SuzeBlogz

MADE LOCALLY

The Lenster and I went to a local art Fair today

it featured artists and craftspeople from all walks...jewelry, furniture, food, health...and it was held on a track field (indoors) at Monmouth University.

so, you got good excercise as you walked, stopped, walked some more,  visited with and talked to the various artists, and then walked even more !!

I was especially happy to see my friend Michelle Bernard

not only because she makes fantastic eclectic jewelry

at Yesterdays Trash Art

but she also makes the most wonderful fun art too

as does her mom Carol

and, as does another friend Linda Coppolino

but, one of the most incredible "finds" of the show..and I think a new friend...was Andrea Rosenfeld. Now this is a gal who makes magnificent HIGH END sculptural, playful and healing jewelry.

I could have stayed and talked with Andrea all day.

her approach to jewelry making was so wonderful to listen to.

Like I said....her end product is simply amazing

she uses only the finest silver, solder, beads, etc to create her amazing jewelry.

and she weaves wire ...which to me is just gorgeous...

Her pieces are all one of a kind, completely unique. She can be found on her website at Hot Rox Jewelry

but...If you are a shop that sells fine jewelry you can contact Andrea from the website link above regarding wholesale.

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another treasure at the show was Mirror Mirror

beautiful because of it's extreme clean lines and lovely simplicity...and she's on ETSY.

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Other fun things at the show included cakes..one shaped like a Chanel purse !!

Beeswax Candles from E & M

Original sculptures...which can be found at the Gallery in Ocean Grove.

Inlaid Furniture

Funny T-Shirts (look at how she uses the "peace" symbol !)

purses

and etc...etc....etc....etc

Very elegant, sterling silver, all hand made one of a kind from Leslie Eaton LLC

You KNOW we had a good time !

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In the meantime...I decided to make myself a little 'something" because I loved the vintage resin beads I got from Heather at The Beadin' Path

so.....using some of my own beads and a whole bunch of hers I made this...

which I LOOOOOOOOOVE...and is so me !!!

there's some new stuff on MY ETSY page too...so..go hop on over...

and the final word for the day is....

right on !!

so, what else is new?

There's nothing like a quick trip into NYC...especially for a bead show.

The Lenster and I like taking the train into the city, getting off at Penn Station. One of the interesting things in Penn Station are the walls...all with beautiful tiles

It was a nice day so we walked 12 short blocks to the show and, on the way, passed my old college alma mater "Fashion Institute of Technology" (FIT)

we saw a bride walking with her attendants

then we got to the show

after a bit of walking around together the Lenster went off into the streets of Manhattan while I shopped the rest of the show ! Believe me...neither of us was bored !!

I have to tell you...Vintage lucite and resin pieces were very popular....just say PLASTIC !!!

you do realize that after a while everything sorts of blends together and you get dizzy looking at so much

but, you certainly get inspired...!!

and these, believe it or not, are glass

OKAY..that was the day trip...

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following day my synagogue did a fund raiser at CHICOS clothing store. My Favorite !!

They opened 2 hours earlier just for our group and we shopped till we dropped....really, we did..

everyone had their own dressing room with their name on it...

we supplied coffee and goodies

we had a blast...all those giggling women asking each other "How do I look"??!!  Do you like this on me ??!! Does this make me look fat !!!!!

 

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speaking of fat....Our holiday of Passover is soon approaching (First night is Fri April 6) and we have all the best greasy foods that week.

Last night we went to a mock Seder...the ritual meal...for an adult ed presentation of what the objects on the Passover table mean. Our friend Rhoda opened her house up to everyone and served all the traditional foods from different parts of the world.

Today I'm off to a "retirement party" for The Lenster...Friday is his last day of work and he's ecstatic !

Of course I'll keep you all up to date on just how he stays busy !! LOL

 

the new stuff

I know a lot of you follow my travails on FaceBook, so you know that last week I spotted this table in our local Home Goods....

Oh My...I was doomed....

Had to have it...had NO idea where it would go, but just knew I had to have it...."Industrial Chic" I would call it, altho there's nothing 'chic' about it......The Lenster and I bantered back & forth over this piece of furniture the entire weekend...

being a typical man..."Where are we gonna put it"..."I think it's too big to go 'there'"...etc and so forth...oy vey !

Now, if you understand how Home Goods works then you know if you don't buy it when you see it...GONE !!!

we bantered....Monday came..The Lenster finally relented...I called Home Goods...they told me it was sold ! I was beside myself ...GONE...IT WAS GONE !!! Someone else had MY table.

Okay..it's a long stupid story..I won't bore you....

I called every Home Goods in New Jersey...no one had another one..But, the Lenster decided to give it one more try...he stopped back there...a little voice said....go back young man..go back....

Lo and behold..it wasn't sold at all (after all....who would want this weird looking table.... this is not your average persons taste !) ..they had moved it to another part of the store, no one knew and the girl who answered my phone call assumed it had been sold...

NEVER ASSUME.....

my wall (I took down what was there)....

the moving men

the new table

it doesn't take much to make me happy !

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Then we visited our friends Marilyn & Mort cause I really wanted a huge tree branch for a window treatment I'd seen in a garden center

Marilyn and Morts house is about 20 minutes from us. They have a gorgeous home

and their property is wonderful, deep woods, and full of flowers and unusual trees. Marilyn is very active in the horticultural society. Of course, not much is in bloom yet but..that didn't matter...

I wanted a large tree branch with 'character'..like these...

