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The Goddess UTEE

Today the painters came to the house....scaffolding...the whole enchilada.

So...while they painted (& I had to be in all day), I worked in my studio. A while ago my friends Wendy & Judy from California came to visit & they sent me a very cool thank you collage. I decided to make an accompanying piece for it and mount them both on a backgammon board (27" X 20") I found in a Home Goods store.

I'm thinking it will go on one of the newly painted walls. The MERCI doggie is made from ribbons and paper. That's what they sent to me.  My goddess is made from UTEE...here's how some of it was done....

One of the cool tools I found for working with UTEE were these silicone rubber  pot holders from a kitchen store.

 

pour melted UTEE on them. No release needed...they're silicone.

when they cool, dust with perfect pearls. They make VERY funky textures that look like metal.

which then make incredibly cool embellishments for your art.

Her face is paper. I used a circle punch to cut from a magazine.

I used black tulle and the French ribbons my friend Sally (from France) sent me as part of her skirt. 

Plus some of the Dove of the East Ribbon. The rest of the piece is made entirely from UTEE (with a few small exceptions) 

The paper writings are from an old diary that I shredded and dipped into beeswax. I can NOT take credit for this concept because I have seen my friend Daniella Wolf - encaustic artiste extraordinaire - employ this technique brilliantly.

The small frame is UTEE and holds a paper collage covered with Glossy Accents. Her 'hat' came from an old piece of jewelry and I added the earrings. The piece behind her 'hat' is UTEE.

Then...you know what happens...you get on a roll...

Piece #2

you begin incorporating EVERY technique you know how to do....

 

The little collage (below)  uses Claudines sticky back canvas which I print directly on from my printer. Coat with Glossy Accents & dry overnight.

  the waxed pages

 

and the face mold made from UTEE

I have to be in again tomorrow...heaven knows what I may add to the Goddess collection now that I'm on a roll !

Making Like Angela

My super cute friend Angela Bannatyne owns this way cool bead shop in southern Florida called Gemstone & Bead Imports. And, she has her own line of kits with beads & accessories called Avenue A which you can buy ONLINE from her

I'm not Angela and I don't play her on T.V.....but I sure wished I lived closer cause Angela makes the best jewelry and when we've gotten together she's helped me with so many things.

cause...after all...beads are not my thing. I'm still a real beginner. I have to get past being the UTEE Queen before I can be a good beader.

So...with that in mind....Angela set out with a challenge.

she put together several layers of chain,

added her spin to it with beautiful small beads and then challenged others to make their own individual version using the same chain layout....which she sent to us.

This is Angelas

her friend Tammy - who had never made jewelry before - like...d'uh.....holy cow.....made this bracelet based on Angela's design.

so, I was freaking out that I had to make something too......

being that I love Asian style I gathered up some coins made for jewelry and put this together.

and it looked really good when I tried it on..it laid just fine around my neck

I'm like....... PROUD !!!

Where Books Come To Life

Must confess....it was a very quiet day in Weinbergland today....must have been all that Tryptophan in the left over turkey that made for a sleepy relaxing day. Even the cat agrees.....we gave her some turkey too.....LOL

The whole idea of Black Friday and the hoards of people killing each other for a bargain didn't appeal much to me...I know I'm as shocked as you !

....even though I am a total shopper at heart I just had no desire to fight the crowds. But...after a nap, the Lenster and I did mosey on over to the Apple store. We knew exactly what we were getting, plus the $100 discount...so..in and out.

I am now the proud owner of a new Mac. I already have a 13 inch MacBook that I love, but it's 4 years old and it's begun to get kernel panics (not good !) so I have upgraded to the new MacBook PRO 15" with the antiglare screen, the new Magic Mouse, the FREEBIE HP printer...(and who can't use an extra printer somewhere in the house ??!!)...the deal was buy the Mac, buy the printer & get a rebate for the full amount of the printer...so why not ! And a new Mobile Me account and another year of One to One.

Oh happy, happy, happy day....and it isn't even Hanukkah yet.

Now...here is something for you to end your happy day with...a YouTube video from New Zealand that shows a book coming to life. A tad difficult to understand because it sounds like it was done in a tunnel, but, forgoing that aspect, just sit back and watch the book come alive. It's really fabulous.

Gobble...gobble

25 Things (a thanks giving )

Every week US magazine runs a feature called "25 things You Don't Know About Me" featuring some movie star up and comer. This week it was about some Twilight Saga girlie vampire who I'd never heard of before and probably never will again.

But I think the 25 things feature itself is always kinda cool. So....I've decided to do my own version....are ya ready..??.........or NOT !

so...here are 25 things I'm guessing you might not know about me !

