SuzeBlogz

Suze-a-Palooza Day 1

at least once a year (sometimes more !) I fly on down to

to visit my very good friend Angela in Orlando

not just to see Angela...but also her mom Suzanne

and the rest of the Bannatyne family who I just love.

I hop off the plane and we're all set to go...no wasting time..off to Universal CityWalk. The girls, Mackenzie 11 and Riley 12 are on spring break.

lunch at Margaritaville, where they suck you into pictures with the real live parrots,.and...I am a sucker.

and now you know for sure I've been there..so far its a Suze-a-Palooza day !!

Angela says...keep walking..there's more to do

like trying on hats & wigs

and shopping

and trying on shoes

where I found this fabulous funky watch made by NIXON

and then there's desserts...plural...

and ELLENs show is coming here this weekend to shoot so we watched the set go up

 

BREATHER.........

Angela gets in some beading at home to finish off her many ETSY orders. Check it out...there's free shipping right now.

BREATHER.....

Off to The Fountain of Youth...I'm serious

and breakfast

where you make your own eggs and/or pancakes at your own table griddle...like Hibatchi only pancake style !! Must say...never seen anything so cool !!

then...a "toe dunk" in the water that cures all ails, The water from the fountain of youth is supposed to keep you young and, according to my own personel theory,  remove wrinkles (ha ha)...it was freeeeeeezing.All it did was make me shiver !!

then, we took a little boat tour around the area

and here is some of what we saw in and around the gorgeous peaceful waters

 

now...let me finish by telling you that I left New Jersey to escape the cold and the RAIN...lucky for us the weather here was on our side UNTIL....we got back to Angelas....

then.....the skies opened up and hail...the size of nickels, maybe quarters.... came down in buckets...and I mean buckets...

and rain...

W-H-O-A.....BIG BIG rain....

 

maybe we'll be luckier tomorrow !!

otherwise...we stay in and BEAD !

(oooo....please rain !!)

and into the Berkshires we go

it was time for a wee vacation.

The Lenster and I drove up to Lenox Massachsetts over the weekend to visit with friends. Lenox is a small town, population about 5,500. It borders Stockbridge where you find Tanglewood ...home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

It's about a 4 hour drive west - give or take - and the house is in the rustic Berkshire mountain area of Massachusetts. Just gorgeous...both the house AND the area

We were given the 'master bedroom'..it was quite something !

We started with Shabbat dinner on Friday night

This area is also known for its beautiful SPAS...like the Canyon Ranch.

Too bad the leaves aren't out yet because you can just imagine the area beauty in the spring, summer & fall.

wonderful churches, historic sights and lots of antique shops in the area of Lenox and Stockbridge

 


and, of course, the home of Norman Rockwell.


we had an incredible visit to the museum.

of course NO pix were allowed....ahem....

I never realized that Norman Rockwell did all of his paintings in oil and they were huge. Many of them - all originals -  are owned by private collectors and were on display.

and, of course, you recognize them as the 'covers' of the Saturday Evening Post.

Then we stayed for an historial  program on slavery featuring Tammy Denease Richardson as "Mum Bett", known later in life as Elizabth Freeman who was born a slave and remained one for almost 30 years. She died a free woman in 1829.

the grounds outside the museum were equally interesting

we had lunch at the famous Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge

and posed in front of the table that Norman Rockwell portrayed in his famous Thanksgiving painting.

The Inn is chock-a-block full of memorabilia

my word...I remember elevators like that from when I was a kid !!

Below is the Lincoln table, and its history

there were even some 'colorful' people at the Inn that day

the area was full of shops

My mother was born in Massachusetts and almost all of my first cousins and their kids still live there. So..I guess I have a very special place in my heart for the state of Massachusetts.

now...I'm going to be hunting out my summer clothes cause on Tuesday I'm headed to Florida....stay tuned...

I'll take 6 of that one..!

you know that over-used expression "to die for"...

WELL...LET ME TELL YOU....today it was not over-used !!!

when I was up in Denville a few days ago, store owner Kandy Delgado (That Bead Place) mentioned this show...that was all it took to get me motivated for a jaunt into Mahattan!!

Turn left...into heaven !!

this was a wholesale show but open to the general public. There were many vendors there I'd never seen at other shows.

also ran into old acquaintence Laura Edelsfein who I'd met through my friend Terry Ventura (Dime Store Daze)

more chain than God.....!!!

some of it super cheap...like $3 a foot

and some magnificent chain from Germany at $45 a foot

and there were beads there for $3 a strand

and some for $1,000 a strand.

