Tag Archives: #weekend

Reader’s Log 003: Weekend of Events

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I must say, I didn’t expect my weekend to be so full. Nonetheless, it was good and a lot accomplished. Friday started with a book review I posted here. The book is one of those that are so good if is often hard to find the right words to tell how much you enjoyed the story or how much the story impacted you without giving spoilers. Funny thing is that after I turned in the reviews to the publishers, more thoughts came to me about what I could have written. Oftentimes I will sit on a review in cases such as this but decided to just turn the review in and pray the review inspires someone to read the book when it comes out. The important thing is that I got my point across that I really love the story. It certainly impacted me on an emotional level.

Saturday was stitch book day on my YouTube channel and we are exploring leaves and dots this month while combining previous prompts and themes to stitch books. This month we are also making a stitch book cover for our fall prompts. Fun stuff!

The day carried on with watering the plants, cleaning house and dog sitting for my brother. Charlie is my brother’s dog’s name and he is a cutie. After that, the day ended with reading, “Two Times Murder”

by Adam Oyebanji. This story includes a bit of themes that have captured our modern society’s attention and has impacted us greatly. That is all I am going to say on the matter for now. As far as the mystery aspect goes, I’m finding it intriguing. I have not read this author’s work before and I believe this is Oyebanji’s second book? He has an interesting writing style but I’m adjusting and enjoying the story so far. I’m also reading, “A Feast of Folklore” by Ben Gazur. Wow, I have so much to say about this book!

Sunday, I met with a dear friend for coffee and stitch time. She is teaching me to knit. A few years ago, she started to teach me and other distractions happened. This time I am sticking to it and I’m really enjoying the endeavor. Knitting is so calming and I can totally see this activity being habit forming to say the least. Luckily, I have a stash of yarn already and will be making myself get through most of the stash before purchasing anymore yarn. At least that is what I’m telling myself.

How much reading did I get in this weekend? Well, not as much as I would have liked but a fair amount. I did expect to finish a book and start drafting a review from the notes I took. Hoping to be able to have time to do that tomorrow. I’m working towards turning at least two book reviews in a week. That is the plan anyway. How was your weekend? Did you get any reading time in? How is the weather your way? The season is starting to change!

Stephanie Hopkins

Sunday Reflection

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Floral Acrylic Painting by Stephanie Hopkins

“No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have.” – Seneca

This miniature painting is available for purchase at my etsy shop!

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part IX

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Challenge Completed

I’m thrilled to be sharing this week’s final 2021 ICAD’s with you. The abbreviation ICAD means, “Index Card A Day.” This challenge was created a few years ago by artist Tammy, and her challenge has really grown over the years. I enjoyed creating these cards and look forward to sharing more about them soon. Below are the links to the previous posts of this challenge.

  • Day 55
  • Day 56
  • Day 57

This final week’s cards are days 55-61

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part I/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part II/ ICAD 2021 Challenge Part III/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part IV/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part VICAD 2021 Challenge Part VI/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part VII /ICAD 2021 Challenge Part VIII

  • Day 58
  • Day 59
  • Day 60
Day 61

My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. Have a blessed weekend! -Stephanie Hopkins

Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!

Upcoming Reading Forecast

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Check out these three books I’m hoping to get to next on NetGalley. I might have mentioned them before. Not sure what order I will read them in or if I’ll read others in-between them. I’m definitely a mood reader. One way that helps with that is to read a couple at books at once. Not literally at once, but you know what I mean.

Have a beautiful weekend and see you tomorrow! I will be posting the remaining cards of the ICAD 2021 challenge. I’m thinking about doing one more post about the challenge after that one. – Stephanie Hopkins

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones

St. Martin’s Press

Minotaur Books

Mystery & Thrillers | Women’s Fiction

Pub Date 03 Aug 2021  

Description

In the vein of the Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick The Other Woman, Sandie Jones’s explosive new novel The Guilt Trip will have readers gripped to the very last page.

They went away as friends.
They came back as suspects.

Rachel and Jack. Paige and Noah. Will and Ali. Five friends who’ve known each other for years. And Ali, Will’s new fiancée.

The three couples travel to Portugal for Ali and Will’s destination wedding. Arriving at the gorgeous clifftop villa, the weekend away is a chance to relax and get to know Ali a little better. A newcomer to their group, she seems perfectly nice and Will seems happy after years of bad choices.

But when Rachel discovers a shocking secret about Ali, everything changes. As the wedding weekend unfolds, the secrets each of them holds begin to spill, and friendships and marriages threaten to unravel.

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman

Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 08 Jun 2021 

Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water and Mr. Nobody comes “an unputdownable mystery about the nightmares that abound in the pursuit of Hollywood dreams” (Caroline Kepnes, author of the You series).
 
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE SUMMER—Entertainment Weekly • PopSugar

Once a year, actors from across the globe descend on the smog and sunshine of Los Angeles for pilot season. Every cable network and studio is looking to fill the rosters of their new shows, enticing a fresh batch of young hopefuls—anxious, desperate, and willing to do whatever it takes to make it. Careers will be made, dreams will be realized, stars will be born. And some will be snuffed out.

British star Mia Eliot has landed leading roles in costume dramas in her native country, but now it’s time for Hollywood to take her to the next level. Mia flies across the Atlantic to join the horde of talent scrambling for their big breaks. She’s a fish out of water in the ruthlessly competitive arena of back-to-back auditioning. Then one day she meets Emily, another actress from out of town and a kindred spirit. Emily stands out in a conveyor-belt world of fellow auditionees. But a simple favor takes a dark twist when Emily disappears and Mia realizes she was the last person to see her. 

All Mia has to go on is the memory of a girl she met only once… and the suffocating feeling that something terrible has happened. Worse still, the police don’t believe her when she claims the real Emily has gone missing. So, Mia is forced to risk the role of a lifetime to try to uncover the truth about Emily, a gamble that will force her to question her own sanity.

Out of the Rain by V.C. Andrews

Gallery Books

General Fiction (Adult)

Pub Date 02 Nov 2021 

Description

Following the events of The Umbrella Lady, young Saffron Faith Anders searches for family and love in this spine-tingling gothic fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic series and Landry series—now popular Lifetime movies.

After escaping the trauma of the Umbrella Lady’s home, thirteen-year-old Saffron Faith Anders is determined to find the father who abandoned her all those years ago. But when she finds him in a nearby town, Saffron is shocked to discover that he has married a woman he clearly had been involved with before her mother’s death. Worse, her father insists Saffron pretend to be his niece so he can continue to con his new wife’s family. Desperate for her father’s love, she goes along with the farce, but it soon becomes clear that perhaps it is better to face the world alone than trapped in a toxic and potentially dangerous family.

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part VIII

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I’m thrilled to be sharing with you all this week’s ICAD’s. The abbreviation ICAD means, “Index Card A Day.” This challenge was created a few years ago by artist Tammy and her challenge has really grown over the years. Below, is her IG account where you can find out more about her and her art.

  • Day 48
  • Day 49
  • Day 50
Day 51

We are getting close to the home stretch of this challenge and I must say I’ve enjoyed it a great deal! I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to store the cards and I usually go with an acid free photo box to store my little creations. Right now, they are sitting in a ceramic basket on my bookshelf. I might keep them there for a while. I love walking by and stopping to take a look at them.

  • Day 52
  • Day 53
  • Day 54

This week’s cards are days 48-54

Which one is your favorite? ICAD 2021 Challenge Part I/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part II/ ICAD 2021 Challenge Part III/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part IV/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part VICAD 2021 Challenge Part VI/ICAD 2021 Challenge Part VII

Tammy IG @gypsy999

I look forward to sharing the rest of this week’s challenge and the following week with you next Saturday! My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. Have a blessed weekend! -Stephanie Hopkins

Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part V

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Day 27

I’m thrilled to be sharing with you all this week’s ICAD’s. The abbreviation ICAD means, “Index Card A Day.” This challenge was created a few years ago by artist Tammy and her challenge has really grown over the years. Below, is her IG account where you can find out more about her and her art.

I have to say that this week’s cards really have touched my heart and I enjoyed creating them. I used a lot of my coffee dyed paper for the collage background and even did a little hand stitching. I take my photos outdoors and some of them may appear a little darker, due to cloudy weather we are having. You can get a better look of the cards at my Instagram.

Day 26

Day 27: We’ve been seeing a lot more rabbits than usual this summer in our neighborhood. I thought this card fitting for the premise. It has been wonderful to see them and glad the next-door neighbor cat has been neglecting is hunting!

Day 28: I love adding quotes and sayings to cards. This would go great in a journal or sent in the mail to a love one or friend. I believe the favorite part of this card is the lace I added.

Day 29

Day 29: Everyone Has Secrets- When creating this card, I didn’t have anything in mind as the layers developed. Isn’t it interesting were art can take you sometimes?  

Day 30: The quote on the card comes from the novel Possession by A.S. Byatt. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read the story and watched the adaption based on the novel. Making this card tempts me to read the story again.

“Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once an intellectual mystery and triumphant love story. It is the tale of a pair of young scholars researching the lives of two Victorian poets. As they uncover their letters, journals, and poems, and track their movements from London to Yorkshire—from spiritualist séances to the fairy-haunted far west of Brittany—what emerges is an extraordinary counterpoint of passions and ideas.” -Book Description

Day 30
Day 31

Day 31: Housekeeping- I love writing sayings, quotes and poems. I thought I would write a quirky saying about housekeeping.

Day 32: The card below reminds me of one of my favorite childhood stories The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Imagine finding a walled in garden and the only way in that garden is by using a key. The story is charming, mysterious and elements of childhood imagination, adventure and emotions.

Day 32

Day 33: I love the outdoors and I still think on the fond moments of playing outdoors as a child. Those days, we could venture far from home, as long as we were together and home in time for dinner. The adventures we had! The bird and flowers on the card below reminds me of those days. Many great memories to cherish.

Day 33

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part I

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part II

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part III

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part IV

Tammy IG @gypsy999

I look forward to sharing the rest of this week’s challenge and the following week with you next Saturday! My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. Have a blessed weekend! -Stephanie Hopkins

Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part III

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I’ve really enjoyed this week’s ICAD and seeing everyone’s cards. There are so many talented artists out there!

Day 13: Life is a journey into the unknown-I love the thoughts of taking a long road trip and deciding on an unknown destination. Exploring the possibilities and discovering something new.

Day 13

Day 14: Live Intentionally- I love working with collage. Gluing down the papers is so relaxing.

Day 14

Day 15: Peace- I placed the floral upside down because I liked the shape of the ephemera much better this way. You can’t really tell unless you look closely and of course because I mentioned it.

Day 15

Day 16: Neighborhood – I had a ton of scraps on my craft table so I decided to make another collage of houses. They are so much fun to make!

Day 16

Day 17: Hope- Painted background. More vibrant colors pulling together to make the foreground stand out. Love when everything works together in harmony.

Day 17

Day 18: Weekend Vibes -I love how all the vibrant colors pulled together.

Day 18

Day 19: Florals In Tea Cups – I used an envelope window for this piece. I love how it turned out. It reminds me of the Victorian era a bit.

Day 19

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part I

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part II

I look forward to sharing the rest of this week’s challenge and the following week with you next Saturday! My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. -Stephanie Hopkins

Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!

Hello Monday, Let’s Do This

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I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Well, it is safe to say that summer is upon us! The humidity in the south is like a steam bath! Yesterday when I was painting, some of my paints were clumpy and giving me fits. Very strange because normally, that doesn’t happen despite summer weather. Hmm…

I did get quite a bit accomplished this weekend in the craft department. Our bookmark group is first swap is on Tuesday. Getting everything ready for that and I made a bunch more bookmarks to be included in the swap, along with other craft goodies. All I need to do at this point, is add ephemera to them.

Tuesday is the deadline for the June swap. If any come in afterwards, I will include them in the September swap.

For those who would love to join, and you can’t get your bookmarks turned in on time, do not be dismayed. Our next swap is in September and we would love to have you join.

We are swapping 4 bookmarks a piece. You can not only use them for books, but for your journals and notebooks! If you are interested in participating, contact me for more information. We would love for you to be part of this group! The hashtag for our swap group on IG: #StephslpBookmarkswap

I’m opening limited spots for this swap to Canadians and others who have shown interest from other countries. More info about that coming soon.