1. I can't stand anyone touching my pinky toes. NOT ANYONE. I couldn't tell you why in a million years..I just know it to be so! And don't touch yours either in front of me....oh yuck I'm cringing. Pedicures scare me but I try to be brave about them.

2. I LOVE cats. Cats rule. I wouldn't mind coming back as a cat.

3. I listen to an audiobook a week. Remember when you liked being read to as a kid...that's me. This week "Open" by Andre Agassi...excellent.

4. I am an over the top technology nut.

5. I love, love, love photography.

6. I am petrified of heights and lose all the feeling in my legs...even if they show heights on T.V. Going over bridges, high floors & looking out....not, not , not happening.

7. I can't swim and if you get water in my face you're doomed.

8. I sang professionally for many years & was a Cantor in my synagogue for 16 of them.

9. I have played piano since I'm six...Love music.

10. I used to have a Calligraphy business and still dabble in it

11. I have always driven a convertible.

12. I have a kitchen because it came with the house...never use it.

13.I love Genmaicha Green tea from Japan

14. I was once a blond. Don't go there ! I was 19 what did I know ?

15. I weighed 87 pounds dripping wet when the Lenster and I got married 46 years ago ! What the hell happened ??

16. I have pictures of my favorite American Idols hanging in my home studio. I'm a groupie.

17. South Africa is my most favorite place outside of America

18. My mother was a Bostonian and my father came from England. I was born in Brooklyn, NY. I have a younger brother in California who is a Dr.

19. I used to be a chaperone to the Miss America Pageant many ions ago.

20. Of the few places I haven't been, I want to go to Egypt the most.

21. Sushi is my favorite food on the planet

22. I once had a dog named Pewpie who ran away.

23. I love religious movies on T.V. with a passion....my favorite is "Our Lady of Fatima", followed by "Song of Bernadette". Have no idea why....I'm Jewish !

24. I can NOT pass up looking in a luggage store & the attic in the house proves it

25. I used to be 5 foot 2 inches and have shrunk 2 inches over the years.

Have a great day giving thanks for all you have. I totally do !

and then there was more....

I had a fantastic trip visiting with Julia but it is also very nice to be home. I thought I'd post some of the additional pictures I took.

The Houston airport (my layover) had some interesting art in the Continental Airlines lounge. One of the things that fascinated me was this display of postcards sent by a Michael Nelson (a Cont. Airlines employee) from all the domestic cities Continental Airlines served in January 2004

 

This was another, more colorful piece of artwork.

My first night in Salt Lake...out for sushi at a way cool place called Takashi

 

Outside the restaurant...makes me want to go & collect birch bark and hang it somewhere !
 

the restaurant had a very Asian Fusion feel to it...seems to be the new trend.

 

and you'll recall that when we came out of the movies we found a lot of snow...I took a bunch of pictures without a flash, practically in the dark without a tripod.  Set my camera on a night setting that allowed in a lot of ambient light and steadily hand held the camera. I LOVE this photo.

 

to the right of the tree....Julias Hen House !!! LOL

 

and, speaking of winter...Julia's Christmas decorations were up and I loved this one of Santa riding a Polar Bear

I also LOVED this amazing piece of furniture Julia got recently for her living room.

 

our visit to Z Gallerie was inspiring. I have to exhibit self control in that store (& remind myself that we have one I can go to for a 'fix' right here in NYC) cause everything sparkles and you want to take it all home. Well..that is if you are the sparkly kind.

 

Imagine..an acrylic WING ! D'uh...I think I want one.

 

a little excursion into "Urban Outfitters" and we got some cool ideas for frames.....the wire is to hang jewelry from, but I'm sure it could be used more artistically than that.

another aisle led me to this book....honest to God.

 

and guess what it said......no.. seriously !!!

and, guess what else....

 

no...no...I did NOT buy the book.....I did, however, admire the way they used wood in their displays. I wanted to put beeswax on everything !

 

and...speaking of beeswax....a few more of the pieces from our gals night at Julias. I did this one and used my new cooking tools...like the pizza cutter. Also,  the Victorian Sun rubber stamp.

 

One of the gals made this one. The texture on the lower right corner is done with a piece of netting. Wax over the netting, pull it off.

 

and now....I'm off to unpack but I thought I'd share my brilliant tip of the day.

Suffice it to say I burn myself a lot what with the melting pot, the hot UTEE, the Stylus tool, the wax or just being plain ole careless....here is my favorite burn relief...

no no...not my cell phone....

speak to the hand......

TOOTHPASTE !!!

works every time

and....on that note......

We're not chicken

Julia tells me that about 18 months she decided she wanted chickens ! Okay...chickens.

