

James was sitting across the room behind the girls

Kraysa's Big gift was a book of poems and stories for young ladies . One for every day of the year!

You can see the look on Gweneys face, she was really happy with what Santa brought her!!

Chris with his 2 beautiful daughter Kraysa and Gwen!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T13:33:00.001-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
My prayer for all of my family and friends is for you all to have a FUN filled day, full of LOVE and JOY!!!! Enjoy the turkey and the company!

I can't believe I am posting 2 days in a row. WOW!!!

I joined a group named, More Paper Than Shoes. There, I joined a swap to make 7 Christmas stockings. These are the seven stockings I made for the swap, I am looking forward to seeing the ones I get in return. This was a lot of fun. I am enjoying being part of this group and learning new things! Thank You Anna and http://www.morepaperthanshoes.com/ for bringing some JOY into my life!

2011-11-23T12:59:00.001-08:00

Well, it is the day before Thanksgiving. Where has this month gone. During the past month, I have been busy learning how to make flowers out of paper. I am been busy changing my studio around a bit to make room for a table to create with paper. I still have my clay table and will still making things with my clay. I LOVE making jewelry, so that won't go away!!

I just wanted to pop in and say Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends. Hope you have a fun filled turkey day. I know I will. I will be creating all day have having a small Thanksgiving dinner with Mary. All of my children have other places to be on Thanksgiving Day and that is OK with me.

Wanted to show you a few new items I have made over the last few months.

This bracelet is small enough to fix a young lady

This is just a few pieces of jewelry I have been working on.

You may find these and many other pieces at http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/Diamonzone0808

Feel free to do some Christmas shopping!

2011-11-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, it is November 6, 2011. I am so sorry that I haven't been more active with my blog. Every time I would come out to my blog and see that sweet Rocky face, I feelings would freeze. I would read and look at all the pictures and then I be depressed and then I would go to sleep. I have discovered, that is what I did when my dear Mother and my sister Loretta died. Loretta and I were big time stampers. After she died all I could do was sit and look at my stamping table. After months went by, I packed it all up and put it way in my art closet. This last July, it has been 3 years since my BEST friend had left me.

A few months later I found Polymer clay!! I love to play with the clay in my hands. I have made many pendants and earring from the clay. I have also made canes, which I sell all the time. I Even made a doll. I may make more dolls at a later time.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a picture of some paper roses. They really intrigued me. So as always, I have spent a lot of time on the you tube watching how people make flowers. I decided I could incorporate the flowers into my jewelry. So that is where I stand. I did join a couple of flower groups and I jumped in with both feet into a Christmas Stocking exchange. I made my 6 stockings and they we mailed to the lady running it. I am now waiting for my 6 stocking to arrive so I can see what my partners have made.

Funny how things spark new ideas and feelings. I find myself looking at all of my stamp stuff. I think I am in love with paper again! This week I am going to buy my first cricut expression 2 machine. I took a class last night on how to make roses. I am going to be attending another class in 2 weeks. I am excited!! Here is a picture of the stockings I made.

I also have made some butterflies out of flowers. Here is some pictures.

Oh, and I can't leave out the Christmas pins I made out of polymer clay.
Sorry the snow man and reindeer pictures are on their sides, I don't know how to fix that. Most everything I make is for sale in my Artfire store.
http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/Diamonzone0808
Thank you so much for reading and following me on my blog
Until next time LOVE you all!!!

January is past, Start of a new month, February!

2011-02-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

I believe Rocky is about 4 months old.

I think Rocky is almost 3 years old.

He is helping Daddy cut the lawn!!

I believe I am 5, Rocky 4 and Steven almost 3

What's the chicken doing inside the house????

Rocky, Steven and our puppy going for a ride in our pool!

Swimming at the Cub Scouts

Rocky takes all 5 first place!!!

Swimming for Hollywood High school

Graduation

Off to the Army!!

Rocky takes a Wife and Life Partner

Rocky and Esther are thinking of starting their family

Family of 4, Daniel and Angela

Daddy joins Daniel and Angela bath time!!

