LIMITED EDITION HOLIDAY CANDLES FOR SALE!

After a two year hiatus, I have decided to come out of retirement and make two rounds of holiday candles this year. Part of this is because I haven't made them in such a long time that I had an itch to make them again, and had a design in mind that came to me a month ago that was unlike any that I had ever done. The other part was for some additional Christmas income, which everyone needs, but especially actors!

These color families are the traditional red and green, and a more winter/ Hanukkah inspired purple and blue and white. The red and green are scented with Douglass fir and Macintosh apple. The purple are scented with fireplace, winter night, and winter berries. I can ship these if you will include an extra $6 (for local shipping), for distances greater, contact me and I will figure the postage out. The sooner you place orders, the quicker you will receive them, so email me at stephenishome@yahoo.com and I will get your order to you as soon as possible. These make fantastic and unique gifts, and by purchasing from me, you are supporting a local artist!

Pricing is as follows:

Extra Large Pillar= $25

Large Pillar=$20

Star Pillar=$15

Oval Pillar= $12

Medium Pillar= $12

Sphere= $8

Thank you for choosing to order my handmade candles for your holiday gifts! xoxoSGS

My Pumpkin 2009: The Bird Poo Pumpkin

Haunting my House: The Showbiz Autopsy Room...

A Haunting

My Halloween haunting of my house thus far has been heavily spider themed, and I am not quite sure why...I guess you portray in your decoration the things that scare you the most. hmmm..
Anyways, I wanted to give you all a sneak peak into my decorations SO FAR...














Here is the big Mama spider out front.
















Here is Junior, who is ready to pounce on you from the bush next to the sidewalk!
















Here is the hall out front...











Here is the pumpkin and candelabra out front...


















And the new tee shirt that I made last night! I took a plain white tee shirt that I had, dyed it with RIT dye, then printed out this picture on Iron Transfer paper, and Voila...my own "Tarantula" tee shirt!!!
I am now officially the biggest geek of all!
ore to come...HAPPY HAUNTING!

8:08 on 8/8/08

umm...i was bored and we were realizing that it was...um...gonna be 8:08 on 8/8/08, and um...so....so i made these 8's out of construction paper, and um....see i made these 8's and i thought that...like umm....we could take a picture holding them...so we could have a picture that reminded us forever that when it was 8:08 on 8/8/08...umm...we were sitting in my living room doing nothing.
So..umm...uh...that's this picture.

















See...heh...see there are Matt and Eleasha even pointing it out.
heh.
8:08 on 8/8/08



















he-he...heh...see?



I um...i took those numbers that I made and then put them..um...put them on the front...front door...cause...it's 8/8/08...and um...now it is 9:56...so...umm...umm...i guess that's stupid now, huh?
umm...
well...
see you next September for 9:09 on 9/9/09..
cause we can only keep doing this for 2 more years....so...uhh...
yeah

Memorial Day 2008 - Photos

We had an impromptu barbecue last night, inviting a few folks over sort of last minute to grill out and celebrate with us. I had the best time! It was great to reconnect with Andrew and Katie, always great to see Eleasha and Kara Tameika Watkins, and I believe that most of the Stephen Schwartz Project cast was in my backyard, too!








Matt spent a lot of time working on the yard, and I thought that it looked great!
He even had the idea to bring the downstairs couch outside for more seating options! This proved to be a fantastic idea, as we barely had enough places to sit!









Buddha enjoyed a game of monkey in the middle between Kurt and Laura.












These are some cute shots of Andrew,Katie, Annabell and Eleasha...

















Other Random Party Shots...


We had a great time and I can think of no better of a way to have kicked off Summer 2008!
Thanks for coming!
Luv,
SGS

CANDLE NEWS

Pricing and Subscription Packages are up over at CANDLES By Stephen. Go and CHECK IT OUT!

Charlie Brown Christmas

I put up the Charlie Brown Christmas display tonight. We didn't have the real tree that looked like the pitiful tree of the theme, as it had been cut down by landscapers this fall, but I improvised and made this.
What do you think?

O Christmas Tree

The other day, Matty put the star on the tree.
I must have about 7 or 8 pictures of him doing this every year, (I decorate, but let him do the final honors).
And then we hit the lights and transform this plain old fake tree into...