I'd probably want a new car, but Julia wanted chickens !

I'm still workin' on that one. I'm a city girl.

But...there they were...in their own little condo (ok..a coop) right outside the house

 

rain, sleet or snow Julia's out there feeding them..pink bathrobe & all. Some people are insanely devoted...or a wee bit nuts. The verdict is still out on that one...we're talking chickens here !!

oh......and they eat really well and live in a lovely heated environment...and they lay mostly brown eggs

 

which I shared with the Hailey, the happy doggie

oh......except for the Araucana chicken who lays pretty blue eggs with designs in them (see the circle ?)..she's the artistic chicken in the family.

the snow is still gorgeous here. I took this pix last night in the dark with NO FLASH...I just love it

and today we passed these mountains and even tho I know these are the Rockies I could swear that Charleston Heston was coming down any minute with the 10 Commandments

then...on to the kitchen store..spoons n spice

a GIANT mega store that had everything you could ever want in cooking supplies.

I, of course, have no need for cooking supplies...but you can't imagine how many of them can be used as craft supplies..

and tonight we are having friends over for a beeswax class at Julias. We set up in her kitchen....a good place to try my new supplies !

Julia is the one who "invented" Perfect Pearls, you now.

 

Julias Hubby Monte...NOT a crafter nor does he play one on T.V.  !

 
 

my great find......a crust lattice maker for pie crust

makes fabulous textures in beeswax.

Tomorrow my lovely visit is over...I have to head home because we're having our house painted inside and The Lenster and I have to start stripping everything of the walls

Oh Dread !

Girls Gone Wild

Okay...I'm in Salt Lake City, Utah. I always LOVE visiting Julia cause we laugh over everything and share a common interest in a whole bunch of stuff. Like eating...this occasion..Thai food.

and SHOPPING...whoa...shopping....our favorite.. and, we go to stores that are for teen girls cause we are fearless...and nuts....and think we're just perfect for those clothes....like the furry neck band (that Julia actually bought !)

and NOT to be outdone....I actually bought this shirt !

 

Julia did NOT buy this bra....Thank God ! Beside...it only covered one breast !

 

and I have no idea why it looks like I'm holding my crotch (ala Michael Jackson) while trying on these ridiculous glittery feet hurting shoes

but nothing was a funny as Julia checking out hats

 

or dresses that wouldn't fit on your left armpit even after you shaved it ! This was a big "duh" moment.

then, of course, there is always the BLING. Teen stores always have great cheap bling..which I was happy to leave where I found it even tho it matched my manicure. Now, really...did I need this...no...that's why I left it there. LOL

 

then...in our pushing & shoving past all the young skinny girls, we dropped this comb

 

and both agreed there was no way we were gonna waste our energy picking it up....also because we're old and can't bend.

so...there it sits

then on to a really big favorite of mine

Z Gallerie

where everywhere you turned there was something sparkly..or strange.

or fuzzy plush

and then...on to the movies..."The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock...just adorable and very heartwarming and Orville popcorn. Yum

leaving Julias house

and coming home 2 hours later....I mean really....how can this be !!!!

 

well...that's Salt Lake for ya...

tomorrow..its all about the chickens...I kid you not.

Waxing Lyrical

so....before I even get into the whole "I love Wax" thing....let me say how excited I'm gonna be on Monday when Adam Lamberts new album hits the charts. Okay...now that you know where I stand on THAT subject...my Itunes account already has him on pre-order.Yes..I get it.. he looks a bit like an airbrushed girl on the album cover...get over it...

I'm feeling downright tingly !

Aaaah, now that we've covered the "lyrical" part....we can get on to wax...

I thought I would try something different that involved my HOT WAX STYLUS TOOL.

I found a piece of wood in the garage that wasn't suitable for class use because it had such prominent knots but was fine to experiment with. So....here's what I did.

1. Placed a toner based photocopy face down on the wood

 

2. Placed the spade tip of my stylus tool (turned on, of course !) on the backside and allowed it to warm the image. Moving it slowly from place to place it transferred the toner to the wood. It was like an "AHA" moment as Oprah would say.

 

 

now I can not tell a lie.

This was a sloooooow process. Being my first time attempting this, I should have absolutely used a much smaller image as a first try. But no...not me.. It did take a loooooong time to fully transfer. Occasionally I had to stop to allow the tool to re-cycle and get hot again.

so listen....

you know I want you to have success and enjoy new ideas so I suggest you might even want to try using a craft iron to do this. No steam and it HAS to be a toner based copy. Not ink jet. And DON'T overheat the paper

3. next step...I brushed Beeswax MEDIUM over the entire piece of wood.

a little about beeswax MEDIUM....