Off to Hawaii

Rocky fights a GOOD BATTLE!!!!
He was 56 years young!

A TRIBUTE TO MY BROTHER ROCKY...

June 18, 1954 - January 13, 2011

December and January were hard months to live through! December has always been a hard month, because I have lost so many people in my family. January 13th was not so good either. We lost my beloved Brother Rocky. The five children in my family have always been close. I had a special relationship with my Brother Rocky!! He was a year younger than me and he was my playmate.We had so much fun growing up. Along with my youngest Brother Steven. We were the "Smith Kids". Everyone knew of us. Be it at school, the swim team or in the neighborhood. We had made a reputation for ourselves. Nothing harmful just a little overly fun. We moved into this older house and it had a backyard that kept us 3 kids busy. After living there for a few years, my folks put a build in pool (A cement pond) in the backyard. All 3 of us excelled at swimming. Both of my brothers were hopeful Olympic swimmers. We all went to Hollywood high and swam for them. After high school, Rocky went into the Army. He meet his lovely wife Esther and they married. They had 2 beautiful children, Daniel and Angela. Rocky was a wonderful family man. Giving them everything he thought they needed. In the last year and a half, Rocky developed liver and adrenal cancer. The doctors told them, he had about 2 months to live. He went onto see Halloween, Christmas, their wedding anniversary then Summer and another Christmas.He passed on January 13th 2011. Such a sad day. He left all of our lives so enriched. He was such a warm, loving sweet man. I am proud to call him my BROTHER!!! I LOVE You Rocky!

The legend of the Candy Cane

2010-12-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

According to legend there was a candy maker who wanted to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ.

First of all, he used a hard candy because Christ is the rock of ages. This hard candy was shaped so that it would resemble a "J" for Jesus or, turned upside down, a shepherd's staff. He made it white to represent the purity of Christ.

Finally a red stripe was added to represent the blood Christ shed for the sins of the world, and thinner red stripes for the stripes He received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers whipped Him. Sometimes a green stripe is added as a reminder that Jesus is a gift from God.

The flavor of the cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is in the mint family and was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Jesus is the pure Lamb of God, come to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

So, every time you see a candy cane, remember the message of the candy maker:

Jesus is the Christ!

Little people

2010-08-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

My granddaughters Karysa and Gweney, and myself had a bunch of fun making these little people. Have learned that we need to make then thicker and stronger. I believe I have a solution for that little problem.. Enjoy looking at the first bunch of Little people.

Little Girls Jewelry

2010-08-28T01:52:00.000-07:00

My two granddaughters and I have been busy having fun in my studio. We have made little bears on necklaces, Cupcake and S'more bracelets. Karysa, my 10 year old and I have been playing around with little people. They were very fun to make, but we have to find a way to make them stronger. My 5 year old Gweney loves Tinkerbell, so I made her one and she had it on for 2 hours and it was broken. I am working on several solutions to make them stronger. If you would like to purchase a necklace you can find them here. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270627811129&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270627818964&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

BEEN BUSY IN MY STUDIO AGAIN!!

2010-08-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

Been a busy year so far on the home front. Haven't had much time to work with my clay. That is all changing now. I have been making some new canes. I am EXCITED that customers are liking my canes and are buying them! Feels good when someone else loves your product enough to buy it!!

2010-05-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted. The reason for the wait was that I wanted to complete Evangeline before showing her. I have taken pictures along the way. Her mate Sam is next to be clothed in his costume. I have learned a lot from making her. The biggest thing I learned is it takes time to complete a doll. You just can't go full steam a head, because the doll wont have that finished look about it. So with that said, meet Evangeline!

2010-03-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

My newest doll is going to be a fairy. She is coming along nicely. I have her head,neck and chest done. Now it is time to start on her arms, hands, legs and feet. I belong to a clay club called, Beginners Polymer Clay Art Guild. A small group of us are enjoying a group project making polymer clay dolls utilising the techniques of Wendy Froud. I really enjoyed her videos and her style of sculpting and teaching. Here is a look at her. She doesn't have a name yet.

