SuzeBlogz

The Chronicles

What a great day !
At 10 this morning "the girls" got together at my office for a day of encaustic wax. 
We call our group of friends THE TIARA CHRONICLES. I don't even remember how we gave ourselves that name...but it's too cute !
 Every month one of us picks a project & that's what we make that day....whether it's in our comfort zone or not !

This month...MY TURN, MY TURN...do the happy dance.... !!!
Get out the wax !

I gave everyone a piece of pine wood to start .

We went a little above and beyond using regular craft products.
We melted "medium" which is a combination of beeswax and Damar resin. This mixture (which I buy from Clairvoyant Encaustics ) is handmade & top of the line. Tell Fanne I sent you if you buy some.

I also used the Melting Pots as small stoves to heat up seamless ink cans of pure pigment wax. This is a different way of using the Melting Pot vs. using a project pan.

MEET THE GROUP
Bonnie, Michelle, Debbie, Joan, Lisa, me, Teresa and Linda (missing Patti, Jackie & Lennis)

We used HAKE (pronounced Hah-kay) brushes (the best for wax because synthetic brushes can melt) to apply several layers of medium to the wood, heating in between each layer using a torch. All of this was new for the girls.

Teresa caught on so fast and made a really beautiful encaustic piece. Here she is using the torch to fuse the waxes.

Happened to be my favorite piece of the day !!! I loved how this came out !

Bonnie and Michelle at work

Michelle collaged

added other waxes

and added a wax bird. She made a mold of the bird using Mold n Pour.

This piece was brilliant. Michelle has a great eye.

and, she did a 2nd piece & added wax wings.

Bonnie started with the medium, dusted on some PAN PASTELS and fused the layers.

added some netting, waxed over it then removed it for texture. Added a wax bird which she colored with the pastels. She will finish it more when she gets home. She wants to add something "seashore"-ish !

More samples from the day..this from Bonnie

scraping back the color

You can always count on Lisa Kettell to stay true to her muse.

Everything is wax...including her Kewpie face. She poured wax into a mold she brought with her. She has a whole collection of Kewpie molds & dolls.

Debbie is incredibly free with her work and super experimental....never afraid to try anything.....always amazing

She began by using a dark blue wax & stamping into it.

adding white wax and fusing moves color all around.

Then Deb decided to make a lip mold from a face I had at the office....we were all rolling on the floor.

and added it to the final result ! I think it "says a lot "!!!!

Stage 1 of Debs second project

Stage 2..she added wax from molds of the dolls hair

Linda loved the pastels over the wax

Joan was into the birds too and had pressed a stamp into the wax as well

I can honestly tell you that everyone LOVED todays event and I learned so much from watching all the different ways the girls used product application.

Can't wait to see what we'll come up with for our next get together !

Dance Fever

Audio Books are my obsession.

TV is my Guilty Pleasure

If I didn't have TIVO in the living room and that DVR thingie in the bedroom (allowing me to more or less record 4 different things, in 2 different rooms,  going on all at once)...what would I do between craft projects, the motorcycle rides, the grandkids, Synagogue, the dentist, travel, shopping and 400 other assorted things.........  !!!!!!!???!!

How do I make time to see them all ? I have absolutely NO idea...I just do !
Only one eyeball may be open, but I'm watching it.

I have favorites....seasonal favorites...American Idol tops the list. I've been to 8 of the road tours but, when I can't get THAT fix I settle for 2nd place

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Live Concert Tour
Last night...at the Prudential Center

  The Lenster, Jennifer and I have been to 3 of their road tours

As they say...been there, done that, bought the T-Shirt

Yup....another really wonderful show. For those who may have followed last season, even though Philip didn't make the Top 10 he was in this show and he was the HUGE hit of the evening. Can't wait for the next one !

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Then today....well....Ranger began its B-I-G Warehouse Sale

 so I zipped on by so I could meet up with my very good friends Lisa Kettel and mom Joan for sushi lunch. Cupie joined us ! She's in on everything these days but she's still naked !!! We gotta get her some clothes, right ???!!!