I guess you know which direction I went in...certainy NOT the $1,000 one !!

and, because our PurimShiel was still in my head I kept thinking that all of these beads reminded me of HAIR...

you could find beads that were

long, straight, curly, fuzzy
Snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty
Oily, greasy, fleecy
Shining, gleaming, streaming
Flaxen, waxen
Knotted, polka-dotted
Twisted, beaded, braided
Powdered, flowered, and confettied
Bangled, tangled, spangled, and spaghettied!

well...before I find myself with bead burnout...just imagine the 50 other pix I had to post but didn't !!!

Oy...tomorrow I'd better go on the hunt for extra bead boxes !!

PurimShpiel

so...in case you have no idea what its like when the Jewish holiday of Purim comes along let's just say it's a time when we adults get dressed in our most ridiculous outfits and put on a play !!

Our amazing Rabbi is a terrific play writer and lyrics writer so he used the music from "Hair", wrote all his own  - appropriate to Purim -  words set to that music as our theme for this years "shpiel". Do I have to tell you more?? Yup...we all came dressed as "Hair" hippies...

now pleeeeeease don't start telling me I look good in long hair...I'll shoot you ! The tie dye top was supplied by my friend Jodi and the wig came from my friend Rhoda, below.

I know...we were hysterical...

nice crowd came to hear us....and cheer us!

The Rabbi makes a great hippie !!!

the 'performers' !!!

and, at the end (to the melody of "Let the Sunshine In") we got everyone up and dancing...

then came the clapping for our great job, the Hamentaschen, coffee & tea. You guessed it...we had a great time !

**********

I know I already blogged this morning, but I wanted to get this in before I went to bed. Tonight we happened to have what they call a "Super Moon". Maybe some of you realized that the moon seemed awfully bright tonight.

a full Moon of rare size and beauty rose in the east at sunset. It's a super "perigee moon"--the biggest in almost 20 years.

The last full Moon this big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993. Contrary to some reports circulating the Internet, perigee Moons do not trigger natural disasters. The "super moon" of March 1983, for instance, passed without incident. And an almost-super Moon in Dec. 2008 also proved harmless.

so, dont worry...no warewolves are coming out either. Just go outside and enjoy it's super bright rarity. I'm hoping you didn't miss it.

Took this right from my driveway.

 

friends

so, your best friends (of 30+ years) Gail and Eileen say...."Suze, can you teach us how to bead "?? Well...sure, no problemo I say. Lets do lunch first...

so, we head over to the grill at the clubhouse in my development and eat & schmooze for a bit and then I take them (Eileen, rear, Gail on R)back to my house for a full afternoon of beading.

these gals were F-A-S-T learners....they got the hang of crimping and opening/closing jump rings pronto.

and they had such good design sense...

the centerpiece for Eileens necklace was an old pin she found lying around her house. I put a bale on it and it became something to hang.

she emailed me to tell me she already wore it to a Bar Mitzvah this morning...and I'm sure she got lots of compliments !!

Gails piece turned out equally wonderful

Gail even had time to finish a second piece...

it was great for them because I opened up my entire stash of beads and let them play...no holds barred, so they came away with really upscale looking neckware !!

Eileen started a second piece but time ran out and she's going to try to finish it at home. I gave them the bead boards to take home and crimp beads and jump rings...and a partridge in a pear tree !

Happy, Happy friends !!!

I worked along with them...Eileen had another old pin that I converted

she and I laughed that we can share it when its done...one week it's yours, next I get visitation !!

*************

I haven't yet told you the full story about the weekend The Lenster and I went to the Sugarloaf juried craft show...

we were having a snack at the end of the day in the food court. We wound up sharing the table with a lovely couple. We got to talking...of course...! The gal, Lisa, was wearing a pretty soldered necklace which she told me she bought off ETSY. Once conversation led to another which eventually led to Lisa and me emailing back & forth once we got home....

and that brings me to the art part...

Lisa, it turns out, watercolors. I asked her to email some of her work. I took one of her womens faces, reduced it on a copier and made her a necklace...

I used Rangers Memory Frames & Glass and some stickles on the hair.  I added some little doo-dads on the frame and kept it very simple.

she wore it to work the next day to raves !!!

