Scary Class at the Paper Niche

I was so happy that I had the chance to take this class at the Paper Niche on Tuesday. It's the "Scary home decor" with Barbara. What a fun and inspiring class. Barbara taught us her techniques to decorate simple wood letters with paint, paper and embellishments to create this "scary" sign. She also introduced UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) and glass etching. I had never worked with UTEE before, but after this class I know my next purchase will be a melting pot and UTEE, it is so simple to use but is so versatile to create embellishments.

If you are free on Saturday the 16th, Barbara is offering this class again from 9am - 1pm at the Paper Niche. Log on to www.paperniche.com for more information on this and all the other classes offer in October.

P.S. After class stop by the Ft. Lauderdale Christian School's Annual Craft Fair, my company, The Water Bottle Soap Co. will be there from 9am - 4pm. Shop early for the holidays and support local businesses.

The long awaited post . . .

I know, I know it's truly been a long while since I have posted anything on my blog. So here is the long awaited post. I was hard at work creating my ultimate masterpiece with some help from my Hubby.

~*Ta-Da*~
We're expecting a son, Darin Augustino, in February. We are truly blessed and cannot wait till he arrives. So as you can see my absence was with good reason.
More creations are soon to come . . . not necessarily babies (we see how the first one goes) but the more traditional paper, paint, wood, glue kind.

Oh yeah . . . Well I craft!

It's been a good minute since I have posted anything on my blog. Here's what I have been up to in the past few weeks. I'm still experimenting in photoshop to create scrapbooking papers. I created a couple inspired by Twilight, however truth be told I have yet to read a book or watch a movie about this teen vampire saga. I'll have to check out my on demand feature on my TV to watch the movie.

A new outlet I have found is decorative Dog Tags. I have a beautiful one with Marilyn Monroe on it, and I was inspired to create one of my own. Thanks to the candy bar at the Paper Niche, here is my decorative Dog Tag.

I started with drops of White, Metallic Silver and Black paint and swirled it on the tag. After it was dried I added my different rhinestone and metal flowers and arranged them in a cascade down the tag. I adhered them with 3M Metal glue. Once they were secured on the tag I dipped the whole thing in clear varnish, brushing off the access and making sure that every nook was covered. Let that dry completely, add a jump ring and you have your own custom made dog tag. It is a bit lighter than my Marilyn one but I love the way it came out and for under $5.00 to create you can't go wrong.

Cropping and such

A couple of weekends ago I attended my first crop at the Paper Niche. It was a lot of fun but I was a bit stumped for creativity since I had pushed myself the night before to make soap and update my website. Never the less I took the opportunity to use the papers that I designed ( featured in previous posts). I think these two pages came out cute.

Flowers, bling and ribbon courtesy of the Paper Niche. The butterfly: Cricut die cut, Martha Stewart flock in peony. Papers of course by me.

I should be packing . . .

. . . but what am I doing? Crafting of course. To add to my previous post I created new background pages. The blue and purple pages were inspired by the Michael Buble concert that the Hubs treated me to last week. What an amazing show and his stage set up was beautiful. There were 4-6 screens that would come together and break apart during each song. They would feature images of him or other animations that went along with the mood of the songs. But this particular song and the staging really inspired me to create these two pages. The other two are vintage inspired.

Why I say I should be packing . . . the Hubs and I are moving to Margate.

Enjoy the pages.

Danger, Danger

So I bought this Digi -Scrap booking "How To" book today and I think I have lost my mind. It is so cool to learn about all the things you can do in a digital format. There are different exercises outlined in the book but the one I had to try was to make my own background papers.

"What, your own background page? Shut up!"

Yes, I say. You learn how to use layers, brushes, actions and clip art to make scrap booking papers. Take a look at the ones I have done do far.

The danger lies in the fact that I can create these "papers" and lose track of time. I have a new outlet to the creativity well. Darn the Aztecs and their invention called time. . . lol.

A real labor of Love

Picture it, 2 Sundays ago. It was a lazy day and I spent most of it cleaning my craft area (really the dining area) I packed away all my stamps and Cricut stuff, etc. I finally had a clean dining table! Once I was done I asked the Hubs what he would like to do. "Nothing really , just watch the race." he said. "Fine by me, we can relax at home." I replied. Three minutes into the race I brought back out the stamps, glue, papers and warmed up the computer. Thus began my labor of love.

11 months ago our family was blessed by a baby girl named Anna Grace (I gave her Grace) she is my niece and the darling of the family. She is the muse that inspired my Canvas Frame box. Keeping to a simple color pallet of greens, pinks and white, using techniques that I have learned from reading and from my friends and co-workers, I began the mission of this project.

Of course I used my coupons and bought embellishments on sale and with my discount. I love how this came out. Each page of the book was created by taking smaller collages and then putting them together in to larger pieces. I printed the photos from home and trimmed them to size. I used a myriad of chalk, embossing, stamping and flocking on each page and piece. The box itself is was decorated with flowers, chalk and embossing. I especially like the was the gold tone handle and hinges accent the colors.