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THINGS YOU NEED TO DO TODAY :

Check out Claudines Blog from Sept 21st for a great "Spooktacular" project
Sign up for an ART IS YOU workshop
Read "THE HELP" by Kathryn Stockett
Make something with the new UTEE Spruce Green and Red Poppy
Buy some WONDER TAPE ON SALE
Click & download our FREE monthly collage Buddah with Butterfly


Tomorrow is the monthly TIARA CHRONICLES girls day...there should a lot to blog about !

Working religiously !

Once a year we have installation of officers at our Synagogue and say Bah-Bah to the old ones.
The old board members receive a frame from Temple that I make for them and then they fill it with a photo (taken later) of them with the Rabbi.

It's an nice "hamish" thing to do. Hamish (pronounced Hay-mish)  is a Yiddush word meaning 'warm & loving' not as in the Scottish name Hamish which is  equivalent to the American name James !

Yiddush is not the same as Hebrew. Yiddush is an old German Jewish Slang, BUT..it is WRITTEN in Hebrew . Okay...you are now thoroughly confused...me too......so....we're done with Yiddish 101...for today.

We're on to THE FRAME. Bought for $1 at Michaels which I painted Gold

Next I made a mold of a Mezzuzah using Mold n Pour This is what a typical Mezzuzah looks like, but I molded a very large one.

Filled the mold with Black UTEE

Found a rubber stamp with Hebrew writing (yes..I can read it) !

used the Ranger Snow Cap White Pigment ink and stamped on the frame

This ink will take a while to dry so I used my heat gun to speed it along

Removed UTEE from mold and glued it to the frame. Dusted Perfect Pearls on the surface.

Perfect Pearls settle everywhere, but then I rubbed Rub n Buff over the high spots for added texture and metallic color.

Glitz Stickles in Tiara. Apply in a blob

Rub in using your finger

Beautiful effect and the frame is finis !

and at Shabbat sevices on Friday night...two people will be receiving them.

Mazel Tov !

In the land of OZ

aha....not that OZ...
not the one Down Under....not the one in Kansas either....
the one at

(short for 30 Rockefeller Plaza...as in the TV show of that name)

as in the taping of

THE DR. OZ SHOW

I called for tickets when it first came on the air and that's where The Lenster and I went today !

Now...before I even get started...they do NOT allow you to take any pictures before, during or after the show (and you know me and my sneaky little camera that goes everywhere)....well..I didn't want to get thrown out....so I didn't even try to do anything in the actual studio ! So...apologies...but NO pictures of The Lenster & me and the darling Dr. Oz all huggy and smoochy.

the taping was VERY enjoyable but the line of ticket holders (& yes, you MUST have a ticket) is 200 strong and you wait, wait, wait, and wait more (hours actually) before you are finally taken through security (like at the airport) and brought into the studio and seated. And, there's no place nearby to either pee or get water....gotta make sure to do that before.

OY VEY !

And, you get no choice of seats...they choose for you....so, for those who have watched the show and are wondering.....well....they do pre- pick the "assistant" of the day who is pre-miked and knows it will be her ! And, they do pre-pick his helper with the food segments even though all of these people are instructed to look so surprised !

And no.....they have NO idea when our episode will air, so I'll just continue to TIVO it and hope I see us in the audience. Todays' episode included a girl who got Botox in her armpits ON AIR to help with her excessive sweating !

OUCH !

Inside of 30 Rock you can find the studio store where The Lenster hooked up with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwn (LOL)

and Cupie had her own adventure because everyone gets a wristband to wear and she felt like Miss America.

New York is always a wonderful experience.

The yellow cabs everywhere

The food vendors on every street corner

The always famous and delicious hot salted NY pretzels

the outdoor cafe at Rockefeller Plaza

The

Radio City Music Hall across from 30 Rock where they tape Dr. Oz's show (he rents a studio at the NBC studios)

Skyscrapers everywhere

and the inside of 30 Rock is filled with murals

can't promise anything exciting tomorrow except a dental cleaning but watch for our next "adventure" on Wednesday night !!!

TTFN !

Secrets, hmmm....

