SuzeBlogz

What a WICKED Halloween

My best friend Maria has come up from Florida to visit for a few days. She comes every year right around my birthday. She loves the change of seasons (which she doesn't get in Tampa) and seeing all the leaves in their gorgeous multi colors.

This year I decided to surprise HER. She and The Lenster and I drove into New York City this morning and we went to see WICKED on Broadway. What can I say...it was phenomenal !

First...before the show...New York pizza...the BEST...period.

Then..on to the show

 

As the show was filling I sneaked in a pix of the stage cause photos are not allowed.

but they are allowed in the lobby

and The Lenster with a cast member

and you know how much I adore going into Manhattan...

Redesigned and rebuilt in 2008, the new TKTS booth in Times Square is located "under the red steps" in Father Duffy Square at Broadway and 47th Street.

These stairs are right under the main Broadway discount ticket booth, which is right in the heart of New York City's theater district. Here are great views taken from the top of the stairs. Times Square

 

and....as I always try to do....here are some of my captured moments in New York City that I hope will give you some small glimpse into it's heart. There are a lot but I hope you enjoy them

 

 

 

 

 

 

and of course....we ended the evening with the only food I truly love....

SUSHI...with a little Halloween flair !!!

This is It

This afternoon my friend Nancy Gall and I met halfway in Edison, NJ and went for sushi lunch . I go and hour north...she goes an hour south ! Ken just stays there !

then on to see the new Michael Jackson movie 'THIS IS IT" playing at the Menlo Mall.

Nancy and I are like the same person just split in two different bodies. We've been friends for umpteen years. We both have an obsession collecting jewelry "stuff" and we both must have our popcorn during the movie no matter how full we are from a big lunch. There is always room for popcorn. And, we never, ever run out of things to talk about. Usually I go to Target before a movie and buy their $1.00 popcorn and sneak it in, but we didn't have time today.

So let me just say this about the movie.....whether or not you were a Michael Jackson fan or have other feelings about things he may or may not have done.... this 2 hour production was a work of art.

It really shows how extraordinarily talented he was. What a wonderful musician and dancer he was. How kind and soft spoken he was around others. How respectful he was of others. How well loved he was and how prepared he was for this concert.

His music will live on forever but how very sad it was, at the end, when he sings "Man in the Mirror" and you realize how he was not even able to see and fix his own failings.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make a change

the mall is already being decorated for Christmas....I find that kind of disturbing...sorry ! Seems much too early for my taste.

 

but I did love the "light bulb moment" at Urban Outfitters....feels a lot like the type of decor that Anthropologie does

 

In 2 days my best friend Maria arrives from Florida and we have surprises for her...so..stay tuned !

a tisket a tasket

I waxed a little basket !!!

1. Start by warming the wood surface. Wax loves to go on a warmed surface.

 

2. Brush on Beeswax that you've melted in the Melting Pot (using a Project Pan)

 

3. Fuse using either a torch, heat gun (Ranger gun best for this) or the hot wax stylus tool

4. Build up layers of wax, fusing between layers

 

5.Melt & Brush on another color(s) of wax randomly.

6. Brush on some Perfect Pearls too. They stick to the wax surface. Fuse and watch the waxes & PP move around and form great patterns and textures

7. Place photocopied images or book papers in wax to coat them. It can't hurt them to stay in there

8. Remove with tweezers and place on project surface. Use an old Credit Card (or similar) to scrape it down right away. This helps to adhere it to the project AND eliminate a heavy wax buildup on the surface of the paper.

9. Then, if you like, place mesh or something with an open texture (screen, etc)  over the project and brush wax over it. Pull it off once the wax hardens

 

 

 

last steps.....I added Wonder Tape to the handles

and placed foil color side up on the tape. You want to use transfer foils..like the kind for T-Shirts

 

when you pull it off the foil remains on the tape, then I added ribbon, also securing with Wonder Tape.