I told Lisa she ought to have her work done into jewelry and then sell it....I have a feeling she's looking into that !!!

 

It feels fabulous to do nice things for people...YES IT DOES !

 

lets take a ride

and off we go, 2 hrs north to the gorgeous NJ community of Mountain Lakes. This is a really beautiful area where many of the homes look a lot like this one below..and many have the Mountain Lake as a view from their rear deck.

It was there that I hooked up with my old friend Nancy Gall.

We go back over 20 years...back to the days when we both rubber stamped for fun ! This is Nancys house

and by the way...it's up for sale cause it's just waaaaaay too big for one person whose kids are grown and gone.

anyway.....

Nancy and I went for lunch at SoGo Japanese restaurant in Denville. I know...I know...do I ever eat anything else? Not if I can help it !! (Eel inside, Tuna outside, eel sauce, bonita flakes & roe....oh yum !)

Neat thing...daughter Jennifer works pretty close by so she dropped by to have lunch with us...

Jen had ordered the new iPads for us and they were delivered to her office just today...so...the extra added bonus was getting my new toy too !!

[for those who keep emailing or FBing and asking me....it's Black, 64 gig and has 3G..and right now, as we speak, it's charging !!!]

SoGo is a pretty cool looking restaurant. I especially loved the use of ball chain as dividers all over the seating areas..

the back dining room led to an outdor eating area..

and there were wonderful Asian touches everywhere

from there we made another stop....a divine store called "That Bead Place" on Main Street in Denville. Owner Kandy, helper Kia and Nancy.

What makes Kandys' shop so terrific is her pricing.

INCREDIBLE !!

and her vast selection

her helper Kia had a lot to be excited about...one of her bracelets was featured in...

Morale improved immediately...

especially when they let ME loose in there

done with the beads...back to Nancys..

Nancys twin daugters made these for her a while back..very fun

and Nancy made this one of herself..

Nancy has some fantastic antique storage units

and, because she LOVES anything French...

she acquired this huge, amazing Eiffel Tower which lights up and is on the 2nd floor landing of the house.

this is a collage Nancy did a while back for her girls at school

it was a GREAT day.

Nancy is also a jewelry maker. Her pieces are very different from what I make.Much more like old Channel..Here are examples...and tomorrow I will tell you all about them !!

 

gorgeous, huh !!!!

details to follow......

A burst of orange

My friend Angela Bannatyne, jewelry maker extraordinaire is participating in a blog give-a-way on Becky Higgins blog. Angela has designed special pieces for Beckys' Project Life

This is just one of Angelas creations

to see more of Angelas' beautiful work visit her ETSY shop.

and her BLOG.

*****************

a little further down on Beckys blog I found this super project that really caught my eye.

I'm not generally drawn to things that involve fake flowers (silk or otherwise.....sorry!), but I did have a few sprigs in the garage somewhere and something about this project just really appealed to me. I think it must have been how easy she made it look and that I had a little vase that could certainly use something special...!

and so...I began...I ran over to my local A.C. Moore just to get the styrofoam ball. The vase was already in my house....it came from Anthropologie a while back.

out came the glue gun and the flowers

the whole idea is to pull the flowers off the plastic stems and hot glue them to the ball

I eventually ran out of these little lanterns so I did go and buy something that worked with it

and I glued on some trim and now.....I am over the moon happy, excited with my finished project.

Thank you for the inspiration Becky and also to YOUR friend Megan who inspired you.

**********

and, in keeping with my urge to be creative today I thought I should do something outrageous with my nail color too.

Found this bottle of polish at a local shop

OK...it had BIG glitter particles in it...really different than other glitter polishes I've seen....had to have it...it's called "Lady Sings the Blues"

I had the nail girl apply it over one layer of black polish because it already had a black base to it....YES..I love it !!!!

********

well...off we go to make more jewelry for ETSY...two more pieces sold today and I only have 2 pieces left on there. Gotta get my tush in gear !

 

Sugarloaf

Spring is around the corner

so, every year at this time, The Lenster and I go to the Sugarloaf Juried Craft Show in Somerset, NJ.

This is a show that travels the east coast and features excellent artisans who bring their beautiful work to sell.

work of all kinds

one of my favorite companies is 'Wings' by Gil and Leigh Nelson from South Carolina. They make these amazing earrings that sit firmly on your ear by slipping on & sitting inside..no piercing or clipping on required.