2010-03-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

Ok,now I am ready to sculpt head #3. I am going to try to make a woman this time. I decided to take out the white eyes of # 2 head and rework the face. She still looks like a guy. So I will keep the name Sam. I also through 2 hands and 2 feet together for Sam. I need to mix some more clay to match his skin tone so I could give him a body. I still need to add some more clay around his eyes. Right now his eyes look a little bug eye. So here is a look at Same without his eyes being fixed.

2010-03-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I like sculpting human faces . I am not really good at it yet. I know it takes lots of time and lots of practice. I started out wanting to make a lady and when I felt done she looked like a man. So I guess I will name him Sam. Here is what Sam looks like.

New month ~ New year

2010-01-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

New month ~ New year With the new month and year I decided to try something new. I have always loved to look at every ones baby dolls, big dolls, and fantasy dolls. Don't get me wrong I still love to cane and make jewelry. My group that I belong to was going to have a sculpting challenge. First heads, then hands, and then feet. Sounds like the makings of a doll there. I decided I would join this challenge and try my hand at scupting. Now let me remind you, I have never sculpted before. My first head, I thought looked pretty good. After having it critiqued, it needs some reworking. I exspected that. The news, didn't break my heart. I have discovered my eyes are shot by mid afternoon, if I sit on the computer all morning. So I have desided to sculpt in the morning when my eyes are fresh. Here is a peak at my first head.

NEW YEARS DAY 2010

2010-01-01T01:28:00.000-08:00

Space Needle's fireworks to welcome in New Years day 2010!!

Seattle

Wash.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

BIG HUGS!!!! Stephanie

End of the year 2009

2009-12-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

I have a few pieces I made for my granddaughters that wanted to blog about before the end of the year. They were matching necklace and bracelets of cupcakes and s'mores. On Christmas day Gweney was wearing her bracelet and on of the eye pins came out. I was very disappointed. So I asked my guild for a better way to make the bead with a post in it that will stay put. I am going to remake the jewelry pieces and then I will show you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! The BEST of 2010!!

Last but not least!!!!

2009-12-31T13:22:00.000-08:00

I made 1 more necklace for Mary for Christmas. When I was going through my Mothers beads to sell, Mary fell in love with some ivory carved Indian tribal beads. I told her, that I had to sell them to make money to feed by polymer clay habit. So she forgot about them. One day I was playing around with some light cream color polymer clay and my knitting needles and all of a sudden I had made beads to look like the ones I sold of my Mothers. These beads turned out great. I decided to try another bead that my Mother had. It was a long slim Bead, again to look like ivory and it had long carvings in the bead. Both of these beads were combined with a few glass beads. It made a beautiful necklace. Mary LOVED it!!!

The inspiration for this project not only came from my Mothers beautiful beads that I sold but also from Cindy Lietz on Polymer Clay Tutor Library Videos. You can find her and her videos at

http://www.beadvideos.com

HAPPY CLAYING

Making more Christmas presents

2009-12-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

I made a necklace and a bracelet for Mary. It was made out of a soft cream color and a light orange. I laid a layer of the cream color polymer clay on my work surface and then laid a thin layer of transparent orange on top of the cream and preceded to sit for a whole day and cut off little jagged pieces to look like shells you might find at the beach. It was a labor of love. The look on her face was priceless!!

Christmas Ornament exchange

2009-12-31T01:10:00.000-08:00

Another fun thing my group, Beginner's Polymer Clay Art Guild does every Christmas it to have an ornament exchange. I knew, I wanted to make an ornament to exchange, but again I was scared. The questions going through my head for days were; was the person I was to exchange with, going to like my ornament?? Will the group like it?? Maybe I should have done 3 ornaments, no I better stick to doing just one this year. So that is what I will do. 1 ornament... After the ornament was made, I decided it wasn't scary at all. So I made 2 more for my grandchildren and 1 for my tree.