 

and wrapped some heavy wire around it

 

and then...Cupie jumped in.....still looking for her clothes I suspect  !

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Todays Bonus.....check out these templates

and visit my friends at TWISTED PAPERS

Recycling

and then there was the story of this little box

 

which I'd had for ages.

It had some type of plasticized finish. I think I found it at a Home Goods once upon a time.

It didn't serve any particular purpose, just that it was kinda cool cause it had a French theme. But......I decided I really needed to purge "stuff" and I almost gave it away when........from out of the blue came a hearty "HI Oh Silver"........ no...it was not an urge to watch "The Lone Ranger"....

the urge to wax it hit me like a lead balloon !

1. I went over it with 5 layers of clear wax, fusing each layer in between.

2. Then I melted two colors of wax side by side in the pot and allowed them to mingle together....a dark green wax and some gold wax. I brushed this mixture  over the layers of clear wax.  This was my attempt to create a sort of patina finish. Then I fused. I used a torch but you can use the Ranger heat gun.

3. Then I brushed purple and gold Perfect Pearls over a few areas of the wax and fused. Every time you fuse you move wax around and create interesting patterns and color arrays.

4. Whenever I wanted a really smooth spot (like the edges)  I used my Hot Wax Stylus tool which was also a blessing in fixing little mishaps.

 

then, lastly

5. I layed a piece of wide mesh over the wax, melted a bluish color wax and brushed it over the mesh to create a texture. Then, pulled off the mesh. You don't always get the exact pattern but I was thrilled with the raised texture results. I added a collage face and glued on a finial.

 

It's been recycled.....

and now, once again, it happily resides in my house as 'new decor' !

Hey...have YOU Hot Waxed today ????

Next up.....a "facelift" for a basket I bought

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Just some reminders

FLAT BACKED RINGS are on sale (sorry out of the round)

 

Distress STICKLES are on sale

 

and Roller Stamps are on sale

Learning

The weather can't make up it's mind. Yesterday it poured cats and dogs. Today the sun is shining and its warm. I'm thoroughly confused. When the weather sucks we always try to find something fun to do. Jennifer and Jared (who'll be 7 in January) , The Lenster and I went to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City for a few hours.

Jared loved it ! Firstly they dressed him up like a scientist, goggles and all, and gave him a real experiment to try. What kid doesn't like this ? I was jealous..I wanted them to dress ME up !!

then...we saw lots of animals...some who looked like they wanted to come through the glass and lick us !

 

all sorts of germs and bacteria

 

a fabulous bubble making machine that made a humongous bubble. When you blew on it the bubble practically came out and grabbed you !

A panoramic view from the center of New York City. Unfortunately it was such a rainy cloudy day.

In the far, far right hand corner you could see Lady Liberty

A visit to the centers gift shop

 

and then on to the Brownstone Diner & Pancake House for a quick snack

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One of my birthday gifts was a Barnes & Noble gift certificate...(thank you dear Angela) so I got myself a book I've been wanting ever since I heard it was coming out.....now this may surprise you....

THE BOOK OF GENESIS in Cartoon form.

 

word for word......it's kinda weird, but wonderful at the same time. And, definitely different...and artsy....and weird !!

Did I mention weird ?!!

Will the real perfume bottle please stand up

My birthday "twin" Jackie gave me this beautiful perfume bottle as a present and immediately I  thought...GOTTA MOLD IT....so I did. It took 2 packages of Mold n Pour but, because MnP has such a nice long open time, I was able to easily mix both packages together in plenty of time to make this really large mold

  within 10 minutes it had completely set

 

and it was as detailed as the original bottle, so, I filled it with Black UTEE from the Melting Pot and after it hardened I went over it with a combination of Perfect Pearls, Metallic Rub n Buff and Tiara GLITZ Stickles.

 

now, I can't wait to make a bunch of them in all different UTEE colors.

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Now, here's a wonderful website to check out.

and don't forget the FREE DOWNLOAD on our home page. I'll be changing it soon.

