New Photography/Design Website

I have not posted in quite a while. I have not even visited any blogs...much. 

 I've just been working working and working at work. 

And to think I don't even have kids to blame it on. 

But I am still here. I promise. 

my polymer clay creations, and an "argh" eraser  I got in my Christmas stocking. 

I have been doing something mildly creative, though.

I'm working on a photography and design website for myself and my husband.

See, he's a professional photographer, unlike me, the amateur. 

(Though, I have been published in the past*, and have been going to school for photography and design, so that's something, right?) 

Anyway, we have a website for our fine art photography and graphic design work that you can check out if you'd like, even though I'm still working on it. It's pretty exciting for me.

It's called Bella & Blackstone.

You can visit at www.bellaandblackstone.com. 

I'll be back with an explanation of the name and maybe a little more about us.

And I will be back to following your blogs as soon as I can. 

I really miss you. 

*omg. I'm part of the history of The Police. kinda. in a round-a-bout way.

The Honeymoon Is Over...

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Well, it's been a crazy past two weeks, getting married on the 19th of January, and then a honeymoon weekend in PARIS!!!....Virginia the following weekend. 

(Please see my updated giveaway post for the winner of my set of five Thank-You cards.) 

I promise to be back as soon as I can with a few wedding pictures (it was a small wedding as both myself and my groom are second-timers) and honeymoon in Paris pictures. 

But for now, the all important cake toppers. Made by Jason and I out of polymer clay. 

What's funny is that Jason's snowman's eyeball fell off the morning of the wedding, and my Dad super-glued it back on. Jason's eyes are perfectly straight on his real face. ;)

And when I told Jason the title of this post, he completed the sentence with ....

...."and now it's time to make the coffee".

Happy Weekend, and I will see you all soon. 

I have lots of blogs to start following, and I'm just sad I didn't get a chance to enter any of your giveaways. 

Ah well, I'm sure you all have plenty of eye-candy for me to snack on instead. 

Grow Your Blog Party & Giveaway Day!

Hello! My name is Petrina and I want to welcome you to my blog.  
Today is the "Grow Your Blog" Party, hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full.

I have been blogging since 2008 about a mish-mash of things, but mainly it's about photography, art and design. I love all things to do with creativity, even if it's just creative problem solving.  I received my first camera at the age of 14 (a Canon Snappy, for those that remember film cameras), and I haven't been without a camera since.  I have loads of photos to share in the future as well as arts and crafts. I just haven't had the time between the holidays and planning my wedding which, by the way, is TODAY! 
Yes, that's right, depending on what time you are reading this around the world, I am either getting ready for my wedding, reciting my vows, celebrating with my family and a few close friends, or zonked out in the  aftermath.  But, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to find new followers as well as find new blogs to follow. I  get so inspired by seeing all the creativity of my fellow bloggers, and I can't wait to come visit all of you. So, even though I will be otherwise occupied today, I will visit as many of your blogs as I can when all wedding craziness is over and things get back to normal.
In the meantime, please look around and stay for a spell. 
And! In the spirit of the Grow Your Blog Party, let's have a little giveaway!   ****** Giveaway Closed! Scroll to bottom for winner!********
I recently created the Thank You cards you see pictured below, and have a handful left that I'd like to pass on to you. 

These cards were hand drawn by me and colored in Photoshop. They are printed with archival inks on textured card stock in a set of five cards with five envelopes.  This giveaway will be open until February 1st, so please leave a comment here on this post (tell me about you or your blog), and come back to this same post on February 2nd when I will announce the winner in an update.  Please make sure you leave an email or some way for me to contact you. This giveaway is open to anyone. I will mail these to anywhere in the world. You do not have to have a blog to enter. You do not have to be a participant of the "Grow Your Blog" party. 
****** Giveaway Closed! Scroll to bottom for winner!********
Thank you for visiting!
And the winner is..... Gill from snowy England! 

Gill! I will contact you to get your mailing info! If you don't hear from me soon, please email me at petrina (@) bellaandblackstone (.) com

It Was A Sculpey Christmas

We still have our tree up, so that means I can continue to talk about Christmas, right?

I have been wanting to work with sculpey polymer clay for the longest time, and I finally got the nerve up. 

My family is lucky they received anything at all, because these little figurines turned out so cute, I wanted to keep them all to myself. 

Look at those tiny camp fires, which are about the size of my fingernail. Those tents! That motorcycle!

And that tiny canoe. Probably my favorite thing!

Here they are in front of the butter dish for scale. 

And those little birdies on the trees! 

TINY!

I wish I dreamed up the idea for the camping items on my own, but the inspiration came from The Market Darling's precious campsites (pictured below), which I originally saw in her Etsy shop. 

Talk about cute overload.

via: The Market Darling

 The campsites I made were for my two brothers. One of them got the canoe, and the other got a motorcycle. Also, instead of gluing them to card stock as The Market Darling did, I had my fiance cut two slices from a cherry tree log and I hot-glued the figurines to them. Why didn't I take a picture of them? I don't know. Maybe I can get one of my brothers to take a picture for me to show you. 

My sister and mother each received a snowman, like the one above, some trees and even a gingerbread house. Why didn't I take a picture of them, either? Again, I don't know, but maybe my sister will take a picture for me to show you. hint hint! 

Oh, and also I have to show you what my sister made me for Christmas! 

soon!

We also have a few changes that are going to happen here soon, so please stay tuned!

Clay Girl

This is a special little polymer clay girl. She is about 2 inches tall. 

I will tell you more about her when she is finished.

And yes, we still have the tree up. :)

Happy New Year

I hope everyone has a Happy and SAFE New Year's Eve.

art by Jason. 

A friend of mine says about going out on New Year's Eve, "It's amateur night." Meaning, this is the night when those of us who never go out the rest of the year put on our best party faces and try to act like we know how to party it up, when in reality we would probably rather be curled up on the sofa with our loved ones, watching the ball drop on TV... or dare I say, sleeping. ha.

Needless to say, we will be staying home tonight. Safe and cozy. 

And to the ones we love who are going through hard times, be it financial, emotional, or health related, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers for a better 2013 and years to come.  

Sculpey and My IPad

I finally found a good use for my iPad. A sculpting surface. Ha.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a peaceful day.
And if you find you aren't, then get the heck out of where ever you are and go find some!

"God bless us, every one!"

On The Last Day Before Christmas....

We'll lie under the tree,
And wish that it could be,

Christmas all year long.

This year's Dickens Christmas Village set up. Two new additions on the bottom left. yay!

Please tell me someone other than me remembers the vintage Santas and other Christmas decorations like the one below. 

This one was found in my fiance's cousin's attic. 

I cooed over it so much that she gave it to me. 

On the 2nd Day Before Christmas....

We tried to take portraits of the dogs...

...but they weren't really in the spirit.

On the 3rd Day Before Christmas....

...we'll drink some spiked eggnog...

On the 4th Day Before Christmas....

I wish that it would snow...

and snow...

and snow....like it did back in 2010...

...but no such luck this year. I'll just have to settle for gazing at these pictures from Christmas past. 

On the 5th Day Before Christmas....

I tied a pretty bow....

For the Loss of Loved Ones

I don't have anything eloquent to say that hasn't already been said about Friday's events at Sandy Hook Elementary.

I just wanted to send out my love and prayers for the families and friends who've lost their loved ones. 

I hope the children get the love, comfort and support they will need to not feel fearful of the world. 

I want them to go on to live happy, full lives, for themselves and for the lost.