Christmas challenge ~ Votive

2009-12-31T00:53:00.000-08:00

I belong to the Beginner's Polymer Clay Art Guild. This years Christmas challenge was to make a Christmas votive. It was the 2nd challenge I have ever done. It was a little scary. Once I started putting the scene on the votive together, I wasn't scared anymore. It was turning out to look like I knew what I was doing. I was very pleased with myself and the votive I made!!

Mary and Mikki's necklaces

2009-12-31T00:23:00.000-08:00

As the days flew by in December, I knew I needed to make several jewelry pieces for presents. I asked my son, what his girlfriends favorite colors were and he said, black and white. I thought, oh that is perfect. I had started getting the Polymer Cafe magazine and saw a gorgeous black and white necklace that looked like it was made of licorice. I gathered my supplies and started one afternoon. These beads were turning out awesome!! I couldn't wait to put the whole necklace together. My roommate saw the finished necklace and was jealous. So without her knowing, the first finish necklace I made went in a drawer for Mary. The second necklace was made for Mikki...

Christmas jewelry

2009-12-30T00:03:00.000-08:00

These necklaces were made for Karysa and her Mom Jen.

OK, it is 12:30 pm on December 30, 2009. It is finally after Christmas. I have had to not show any of my jewelry pieces because they were made to be gifts for my daughter in laws, my best friend and my 2 granddaughters. I promise I won't ever take that long to share my work with everyone. It has been a BIG learning experience for me to make these new pieces. I have learned how to put together a necklace, the proper way using the correct fittings. I also learned after the fact, how to keep my I pins in the charms. My charms were falling off before my granddaughter Gweney had her little charm braclet on for 5 minutes. Nana knows how to fix that Gweney!

New canes and new jewelry

2009-08-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today, I finished uploading all my new canes and jewelry pieces in my Etsy store. The address to my Etsy store is: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7281369 Go check out the canes and all the new jewelry... You will like what you see. I promise. Check back often :-)

Been very busy...

2009-08-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

OK, what can I say I am blond.... I can't figure out how to get rid of the duplicate picture!!!

The last 2 weeks have flown by.. Been so busy creating new canes and jewelry pieces. I am so excited, I have finally figured out how to make a rose cane!! Just LOVING those roses!!

2009-08-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

Other canes I have made. What a learning curve.....

Scrap clay ~ Beautiful Jewelry Pieces!!

2009-08-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

These are some of the earrings and pendants I have been making. I hear of other artist selling the scrap clay for canes and making jewelry. I don't have any scrap clay. I use it all to make my jewelry. When my grand daughters Karysa and Gweney come over, they want to play with Nana's scrap clay. I have to always open new clay for them to play with. I never have any scrap clay!

New pieces.

2009-08-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

I decided to catch everyone up with my creations today. There are so many ideas going through my head. I can't make them fast enough!! The item I have been spending a lot of time on is learning to make a rose cane. I think I finally have it down pat. Thanks to a friend of mine. I was so excited when the first rose turned out. So lets have a look.....

2009-06-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today is am important day!! My Etsy store is now open. Enjoy browsing and pick up a gift for yourself or someone else..

Good News!!

2009-06-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Good News, almost have my Etsy shop ready to open. Been working around the clock to make enough jewelry pieces to open the doors... Just finished some key rings. I am going to add the pictures before I am done with this blog. Tonight, I will finally be done with putting all my Mothers beads away. Away, but not to far away. I can still see them and I am having fun mixing them with my polymer beads. Her odd ball beads, I have listed on Ebay, diamonzone0808 is my dealer number if you want to go look. So far, I have 1 large lot of the beads out there. I kept most of my Mothers beads. But I got to tell you, some of the beads I put out of Ebay are butt ugly!! Sorry Mom, I know you loved all your beads, the pretty ones and the UGLY beads!!! OK, just watch for my opening. I will let you all know. Enjoy the picture of the new key rings....

It's my Birthday !!

2009-06-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone for wishing me a Happy Birthday!!My best friend, Mary took me out to breakfast and then she took me to a bead store called Ship Wreck Beads here in Wa state. Oh my gosh, it must have had 2 million dollars worth of beads in there. It took us 4 hours just to walk all over the store. I thought my Mother left me alot of beads... This is the store that my Mother bought most of her beads from..My friend told me to pick out what I wanted and then she paid for it all! Then she took me to Joannes for a shopping trip there.I enjoyed myself immensley.. This has been one of my very BEST BIRTHDAYs in years!!!!

It's a new day !

2009-06-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

I am still putting all my mothers beads away!! She has little tiny,tiny beads up to Giant beads. I don't know just yet, what I am going to do with all of these beads. Thought about selling them on e bay. I did put some of the odd beads on e bay and they didn't sell. I might try to sell them on etsy. As I continue to go through each box I am finding strange beads. I keep saying, out loud to my Mom, "O.K. Mom, where did you find this bead??, it is butt ugly"!! My Mother, rest her soul, belonged to a beading club. The group of ladies, would make trips to different bead shops in different areas, as a group and purchase beads. These ladies would all go to lunch together once a week and each would bring a special bead for every lady at lunch. I found a big box full of these little 2" bags full of 5 to 10 different beads. there were hundreds of the little bags. None of them matching. I guess I will have several grab bags of beads to sell.

I have been working very hard to learn to make a few canes. About 1 in 3 turn out well enough to maybe sell. The canes that don't turn out, will make lovely beads. No waste of clay there. I have been working hard to get an inventory built to start my etsy store. It has been real fun making a few pieces. I have been making key chains the last few nights. Soon I will have pictures to show you.

Speaking of pictures, That was the most frustrating thing I have gone through lately. Every picture that I took of my jewelry wouldn't turn out. I then was reminded, on how I take pictures of my Ebay items and the edit them on the computer. Well duh, do it the same way, and voila. Perfect pictures!

Stephanie's Creations

2009-05-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Stephanie's Creations. Having a blog is new to me. Working with polymer clay is new to me as well.

I have always, as long as I can remember, been a creative person. My Mother and I started our own needlepoint design shop. We designed the pictures and put the kits together. We sold them once a month at the Rose Bowl swap meet in Los Angeles, California. While at the swap meet we feel in love with these tiny bud vases and animals that had a spray of dried flowers in them. We bought so many of these items to sell to our family and friends that my Mother and I decided to start making them our self. My Mother has always been my best friend and my partner in crime. We went to the ceramic store and bought a large kiln and all the supplies we needed to start our own ceramic business. We started to sell our ceramic items along side of our needlepoint kits. Over time we realized that the other people selling the miniature ceramic vases were no longer there. We had the market to ourselves. My Mother and I continued making and selling our ceramics for several years until I moved to Washington state.

Shortly after my husband and I moved to the Seattle area, my Mother and Father moved to Seattle as well. I was so very happy to have them here in Seattle. I had missed my Mother so much. They bought some property. They moved in with us while building their house. My Mother and I started to crochet and make pull over vest and shawls. We bought so much yarn we didn't know where to put it all. We found the swap meet here in the Seattle area and set up shop. We did very well with our crochet items. From there we moved on to making apple head dolls on plaques with miniature accessories. These make a big hit in the area. By this time we had put out items into a gift shop in 3 malls in the Seattle area. We added bread baskets to our line. These bread baskets were made of dehydrated biscuits and silk flowers. The customers loved our baskets! Several year later, my Mother and I started to make small minature dolls out on felt and pipe cleaners. They are cute and I might start to sell them. My sister Loretta got me into making rubber stamp cards. I loved that craft for a very long time. Many times my Mother, Loretta and myself would stamp together. My Mother went on to learn how to bead and make jewelry. She was just as crazy about buying beads as she was with all our other crafts. When She passed a way I was left all of her beads. I since went through all the boxes and she must hast $5000.00 worth of beads. My new art interest is making beads out of polymer clay. I am new at it. I think it will be my new love. I have since organize all my Mothers beads in my studio and will mix the beads with my polymer beads. I also want to learn to make polymer canes. the only trouble I find coming my way, is that I can't learn fast enought. I want it now. I want to beable to make beatuiful canes now!!