Tuesday Created Byhand Eyelet Challenge

Here is my contribution as a 4x4!!

Everything is from Quietfire Design:

Deer charm

Gold eyelets

Black cardstock

Take the challenge:

http://createdbyhandchallenge.wordpress.com

New Created Byhand Challenge

A huge thanks to Kelly Burton for setting up a challenge site for me!

On Tuesdays we will post the challenge of the week using a Quietfire byhand Product! Make sure you join us!


All the information can be found here:
http://createdbyhandchallenge.wordpress.com/

Wings Challenge

Well, who can resist wings? I haven't grown out of them yet! This guy is from the collage images, Suzanne's Favourites.

Yay, Kelly for starting a weekly theme challenge. Can we do wings every week? vbg, Suzanne

An exciting time!

I'm really excited!

Quietfire Design has a Design Team! If you haven't met them already, I'd like you to meet Deborah, Monica, Wanda and Kelly.

They are very busy creating away, making wonderful things for you to see and make with Quietfire Design products.

We have a very small Yahoo group, so we're always in contact and can bounce ideas around. I get tired just "listening" to them! They have great ideas and are very diverse in styles. And, they're doing a wonderful job exciting me about being creative.


If you haven't visited the webpage yet, you can see them all here and see their galleries. There will be lots more to come!

Thanks so much ladies, for making this such a fun experience!

The New Workshop

Over the weekend I was teaching in Victoria and on Sunday, it was the new workshop, Caught in Canvas.
After teaching years of altered books, I picked up a canvas one day and turned it over and my brain, which is always looking for the fast effective way of doing things (!) screamed "here is a premade niche!!!!". So the book was created and very appropriately named by Monica, from the Quietfire Design Team.

For the workshop, we use a 6" square canvas, held together with leather straps using a split strap binding. Add a bit of paint, collage, 3D elements and hardware et voila!

Here is the outside of the book, opened. It stands up really nicely! And here is the inside front...

The niche doesn't show up well, but there is a Prayer Box hanging and a bottle filled with watch bits near the bottom. On the right, I used a stencil, put Duo Embellishing Adhesive on it, then used Varigated Leaf in blues and gold. I'm going to have to do more of that!

Vickie Enkoff

I was heartbroken last week to hear of the passing of Vickie Enkoff. I never had the pleasure of meeting her in person, but I did meet her lovely and talented daughters in Vancouver several years ago.

Vickie was, without doubt, a wonderful person. She encouraged many of us in so many ways. Although she suffered from debilitating illnesses, you would not have known that unless she told you. Vickie accomplished so much and interacted with so many other artists in the online communities, you never knew where she would pop up!

It was Vickie who pressed my rubber stamp line for years (okay, Jennifer, it was probably you doing the physical work! Thanks!) and really encouraged me to continue. It was Vickie who placed the first order when I set up my PayPal shopping cart and needed someone to test drive it.

I will miss hearing her "voice" online. We've lost one of this world's lovely people.

It was my honour to have been able to know her.

Advertising Challenge

I just don't come equiped for this kind of challenge! I am self-taught in Photoshop and Coreldraw - 'cause there just isn't any courses available to me. So it struck fear into my heart when I had to make up a 4 colour ad for a magazine! Not only is it a design challenge, it's a technical challenge, too. By 2 a.m. last night, I had it done and was sure that it would be no good and I'd have to go back to the drawing board (technically, that is). I was so relieved to hear my 10mb file made it to its destination and looks okay for print! It'll be a few months before we know for sure, but you can preview it here. Let's hope lots of people see it and come visit my website! And maybe even place an order..... Smiles, Suzanne

Quietfire Design's new home....

Yes, we're really moving - in 4 weeks we take possession of this BIG, beautiful home in a fabulous neighbourhood in Courtenay BC! I can hardly wait! I can't believe we're going to own this beauty. I keep having to pinch myself!

There is loads of room for the family and the business..... at least there should be loads of room! On a clear day we can see the mainland mountains.

They call this a rancher.... um, but it has 2 floors...

Yippee!

Ecoline Liquid Watercolours

Thomas Hoyer, one of the instructors at Island Magic, asked me if I'd get in the Ecoline Dyes. I had quite a hard time finding them, but managed to order in most of the colours. They'll be here next week (I hope!) - hurry little truck, hurry!

Not knowing much about them, I Googled Ecoline and came across the blog of Stamping Matilda who had used the product for a background with very wonderful results!

Later the same day I was browsing through the recent issue of Rubber Stamp Madness - I advertise with them - and there was an article on blogs. Low and behold, there is Stamping Matilda again. What a coincidence! I guess I was destined to start a blog and have Ecolines!

Hopefully I can show some of Thomas' creations. I'll probably get to see his before I get to create with them myself....

Wow, a new experience!

I love new challenges! Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time right now to explore all blogging has to offer.

I've just accepted a job creating 70 custom photo albums. The timing couldn't be worse as I prepare to create an art store for a week to service 300+ calligraphers at the International Calligraphy Conference. I will be conscripting les enfants - or at least one of them to help. Eeek!

Perhaps blogging can be my fun time. It was really Kelly Burton's fabulous blog that pushed me over the edge. She does such wonderful stuff, I must put a link to her blog..... just as soon as I figure out how to do it!

No pictures today, I'm afraid..... Okay, I did it. My first blog entry!
See ya soon, I hope!!