I own one pair and today I bought another pair...similar to this one above.

Another amazing vendor was Victoria Tane

she makes what she calls 'upcycled jewelry'. These were originally 1960 pencil tops that she has fashioned with chandelier crystals into an amazing piece of jewelry. You can also go to FB and "like" her at Victoria Tane Studios.

Liz Tech had a gorgeous fall collection for sale and a stunning display ( more from her further down)

as did Susan Rodgers Designs

Here are some snaps from the hustle bustle of today

artist Robin McLaughlin from Stonecrop Beadworks created these

jewelry made from silverware

all sterling silver

I also loved the Incarnation Art by glass artists Veronica and David Bennett from Winston-Salem, N.C. who own Bennett Glass Art.

BRONZE bathroom fixtures...loved them !!

 

I had to stop and chat with Arlene Freed, from Bucks Cty, PA. the hand made necklace she was wearing was so fantastic...I'm sorry I didn't get a really up close and personel snap of it. Stering Silver and very intricate.

but here is an example of one of her mixed metals bracelets

and of course there were unusual Judaica items

DorLDor had wonderful Judaica jewelry

and of course there were booths with whimsical things

and plenty of food

candy IS an official food, right?

jams..jellies...

and more jewelry

and of course you could buy clothes too

and all types of art

sculpture

music CD's

stones

kids stuff

and, the best part...running into friends, like Teresa from Ranger

and, meeting up with Jen and Jared

and ending the day by just 'hangin' around' !!

(all pictures done on my iPhone 4 !!!!!)

well..that was our day folks...and it was great !

the Copper Caper

I must have been jumping out of my skin today after I took a class with Mary Jane Dodd at The Birds and the Beads in Marlboro, N.J.

We played with REAL COPPER. I had never done that before. I was a copper virgin.

We spent 3 1/2 hours with this darling gal learning how to cut it, pound it, liver of sulphur it, make rivets from crimp beads...I thought I'd lost my marbles..I was SOOO excited. And then I took it home and spent another few hours putting more finishing touches on it.

She taught us how to make our own ball tip using a torch and real silver. We also did it with copper. This alone was enough to send me to the outer atmosphere !!

Then we cut the copper and hammered it to give it all sorts of textures.

Then we had to flle all the edges

she demonstrated how to use Liver of Sulpher which turns the copper black.

then she showed how to neutralize it and and polish up the black piece.

I opted not to do that part. I was already using a piece of copper that had a lovely patina on the opposite side.

then we got instruction on how to make the holes (as above)

and how to use crimp beads to create rivits....this completely blew me away !!!!!

we learned how to bend the metal to the shape for the necklace

we did some wire wrapping, some hammering of the wire to flatten it....this was just a tremendous day of learning for me..

and soon the piece begins to take hold....

and after I finished it at home (and did a few modifications)

I added a great clasp that I bought a while back at a bead show....

and went to bed with a HUGE smile on my face !!!

I loved this class so much I already signed up for the earring class.....

who thought I'd retire and have nothing to do !!!!

Brandeis and the Bead

Most of my creative life has been spent teaching students who are into much of the same stuff I'm into. They sort of 'get it', so, its always an even bigger joy when you teach people who have no idea what they've gotten themselves into...they just sign up cause they know they'll have a fun day with you ! It's a compliment !

I belong to the Brandeis Womens club in my community and I've taught workshops for them before..

Today I had two great groups...all jewelry virgins !

you'll notice that ALL of them are wearing finished necklaces even though they'd never beaded, crimped or jumpringed a single thing before in their lives !!!

I decided they should have a focal charm so we used Ranger's Memory Frames and Memory Glass. I pre-cut a ton of 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 sized papers for them to choose from. I even cut up some wallpaper which turned out to be a very popular insert.

they all followed my direction beautifully and with very little assistance from me they made terrific individual pieces.

they were given very inexpenive beads to learn with yet every single one looked like a masterpiece.

They learned to crimp, open and close a jump ring...

they loved the wallpaper

the scrapbook paper

even the shelf liner

they learned the tools

and how to attach to chain

everyone worked on an individual beading board




but one of the nicest things for me personally was that 4 ladies bought some of MY handmade jewelry so I just removed those pieces from my ETSY site...

here two of my favs that went bye-bye

I had the BEST day !!! I think they did too !!!!