...a purple nightmare! Yes, we always do a purple tree. Hey, come on, it's advent colors, right?
I snapped this photo tonight, in the middle of our Christmas gift preparations...I have been working at Ticket Place everyday, and seing shows and shopping at night and trying to fight off sickness in between all of that, so if I haven't been calling as much as usual, know that it is just because I have been busy trying to catch up with real life now that tick is over.
Hope you all enjoy the photos, and oh god...17 shopping days left!!!
Gotta run!
Luv,
SGS

He's the Best Cow...

I got this photo sent to me from a picture phone, saying only "from the girls at Signature".
Wow. Milky White in drag in the elevator.
The girls at Signature truly rock.
:)
Luv, SGS

Hump Day Check In...

Well...no, this is not the scene from my backyard this evening. Just a little wishful thinking on my part. (yes, I am a snow advocate)
Well, I start the next weekend of TICKS today. Ready for another killer weekend. The sales have really been picking up, so I hope to see you there this weekend. Whoever "you" are. Whatever "that" means.
Next week is Thanksgiving week, and I am already pining to bring out the Christmas decorations. I can't wait!
I have been falling asleep to:
A Home of Our Own, The Homecoming, Miracle on 34th Street, and Charlie Brown Christmas. Oh yeah...I'm ready.
I'll be spending Thanksgiving, as always, with Matt's family. Always our annual swapping of names in the Christmas present exchange. Wonder who I'll get this year?



And if you are searching for pre-Thanksgiving week entertainment this weekend, visit TICKETPLACE's WEBSITE to buy online half price tickets to many shows in the area, including my own, Josh's, and both Shows at Signature! Check it out and go and support local theatre! We need you now more than ever, what with the economy being what it is. Come out and support local artists.
Talk more later. (I am off all day before the show.)
Luv,
SGS

Fall Clean Up 2007

SO, look at this mess! I had to clean up, put away, and winterize my back yard yesterday while I had the time. What a grueling and disgusting job! I usually wait until it is a little bit colder, so I can avoid a majority of the creepy crawlie critters, but my time was limited, so I did it yesterday. I had some Halloween yard stuff to put away, the tent had to come down, the fountain had to be emptied, Halloween lights had to be taken down, and plants cut back to soil level. Where should I even start?







First, all objects for disposal, or to be put away met in separate piles on the table.
I think that Drowned Pumpkin sensed his imminent fate...








I also had to take all objects screwed into the fence down, as we are getting a new fence in a week or so, and take the refrigerator in for the winter. I had to unscrew: a planter, some screws holding up lights, a framed picture, and a singing fish mounted on plastic.
You heard me.




And while I took a swipe at taking down the other Halloween beasties, I had not put them away properly, and had not even attempted to take town Ms. 1930.
Remember Ms. 1930?







Here she is after being stripped nekkid and snatched bald headed...






But what's that I spy on her nekkid shoulder?
UGH! A SPIDER!







No, I didn't kill it, I simply plucked it off and hoped for the best for it. Next up? The tent. Ugh, more spiders, as they tend to nest in it. I took off the fabric part, shook it out (ugh-they flew everywhere!) and folded down the tent's frame...







Now to get the frame into it's protective bag for the winter...wait, what is that yellow speck on the cover, is that? It's MOVING! A Yellow SPIDER!!!










Disgusted by his personage, but inspired by his hue, I painted two outdoor boxes yellow to match his gorgeous color.










I went through all my yard supplies, old pots, Halloween stuff, and decided that I had WAY too much. I went through everything, deciding that things that I did not use this past year, I would not miss by next year. Look at all of the trash!





After all the blood, sweat, and spiders, I am pleased that the yard now looks more open and clear for the cold and (hopefully) snowy months to come. I always like the look of the yard stripped to its bareness this time of year. When Spring and summer roll around, and it is burgeoning with bounty, it almost seems impossible that it sprang forth from this. A wiped clean slate is good to have sometimes. It allows other possibilities to present themselves later.
Hopefully those possibilities will arise without spiders.
;)
luv,
SGS

The finished product: