Intro
Howdy, gang!
Welcome back for another helping of Stef Makes! I’m pleased you have momentarily eschewed all other internet nonsense to feast your peepers on my art/creativity newsletter. You had a lot of options, but here you are. I’m grateful!
As legend foretold, March has come in like a lion, if lions are 80 degrees one day and snowing the next. I’m done being a winter hermit—I’m ready for the spring and to do more exploring, how about you?
Some highlights from the past month:
Starting physical therapy to help with migraines (Chaturanga and side plank have joined the list of triggers. Unacceptable!)
Looking at dogs to adopt (We’re keeping an eye out for cat-friendly couch potatoes.)
Swapping cookies with visiting family members (My specialty is Earl Grey chocolate chip.)
Watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? on lunch breaks and trading notes about each episode with my friend Joey (Are we to assume the Midnight Society indeed met at midnight, set up a whole bonfire, and then left a half hour later?)
Going on little free library tours in nearby neighborhoods (I’ve been finding so much good stuff!)
Finding a huge cemetery to walk around in (More on this grim interest of mine another time.)
Swimming and trying out new classes at the rec center (I took my first spin cycle class, and it was no joke.)
Making Sunday smoothie bowls (Have a favorite kind? I’m open to suggestions!)
Creativity-wise, I’ve shared a few craft tutorials (i.e., easy felt bunting and a DIY pinwheel), reviewed another nutty Creative Activities...Program book (who is doing these projects??), and revisited some projects from the days of yore (i.e., my receipt mermaids and Pantone postcard art). Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the other artsy stuff I’ve done and am doing!
Behind the scenes
Tenement bookmark
I can be a bit of a creep when taking walks: I stay on the sidewalk, but if your curtains are wide open, I’m going to rubberneck as I go by and try to figure out what you’re watching on TV. One time, my honey and I walked by a house that had every light on, revealing a blow-up doll sitting alone at a dining room table. That was unexpected.
Cut to 2020 (that magical year!): I wanted to test some watercolor pencils and decided to incorporate the idea of peering into windows.
It could’ve gone better. I’d done no planning and used a too-thick pen tip, making everything look lopsided and/or too difficult to see. I can’t even begin to tell you what some of the people are doing.
Still, I held onto the drawing, knowing there’d be a day when I’d give it another go. That day came in 2025 when I wanted a bookmark idea for the 2025 Patreon kit. I used my previous drawing for window content fodder, and for the building, I referred to the following John Severin illustration from an old Cracked magazine, as I can be boring when it comes to drawing architecture from my imagination.
Here’s the result:
This went much more smoothly with the tablet; I could make straight lines and zoom in and out. As a result, you can now actually see what everyone’s doing! I love giving my characters funky hair. Seeing that this was a bookmark, it was appropriate for the storefront to be a bookstore. Some of the scenes in the windows (e.g., an oncoming train, a massive eye) may have been inspired by the Twilight Zone, the cover of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, and even an episode of Muppet Babies.
The bookmark needed a back design, so I created a night scene and extended the windows. This way, a reader can log which books the bookmark visited.
Next time, I would choose a different print vendor (the one I chose had an inaccurate print wizard tool that refused to just give me the exact measurements needed, and still it printed weird), but overall, I’m happy with how these bookmarks turned out. (Next bookmark idea: A snoozy bear in a sleeping bag!)
Recent projects
Accepting creative lulls
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Inspiration sources
Where the ideas came from
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Shop highlight
Pinback button sets
Like so many teenagers, I loved collecting buttons (or badges or pins, if you will) when I was in high school. I made many of my own with a DIY pog maker I got at the flea market. It wasn't until a few years ago that I finally got a proper button-making machine, although it can be hit or miss—sometimes the button comes out perfect, but the very next button will be wonky, even if I maintain the same technique. Still, I was so excited when I first got it, and I have made some quality buttons with it—sets of which you can find in my shop!
Here's the lovely Miki modeling one:
Then there was the time at a neighborhood art show where a young visitor to my table was very sweet and made my day by adding several of my buttons to her bag. (Shared with permission from the subject and her parent.)
And my friend Gabe shared a pic of how his kid zhuzhed up their school bag back in 2022 (hint: it was with buttons):
There are only a few of these sets left, so grab one while you can (and they're on sale too!).