Also, I had quality time to spend with my journals. I use my journals and notebooks for all sorts of things. Like for writing poems, story ideas, themes for stories, character scenes, quotes, my thoughts, how I’m feeling, what my family is doing, drafting book reviews, taking notes for books I read, blog post ideas, research notes, what I saw on my walks, craft ideas, to-do lists, and so on….some of my journals are themed. For instance, I have an evening journal where I write my thoughts about the day. Even if I didn’t do much, I still write about it. Once you get in the habit, you’ll be amazed how your words will come naturally. I won this journal you see in the picture from a fellow crafter’s giveaway and I want to use it for something special. I’ve decided to use it for a morning journal where I write about my morning prayers and words of hope and encouragement. I’m looking forward to this new journey! 

Lot’s going on as you can see and on top of that, I came up with a few blog post ideas for this summer. Be sure to follow Layered Pages and my wish for you is to be inspired and encouraged through your life journey. A new week is upon us! Looking forward to seeing the good come from it. Many blessings to you and yours.

Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!

Stephanie Hopkins

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part II

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On days 6,7,8, I wasn’t feeling the prompts and it was showing. So, I decided to go off prompt. I feel more myself when creating this way. No rules, and no pressure. Just letting go and being in the moment and allowing to go where the movement of the paint brush takes me. Creating art intuitively is my jam.

Day 6 – Canoe: This one really frustrated me. I was having a day…That said, I do like the placement.

Day 7 – Garden Shed/One Staple Collage: I do love the challenge of the one staple collage, so I was quite please with the shed I created using that technique. My only beef was the twist marks I used in the landscape and the landscape itself wasn’t my best. As a whole, I felt lazy with this one and wasn’t putting my heart into it.

Day 8- Umbrella: Despite not feeling this prompt on the day I creating the Umbrella. It’s not a total wash. I do like the abstractness of it and the placement of the Umbrella.

Day 9 – Off Prompt/Mountain Air: So happy with this piece. Definitely more my style.

Day 10 – Off Prompt/Sea Bathing: It’s hot and humid in Georgia. One could use a little sea bathing.This was a fun piece to create. I love the different hues of blues and how they work together.

  • Umbrella
  • Mountain Air
  • Sea Bathing

Day 11 – Off Prompt/Butterflies: I have a thing for butterflies and I knew I wanted to create an abstract background as well. Yep, feeling good vibes with this piece.

Day 12 – Off Prompt/Abstract: I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind with this piece. Such as, being authentic, you matter and you have a voice. Cancel culture needs to go. Loving the colors and textures with this abstract.

  • Butterflies
  • Abstract

Stephanie Hopkins

ICAD 2021 Challenge Part I

I look forward to sharing the rest of this week’s challenge and the following week with you next Saturday! My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. -Stephanie Hopkins

Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!

Weekend Musings

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Floral Painting (ATC) by Stephanie Hopkins

This morning I woke up feeling the coolness of the morning air and sounds of rain and wind. My first thought was to stay snuggled under the covers for a bit longer. As my thoughts wondered to holding a hot cup of coffee while looking out the window, and my morning painting, I got out of bed with anticipation of starting my day.

Lately, I haven’t thought much about the weekend during the week. The days seem to blur together while time continues to pass. I have to admit, I don’t mind it so much. But today is different. Last night, I looked forward to Saturday. Why, I asked myself. I couldn’t explain it really. It was just a feeling. Then this morning it came to me. I haven’t spent a lot of time reading as I had been and I wanted to finish my current book and read at least one more book before the month is up. The weekend allows for such opportunities.

Saturday Morning Abstract Painting by Stephanie Hopkins

I’m currently reading The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah and want to start Heart of the Frontier by Brittany Larsen, Jen Geigle Johnson, Jennie Hansen and Carolyn Twede Frank. The Four Winds is absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend it. I will share more of my thoughts about the story in the near future.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend and God bless. -Stephanie

Be sure to check out my Mixed Media Art Gallery and Instagram to see more of my art journey!

Original Artwork by Stephanie Hopkins

(Images are subjected to copyright. All book reviews, interviews, guest posts, art work and promotions are originals. In order to use any text or pictures from Layered Pages, please ask for permission from Stephanie Hopkins.)