SuzeBlogz

Off to a Party

The Lenster and I are off to a wedding today. I haven't been this dressed up in ions. I actually bought a DRESS for this occasion...I haven't owned anything that even closely resembles a dress in 10 years....honest to God. I'm a pants kind-a girl.
It's completely unlike me to leave anything for the last minute....so, how could someone with half a brain in their head forget they don't own a pair of real dress heels....I mean honestly....
so....there I am running out to Nordstrom at 8 pm last night to find a pair I could stand in.......forget the walking part...that's NEVER going to happen.....My feet will probably be crippled from just SITTING in them. I'm packing my black flats for that moment when the dancing starts ! I'm no fool !

This is a dressy wedding...the Lenster had to rent a tux. Lions & tigers & bears...oh my !

But....while I was in Nordies shoe department I saw this fabulous piece of original art hanging behind the counter and I whipped out my camera. It's made entirely of twisted newspaper, including the comic section. It's amazing. I just had to share.

Multi Tasking

Wahoo !! Amazons books arrived in my mail today.
I'm so excited over them my hair is standing up on end (yeah, right...pretend you didn't notice that )!!!

I love giving Amazon my money for craft books. There's always something to be learned in every one of them even if many of them are beginning to look like each other in content!
Yeah....you've noticed that too, huh?

But, these two are different and I really liked reading through them. In fact, they are so different I was perusing them both at the same time. I know how to do that cause I've passed the multi-tasking 101 course !!

Bent, Bound & Stitched by Josie Cirincione (her first was Collage Lost and Found) and Vintage Collage Works by Maryjo and Sunny Koch. They have templates in the rear of the books as well. This makes them even cooler. Templates are always useful.
I thought I'd also let you know what my favorite snack is when reading....I stuff my face with Frosted Mini Wheats ! This way I get my sugar and my fiber fixes all at the same time. Honestly...I love them..no milk...just the cereal ! Their cute little ad says they help kids focus...I believe them ! I'm a kid at heart.

An "I Love Your Blog" Award

I want to hop thru the computer and hug my friends Bonnie Egenton, Debbie Tlach and Wendy Vecchi  cause they're all so darn cute AND  they have all nominated me for an "I Love Your Blog" award...I am so honored...this award stuff is like so cool and, it makes me really happy that people are reading. I feel like Sally Field..."They like me...they really like me" !!!

The way this works is you receive the  award and nominate seven other blogs that you really enjoy visiting, send an email to the blogger on their site, then post this award on your own site with a link back to them. What a nice way to pass on positive vibes!
and...since we all seem to be nominating each other (I'll collect my money later ladies !!!!)...I'm gonna try a few new links just to be different, plus, I know you'll be sure to visit the 3 great blogs above.

Whim-So-Doodle - Cause my friend Jen Peck is just one of the sweetest, kindest and best people on the planet.
Lisa Vollrath - not a blog, per se, but so worth reading. Just chock full of good info.
Corinne Stubson - A Marvelous talent this gal.
The Paper Girls - Just Because

There's No Place Like Home

Everyone has some kind of a home.

It's just that some of us have a bit different taste than others.
I was on my way to the airport when I had to stop the car, get out and take pictures of this one in Safety Harbor, Florida ...then I had to wipe the fog off my glasses to be sure I was seeing clearly....
someone actually lives here. I thought maybe I was in the land of OZ & any moment the wizard was coming out to greet me.

Beside just the painted house, they have these painted bowling balls as decoration like.... everywhere. 
They have happy faces on poles, lighted peace symbols and palm trees (nighttime must be a blast), a beer bottle garden....they have WHIMZEY (as the name on the house front indicates)

OK...photo shoot over....Holey Moley....

I click my heels 3 times (did I mention my middle name is Dorothy....I swear ) and now I'm at the airport.
I'm settling in when the flight attendant tells me she recognizes me from TV  - and she's a fan  - and she crafts too  - and oh yes.....I'm also upgraded to first class!

YESSSSS !
(as Martha would say)...WHIMZEY is a GOOD THING !

Get Yours Now !

WOW ! It's been a whirlwind of a day...
or......more accurately, night !

At 5 this morning (Eastern time) I went live on Home Shopping Network  with my HOT WAX STYLUS TOOL and Natural Beeswax and let me tell you.....after having been up all night ( you have to be at the studio at 2 AM) those 8 selling minutes went like lightening !

But it was so worth it...what a great experience HSN was...such terrific people. And...I ran into old friend, One Stroke painter, Donna Dewberry (R) in the makeup room. She was going on right after me with her new clay line. Our professional makeup artist was Deana Hawk (center).

If you missed it live a video recap is already up on the HSN website. Click HERE for that link, then click on the little video square under a pix of the product to watch it. I'm such a ham...I want to go back and do it again !!!!
and.......I loved my host, John Creameans, (whose bio is quite impressive). He was so delightful to work with.
Oooooh....I'm so sleep deprived at this point I'm getting giddy!!
I need some chocolate......pronto !

SPA me the details..!

Despite the remnants of the hurricane, my Tampa Florida accommodations have been delightful.

I've been staying at the Safety Harbor Resort & SPA so I could be right down the road from the fine people at Kandi Corp (my hosts on this trip) who manufacturer my Hot Wax Stylus tool. How nice of them to have an office right down the street from a SPA ! This really helps when we have to have meetings or donuts for breakfast!