Always nice to have lunch with a good friend

My friend Lea Whitney has a unique little secret
She lives in W. Caldwell, New Jersey (about 90 minutes from me )....focus in now...
that's Lea and me in front of her amazing home

think hard....
HBO series.....
not on any more....bad guys.......Bada Bing.....YES...You got it....
THE SOPRANOS

No...Lea isn't one of them,
BUT...her gorgeous house was used for the entire series and doubled as Silvio & Gabby Dante's house...
Now this is cool, right ??!!

in fact...the cul-du-sac she lives on had a few houses that were used incuding her neighbor whose house was used as Tonys.......you might especially remember the long driveway he drove into at the beginning of each episode....
Yup...this is it !

I know some wonderful and interesting people !

But tomorrow I hope to meet the MOST interesting of all....hang in there...I'll blog it as soon as I get home from New York City and I HOPE I can get a picture to go with it too !

In the beginning......

Today is the second day of Rosh Hashana, the celebration of the Jewish New Year.
Most congregations gather at their synagogue for services, but ours, which is a small very family oriented congregation meets for this special service at a gorgeous park and we hold the service outdoors.
We were so fortunate...gorgeous weather. The Lenster and I rode on the motorcycle to services !

The Rabbi reads from the Torah (The Five Books of Moses) ...and we have come full cycle, so now we start at the beginning (Genesis) with the creation. As you can see....this was very informal....very homey feeling and certainly one with nature.

When he reads he uses a "yad", literal translation meaning "a hand" ( it resembles a pointer with a little hand and finger at the end), to help him keep his place line by line. Yads are most often made from silver.

The reason for this is because the Torah (written by a Hebrew scribe on Kosher parchment) is considered a sacred text and your hands should not touch it. This is a sign of respect. Parchment skin does not absorb ink and touching it might smudge the ink.

the very beginning of the Torah begins with the words "In the beginning"..... In Hebrew this is known as B'reshit (pronounced B'ray-sheet)

this is what those very first words look like in the Torah...read from right to left.

after the service we all walk to the nearby river (under a little bridge)  to toss in bread and bread crumbs.

This practice is called Tashlikh (pronounced Tash-leek)

It is our way of "casting off" the sins from the previous year by tossing bread into a natural flowing body of water. It is not meant to feed the fish !

Tomorrow life goes back to the usual and I have a lunch date with an old friend...and then we'll probably SHOP. Now...why does this not sound in the least strange !!!??!! LOL

But on Tuesday....well...that's gonna be different...and I'll wait to surprise you with that one.

The Lenster and I have a special date in New York City...stay tuned !!

L'Shana Tova

Tonight, at sundown the Jewish holiday of  Rosh Hashana begins and so begins the Jewish calendar year 5770.
ROSH HASHANA , translated, means, 'head of the year' or 'first of the year'.

Taken literally it commemorates the creation of man whereas five days earlier marks the first day of creation.
It is characterized by the blowing of the shofar, a rams horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. The sound of the shofar is usually looked upon as a call to repentance.

This is our cantor Janice Cohen at last years service


Jewish people (that would be me !) wish each other L'Shana Tova which means 'for a good year'. Another popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year.
Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off"). We walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty our pockets into the river, symbolically casting off our sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom.

and, of course we read from the Torah. It takes a full year to read the Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. There are 54 portions. The Torah is written in Hebrew and we read from right to left....sounds hard, huh ?!!


Okay...that was Judaism 101 so now you'll know that I'll be sitting in synagogue for the next day (I get to chant some cool stuff) and will blog after we're done reading, blowing, repenting, hugging, kissing and wearing our best new outfit. I say it with humor, but, truth be told,  I  take it very seriously.

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In the meantime.....have finished the other two wood waxed books main pages and will be adding more interesting inner pages at some later date. Here's the outcome. The newsprint piece I added is a very simple technique (see below) and is also how I got the bigger images to stick to the waxed surface.


 

Just place collage papers in the Melting Pot, remove with tweezers and IMMEDIATELY place on the waxed work surface and go over them using the Ranger Craft Scraper or an old credit card.





add your embellishments (litte bitz with alcohol ink on top) and perhaps some Perfect Pearls

and the last page where I stamped directly on the wax.