Let's Do Lunch

over the meadow and through the woods.......the plan was.....

drive over to Ranger

 

meet up with all the good friends and have another Birthday lunch at Redheads, my favorite local restaurant (cause I can get sushi and everyone else can get American food )

 

(Clockwise) Alain, Debbie, Bonnie, Joan, Lisa, me, Jackie (who shares the same birthday as me ), Michelle, Teresa and Patti.

Jackie and I got crowns made by Lisa

 

and Lisa also made us beautiful tags....all super glittery

and the adorable card from Debbie (which looks real, but I swear it's a card !)

and Joan made me this gorgeous necklace which matches everything I own

 

and then came the "Let them eat cake" part

which we shared with all....

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so...lastly...I want to share some reminders with you too....two great retreat events will be taking place in 2010 that I'll be a part of and I know you'll want to be a part of too....I'll be doing some encaustic wax classes at

ART OPERA, APRIL 7-10 IN NEW JERSEY

 

and

DONNA DOWNEYS 'INSPIRED' RETREAT, MAY13-15 IN Concord, NORTH CAROLINA

Now treat yourself to a few moments with Il Divo at the Rome Coliseum

birthday humor

The Lenster has a great sense of humor...allow me to share one of his cards

 

 

it's been a great day !

Dream Big

that's what the birthday candle says

and even though the big day isn't until tomorrow I have a feeling we're going to be celebrating all week long. The Lenster took me for sushi tonight. This really gorgeous roll had brown rice mixed with purple rice, maguro tuna, white tuna, salmon, caviar & avocado in a soy bean wrap. Ooooh yummy !

 

and, after a few more interesting sushi items the little surprise cake came out and everyone sang Happy Birthday....it was really great.

 

and then I came home and opened the box that arrived from the kids....it was a fabulous surprise...the new KODAK Zi8 high definition pocket video camera in raspberry. To die for !

 

I am a H-U-G-E lover of technology so any 'gadget' makes me sooooo happy ! I had a FLIP camera...I passed it on to the Lenster ! He's gonna mount it to his motorcycle.

Then my wonderful friend Julie van Oosten called from Perth, Australia and we talked for an hour...I can tell in advance...this is just gonna be a GREAT birthday

number sixty-six...and proud of it...... for those oh so curious !!!!!!!

Love, Pray, Eat

Today our large group of close friends got together to attend two unveilings.

While this may sound like something artistic, in this case it isn't. It is a ceremony in Judaism in which a grave is marked with a monument (usually a headstone or a footstone ) which serves to identify the grave so that relatives will find it when they visit and honor the memory of the deceased. It is not a law that says we have to have an unveiling but a long standing tradition, usually held a year after someone has been buried.

The weather was dreadful...cold, rainy, wet.... but we were all there, about 40 of us to honor the fathers of two of our friends.

 

The first monument was covered, and psalms and prayers were read and the family spoke of wonderful personal remembrances.

beautiful things were read and said

 

and the sheet was removed and the stone was unveiled. The stone was engraved, on the very bottom, with Mervin's favorite all time expression...(which he was always quoted as saying after he told a story)... "And that's the whole story". Very fitting.

 

then we moved on to our second unveiling for our friend Pams father. The Rabbi read the appropriate prayers, the cloth was removed

 

and then, as is our custom, we all laid small rocks and pebbles to indicate that we had visited and remembered. We passed a large monument in remembrance of the Holocaust.

then, like all good Jews...we have to eat and celebrate life...so.....on to Harolds 
famous NY style Deli in Woodbridge, NJ

....famous for the size of their sandwiches

 

and their fun napkins that teach you how to "Speak Deli"

and their mile high desserts

and the giant potato latkes (pancakes)

 

and humongous Potato Knish

we took up 4 full tables and we all partook of their offerings !

 

 

and told each other how much we love and appreciate all our friends.