Now, of course.....the whole point of staying at a SPA is to take advantage of the accoutrements ....so... I decided to try the 1 hour SPA pedicure. They assigned me to "Bobbie" the pedicure specialist...surely a girl, right?
WRONG !!! Bobbie - who's been with the SPA 15 years -  is BOBBY - a guy  who specializes in feet. Oh my !  Life just got so much better.

Then, today I was so lucky to hook up with my best friend Maria Dovellos and our mutual good friend Jen Peck. We drove over to Ybor City to investigate a cool consignment store called L'France and it's partner store Jezebelle & her Wandering Gypsies (who thinks up these cool names ?) and....here we are trying on funky sunglasses in this fun vintage store.

and checking out an old hair dryer straight out of the 50's...which I swear looks like the precursor to a craft heat gun....right ??!! Tomorrow I think I'll try ....hot stone massage...!

Have I Got a Deal For You !

Okay...there's no point in beating around the proverbial bush........this is a shameless product plug!

I'm down here in rainy wet Tampa Florida sloshing through the puddles (from their recent hurricane) and gearing up for my Monday at 5 AM.....yes...I did say AM....appearance on Home Shopping Network.
I'm a bit brain dead at any hour preceding 8 AM, and .......since I have to be at their studios for hair and makeup at 2:30 AM you can well imagine how overjoyed I am, right? Freaked out is more like it ! It'll be pitch black outside...only the owls are up at that hour. How will I get my breakfast...I have to have my breakfast!!!

But...back to the plug....the totally important part.
HSN is  offering such a FABULOUS deal on my HOT WAX ART STYLUS TOOL, 3 tips, wire cleaning brush and 5 cubes of BEESWAX  for $24.95 and I think you should all take advantage of it. You can even order it before I'm on air. You'll save money cause you're basically getting the beeswax for FREE ! I think you should all do it. Do it...do it !
Here's their web page.   Then tomorrow I'll tell you all abut the pedicure I got from a GUY at the spa. !

Eat, drink & be merry

Hail, Hail...the gangs all here...at MY house !
Lenny and I hosted a Bar B Q for the Ranger folk.
We squeeeezed together on the patio for this picture just as the sun was going down, set the timer on the camera, Lenny ran back into the picture...we all smiled and the flash went off. Heck...it only took 4 tries before we got the timer/flash thing figured out....but...
What a great group shot !
Patti (l) & her sister Jackie are seated.
That's moi behind Patti, next comes Tim, Debbie, Theresa, Alain, Michelle, Justin and, the man himself - Lenny  - who made fabulous Bar BQ ribs and white jersey corn and gave everyone a taste of the red wine he made with his wine making group. Thanks for coming guys...we loved having all of you.

Pot Holder Art

So......
The theme for today is "Let's spend $6 and buy a silicone rubber pot trivet on a  road trip to Target  where you really went cause you love their popcorn and needed a major salt & texture fix.....like immediately"
Sounds reasonable.

So...as I was saying...
there it was....in the housewares aisle (no where near the popcorn) .....calling out to me....Look I'm rubber...I can take heat...buy me...buy me....spend the 6 bucks and take me home.

What the hell was I doing in the housewares aisle?? The fact that I don't cook and truly believe I only have a kitchen because it came with the house was beginning to seem irrelevant.

So.....I picked it up....I turned it over...I contemplated it.....I liked the color........I loved the texture....
the pot holder had definite potential.

.....there had to be something else I could use it for beside pots!!

Of course.....silicone rubber....heat....UTEE !

1.Pour Melted UTEE on the trivet.
2. Let it harden, peel it off.
3. Make ART.

I'll mount it on a box or something. It's way cool. The Asian piece in the center is a UTEE mold. And, I added Zamora beadz.  I'm  so excited !

The trivet's never gonna see a pot ! I'm having popcorn to celebrate !

and a fun time was had by all..

For the last few days I've been getting things ready for our big class at my office today.

We were so excited to have New York jewelry designer Terri Ventura come to do a workshop on vintage bracelets. Terri gave all of us our own individual kits filled with vintage charms, beads, game pieces and doodads and no two kits were the same.
So...we all went nuts checking out each others goodies. Lots of trading went on.

Here are some of our finished bracelets.
Oooh la la.....

I loved mine cause I originally came from NY and I got real NYC subway tokens that are no longer even in existence plus a really old, old key, some Bingo game pieces, rulers, pencils and a motorcycle charm which I knew Lenny (biker dude hubby that he is) would love......

and hey.....I got to teach too......we also squeezed in a beeswax collage workshop.

Thought you'd want to see my extraordinarily clean demo/work area ... .....and yours really looks like that too....right? !

Interestingly, the part everyone loved the most was seeing how to add texture to your project using stencils by brushing the beeswax over them. Then adding perfect pearls over the top of the raised parts.

Let's just say that we had a fantastic day and a wild group ....after a pizza & soda lunch and few dozen cookies  everyone was on a sugar high at picture taking time.

Aren't we a cute bunch !

Oh Yeah......I see that cute little Andrea Frank making that hand gesture behind my head.....she'll get hers...don'tcha worry ! You listening Andrea ??!!! (Andrea takes ALL our classes !)

(BTW...Terri is the cute blonde with the red shirt hiding in the back !)

Designer Lisa Kettell (to my Left, blonde) did a really unusual piece  with Beeswax where she included some teeny tiny seashells she'd brought with her.

How cool is that...really !!!

What a great day...I'm pooped !