PS. Remember the ARTFUL BRA Project from a few posts back ? Well...there is still time for anyone to enter who would like to...you have until September 25th to make yours.
They will be auctioned off on October 3rd to benefit Breast Cancer.
send it to Deb @ Rubber Stamp Plantation

and...if you have a few minutes, check out the cool video I found on Stamp TV showing my Cracked Glass technique.


Happy new year to all of you....Jewish or not !

Forty Six...oh my !

Well....I couldn't be more excited to say...
TODAY IS THE LENSTERS AND MY 46th ANNIVERSARY !

now I ask you.....are these the faces of two old farts ???
NO WAY !



We are a happy, fun loving couple who epitomize the "you're only as old as you feel" concept....can't wait to see what we do when we hit the FIFTY mark !
and...for those who thought I was a 'child bride'
...yes, sort of...I was 19.... and The Lenster was 21.

Aaaaahhhh....the olden days !

But......now on to a great challenge

My Texas friend MARK JETTON, (whom I've known for years & years & years) is one SUPER TALENTED young man. He's done many cards and cover designs for Rubber Stamp Madness magazine and he owns and operates a stamp store called STAMP SALADO, in Salado, TX
Plus...he designs and sells his own rubber stamp line called DEADBEAT DESIGNS and he has the funniest, dry humored blog going.

Mark sent me a present

a blackbird made of metal


and, he sent me it's mate...which HE decorated using Ten Second Studio Metals. Check out my name on the wing. It is beyond fabulous. Mark is just one of my favorite artists.




He told me I had to do something with the other one....
Rhinestones and glitter came immediately to mind. I also stamped on the body using the Ranger White pigment ink.


and the other side is a little more complicated because it doesn't show up that well in a photo...

I painted the metal with gold paint and went over it with Claudines Studio Paint in red.
I added tree branch stickers and glittered around them
Both wings are scrapbook paper. On this one I colored in the spaces & added blackbird stickers




I have to admit, I considered waxing the bird, but decided to go out of my comfort zone.

Mark....you're a gem and you're very thoughtful...thanks!

The "Roar to the Shore"

aaaaaaahhhhh...it was a sunny Sunday. Couldn't have asked for better.

and...here I am...all dressed and ready to go.....(Cupie too)...and NOT in a Chico's outfit I might add.


Cupie, in fact, considered driving the bike.... (for those who asked...a Honda GoldWing )



We set out for the yearly motorcycle rally to Wildwood NJ, about 2 hours from where we live. It is a beach town at the very bottom of New Jersey...any further and you're in the Atlantic Ocean ! The ride is called the "Roar to the Shore" and thousands of bikers come from everywhere. Noisy...very noisy !



roaring into town....



finding parking



Lots of food....








lot of silly stuff to buy because even bikers have their own form of altered art




a walk on the boardwalk



watching people try impossible stunts



or trying on hilarious headgear (well, at least it matches his mustache !)





the big rides





 dog walking



riding the boardwalk tram (not quite like Disney !)



and just overall.....having a great day with buddies



tomorrow...it's back to waxing !

Gray skies are gonna clear up

but not before The Lenster and I made our way to the Ocean Grove Flea Market this morning. This is an annual event. Several hundred vendors take tent space.

 

The crowds started getting there very soon after I took this shot.

We really went for the sheer enjoyment and didn't have any expectation of finding "stuff"
but there was some really fun old finds if you were in need of them..

I was pretty excited when I found these little birds to buy...now I can make molds and pour wax into them...or UTEE !

and check out these old golf clubs and the old baby buggy and parasol

but, most of all Ocean Grove is known for it's antique and historic charm. It's like time has taken a vacation here. The homes are all historic and many date back to about 1869.

and, people can rent seasonal tents here for the summer to live in.

Everyone brings their dogs

The Great Auditorium is very historic, dating back to to the 1800's when the Victorian era was all the fashion. It is the size of a football field and some very great preachers have spoken there, like Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale. It is still used today and houses one off the largest pipe organs in the country.

and here's something you don't hardly see at all any more.....

who remembers these ?????

It was a very fun day, followed by sushi with my daughter Jennifer and youngest grandson Jared.
I love those kind of days.