MEDIUM is beeswax that has damar resin in it.

This makes the wax much more clear & transparent. It's used to harden beeswax (making it more scratch resistant) and raise it's melting temperature. I buy mine from a wonderful California supplier who makes a superior medium. She uses the highest quality beeswax & has the perfect ratio of wax to resin. Clairvoyant Encaustics. Her name is Fanne...please do tell her I sent you !

I think everyone should try using medium at some point, especially if you want to see deep into the layers of wax.

 

then remember...4. fuse after applying wax. Wax, fuse, repeat a few times. Always learn the rules so then you know how to break them !

5. apply Perfect Pearls wherever you like. I used soft colors like Pewter and the color called Perfect Pearl.

 

I used my UTEE 'pin' that I molded from the gift Kathy Gledsdale sent to me to cover the top knot.

.

I think it's a cool technique and I'm gonna try to expand on the idea by heat transferring to substrates other than wood.

I love the fact that it's so 'see-through'. And, I have to tell you that in person it is very rich looking.

6. I used Perfect Pearls to add the color to her cheeks, eyes & lips.

and now....... it's just PERFECT !!!

and........speaking of Perfect .....Tomorrow I'm heading off to Salt Lake City, Utah to visit my friend Julia Andrus who invented Perfect Pearls. I try to get out to visit Julia at least once a year and...... it never fails....for the last few years I always fly into a snowstorm on the day I arrive.....

I'm ready to take bets on it right now.....

and Saturdays forecast will be.........?????

 

It's a beautful day in the neighborhood

yes..it really is...

just like the Mister Rodgers song says...

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

a beautiful day for a neighbor

but...where are they...my neighbors....

so peaceful...so quiet..where IS everyone....? 

well...today they were at my office - AGAIN - the lovely ladies from the Brandeis Women's Group - the third group to have signed up to learn about melt art.

Remember now...these ladies, my neighbors,  are NOT crafters...they have never heard of a heat gun, UTEE, a craft sheet...nothing....they came to actually LEARN !

grease the cookie cutter, pour in the UTEE

 

check out the gorgeous TURQUOISE UTEE. We melted the new Spruce Green with the Blue Zinnia and together they created this new color. Doing the happy dance I am.

Aaaah...green zinnia.

 

Tiger Lily and Violet

 

Tiger Lily, Black and Green Zinnia

 

Clear UTEE

and one of the gals brought in photocopies of her grandkids...preserved forever in UTEE

so...this was the last class at the office for this year. We need to make room for other stuff especially when you have excess stock ...

so..how about a Two-Fer sale.

THIS IS A $40 PACKAGE

25 sheets of fabulous scrapbook papers from GLITZ and Dove of the East. Some of them dual sided (different designs on both sides). It's value is $20

and cool transfers, bling and rub ons..value $20.

Get ALL OF IT FOR $20.

(while supplies last)

Yup...a 'buy one goodie' (will be as close to pictured as possible) and 'get the second goodie FREE, FREE, FREE' !

It's not on the website...ya gotta email Maureen for the Scrapbook Paper 2 for 1 special.

Ho..Ho..Ho...and that's not all....

this group is on special too...NOT on the website...gotta email Maureen

regularly $6 each....now this ADIRONDACK EARTHTONES Pigment Ink set is $28

everything +s/h

now go and have a bee-UTEE-ful day !

Nothin' little about Doolittle

Tonight my friend Esther and I drove into New York City

zipping past landmarks like The Chrysler Building

 
and The Waldorf Astoria Hotel

 

and zooming down famous Park Avenue

 

to the Loews Regency Hotel, home to the intimate Feinstein Supper club.

the elegant lobby

BECAUSE........

we had tickets to see MELINDA DOOLITTLE.

You might remember her as one of the finalists of season 7 of American Idol (she came in 3rd) but now she has come completely into her own and she was doing a one-woman show. And she was spectacular.

There is certainly NOTHING little about this girls voice...or how she has matured and grown into her own. She Rocks.

After the show Esther and I bought her CD "Coming Back To You", which she signed

and then took a real picture with us. She told me she loved my funky hair !!!

 

Esther and I had dinner in the supper club.

They had these lovely breadsticks in red glass on the table...that filled us up till the real food as served. Ever see two grown women pig out on bread sticks. More please...more.
 

and they put these little magnifiers on the table...I guess they assume some people can't see well...we thought it was hilarious...we're old but we're not blind just yet.

  but Esther played along...

while I read the upcoming features

 

the weather in Manhattan was just gorgeous tonight...no wind...no cold.... no rain......and our evening was completely filled with the warmth that was Melinda Doolittle.