I almost hate to give this away, I made it with the intent to give it to my Brother and Sister in-law to commemorate Anna's first birthday in April. We will see how that goes. It really was a pleasure to see how this project developed. I have to say I am really proud of how it came out. I hope when Anna gets older she can appreciate how much time and love was poured in to it.

Who doesn't love a bargin?

So my very good friend and I are starting a new endeavor by creating inter-faith gifts for the holidays. Now I know what your thinking, "Hello tardy for the party, you missed all the after holiday bargains". Fear not! Michael's had an amazing sale on all the things we need to get started and with coupons I got my money's worth. They have paint for .49, ribbon 3 for a $1 and sponge brushed 14 for $1. Awesome I know, but it gets better, on top of the fantastic sale I had a coupon for 20% off my entire purchase and 50% off one item (which went to a new Easter soap mold) but I digress. All in all my coupons and shopping the sales took my $37.61 all the way down to $21.52. I know crazy right, I came in $1.52 over my mental budget but it was totally worth it. Check out the pics below to see a couple ideas I had for ChrismaHanuKwanzakah photo frames.

Happy Valentine's Day

My hubby knows the best way to my heart is not flowers or candy but Cricut Cartridges. The Hubs got me Winter Woodland to add to my collection. Thankfully, Michaels had a sale yesterday, which was perfect timing. I fell in love with Winter Woodland this past Christmas, however last year's holidays were unconventional for my family and I, so there was no time for gifts and holiday crafts.

Why was a so attracted to Winter Woodland? Ever since I was a child I love the idea of making a mini winter village, with ice skaters on a "frozen pond" and the sound of church bells chiming on the hour, all the houses dusted with faux snow and a hill with kids sledding on it. Well when I checked this cartridge out it has cuts to make a 3D village with a chapel and a clock tower, even 3D trees and a snow man. That pretty much sealed the deal for me I had to have this cartridge.

I can't wait to warm up my Cricut and test this bad boy out. Here are some pics below of Winter Woodland.

Hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

So how creative are you??

In the spirit of this weekend being Valentine's Day. Here are this years creations. I try to make handmade cards for different holidays. This year I wanted to do something handmade, however didn't really have enough time. Then it came to me, post cards, a great way to send a sweet sentiment. These designs were created in Photoshop using various brushes and techniques. The final versions were stamped and embossed with Valentine's Day images.

Here's to the

In the spirit of Martha Stewart's wedding show, here are some pics of favors, center pieces and wedding accessories I have made over the years.

Handmade Sea Shell Shaped Chocolates boxed and decorated with raffia and shells added a touch of nature to the tables as well as a sweet treat for guests.

This ring bearer pillow and basket were handmade incorporating pink, burgundy and starfish to carry out the beach theme and color scheme for this wedding.

These cute paper cone favors were a hit filled with pink and white M&M's and presented in a white picket fence holder.

Care for a spot of tea? These tea party inspired favors and center pieces enhanced the look of the party they were made for. The matching "tea tag" has the Bride-to-be's name and date of the shower on the back. Both were handmade and the favor was a honey almond scented candle.

So I closed my eyes and jumped in . . .

I have been toying with the idea of creating a Blog for a while now. But what would I write about, who would read it, who would find it entertaining other than myself. Yet tonight I bit the proverbial bullet and started a blog. So here is hoping that someone other than me reads it. Here's also hoping someone other than myself will find it entertaining.

I guess the best way to start would be to tell you a little bit about myself. The title of this blog is a very good place to start. The Agony and The Ecstasy was the title of a classic move and novel about Michelangelo, a great artist and thinker of his time. Being a creative person, I too suffer through the agony and the labor it takes to create any art or craft I am working on. I also revel in the Ecstasy once that vision is realized.

I have always been creative, from a very young age I learned how to appreciate the beauty in all things. From the street light reflecting on new fallen snow, to gnarled leafless trees in Autumn. The ocean breeze on my face and the multicolored sunset skies. There is beauty in the sound of a lone violin to the melodic beating of a steel pan. The passion of the spoken word in poetry and pros, even the loud banter of a philosophical discussion. All of these fuel my creative energy.

I was dubbed the West Indian Martha Stewart, which is how I like to think of myself. I can balance both the type A organizer with the Artistic nurturing side. It's a good mix, since I have my own business creating handmade soaps from recyclable materials. I have to balance the running of the business as well as the creative.

On a personal note I am a loving wife, daughter, friend, fairy Godmother and closet SiFi fan. When I'm not busy with the agony and the ecstasy of my creative mind, I enjoy time with family and friends, driving my Hubby nuts and just the journey of this crazy life.
Stay tuned for pics of my creations and other madness in my head.