I have twigs & branches on lots of stuff around my eclectic house...for example...they make great headboards...

found this YEARS AGO at a Home Goods...yup..buy it when you see it !!

Bought this on a California trip many years ago..it is made in Thailand. I used my 3 magic words "DO YOU SHIP" !!!!

Pier 1

West Elm (the doll came from an antique shop)

Found this treasure in New Hope, PA.

yup..I like all that natural stuff...it better never go out of style or I'm in deep trouble.

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a monthly drop in to the local Anthropologie found me taking pix of these inspirational settings

the back.....

the front

and I love what stores are doing with glass jars & bottles these days

 

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Tomorrow I'll fill you in on this past weekend...gotta get my day going....

TTFN

and it all happens at once !

Some weeks just fly by when every day there is a new package at the front door....

On the 16th the new Ipad3 arrived and I was jumping for joy!

Next day a lovely box from Ranger arrived with all sorts of new goodies to play with

I am especially anxious to play -again- with the new patinas for Vintaj which are yummy gorgeous..I played with them at CHA.

not to mention that I am equally excited to get my hands on Dyans new Dylusions sprays for paper

then a package came from the waxy girls in California because they sell the new stencils from The Crafters Workshop...

More jumping for joy. You can order them here..

OK....next day, another box...from the one and only Susan Lenart Kazmer

now, how brilliant is this...a stencil that is made to fit all of her bezels so you will always get it right !!! And...gorgeous silk ribbons....just gorgeous, and a few of her bezels !

 

Okay...now I'm heaven bound..but..lo and behold..next day a box arrives is from the equally brilliant and generous queen of clay Lisa Pavelka

I mean where does a girl go from here !!! I'm over the moon !

I have wonderful, generous friends.

So...I felt perhaps I should treat myself to a few silly new goodies....for my iPhone...like the OlloClip camera. I ordered it online...it came in a box...to the door !!!

this is a way cool camera that attaches to your Iphone 4 or 4S and allows you to take wide angle, macro (yes..REAL macro) and fisheye. It just clips on to your phone.

Here's fisheye Bonnie, from Ranger,...in her office

I made a little stop at Ranger for 'lunch with the girls' and to see Linda Hahola who came down to help them with kitting up class supplies.

Linda, Terri and Alain...busy, busy, busy !

Lo and behold today the next box arrived...now THIS is quite a gadget...

YES...a remote control for your iPhone....so YOU can be in your picture...I mean seriously...I am tilting sideways... I'm so crazy!!!

But wait...why stop there...I got myself a little iPad gadget too. I'd seen it demonstrated and that sold me in a heartbeat...

iConvert® Scanner for iPad 

Seriously...I need an intervention !!!

There's more...like the tree branches I collected for a window treatment (more on that tomorrow!)

and the new table going into this open space...

yup...stay tuned for that one too....

 

There so much catching up to do.

U wouldn't want to miss any of it, would you?

 

evolve

so, it's just been busy as usual. The Lenster had an op for a trigger finger and yesterday the bandages came off and he's doing great...anxious, as ever, to hop back on the motorcycle....me? not so anxious !

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I had adorable company a few days ago, my close friend Gail brought her 4 year old granddaughter Abi over to make jewelry.

It's been many years since I had very young granddaughters (mine are teenagers now) so this was incredibly fun. Abi picked out the most sparkly beads and stung them herself. (of course I helped to finish it !!)

Then...we gave her a manicure and new bright blue polish. Typical girl....loved it !!

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In between all this we still have Mollie the cat in her ridiculous collar. On Monday we see the Vet about taking out the stitches. Oh..that should be a picnic !!! Mollie is a screamer, a hisser and a meanie !!

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I've added some stuff to ETSY that you might want to look at.

This is called SIXTEEN

The focal piece is made from Mylar Shimmer Sheetz & it comes with matching earrings

This one below is called EVERMINDFUL

and is a beautiful 8 inch bracelet.

I must be on a bracelet kick cause I did a few more

FANTASYLAND

This one is called ASSUME NOTHING

But, I can never stop making anything with crystals...that's like my 'go to' look...even with jeans...

GRANNYS ATTIC

 

This is the gorgeous DREAMY MOOD

If you like the Far East

CHINA BRONZE

And this one, CHINA SYNDROME, is totally unique and needs someone who likes a really different, chunky style with an authentique antique coin from China as the focal point. It is strung on a very interesting ball chain that is encased in a wire mesh.

and lastly comes the most recent

I got hooked on these "mood beads". If you touch them with warmed hands they change color and go from brown to green to purple/blue.

I'M IN THE MOOD

AND IT COMES WTH A BRACELET and EARRINGS.

tomorrow our day starts with a visit to a friends for brunch and a walk deep in her woods....I'll explain it all later !!

you'll just have to visit here again !

Bloomin' Wonderful !

Flowers don't worry about how the're going to bloom.  They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.  ~Jim Carrey

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and so it was today with a little trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show. It was attended by THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people. I've been to many a trade show...I have never seen crowds like this !! To get there you go through Phillys' Chinatown

The Lenster and I took our friend Jodi with us

The theme of the show was Hawaii

and they had little performance shows every hour

and you just walked amoung the beautiful displays.

How'd you like this for a wedding celebration dinner ??

My camera and I were having a grand time !!

and of course, in addition to the magnificent flowers and delicious smells there were many booths selling their wares, just like at a craft or gift show.

Now, because I know how much you love to "go shopping with me" I must tell you how OVERJOYED I was to finally meet someone whose work I have admired for ages...

Tori Mullan

Tori, with husband Jim Mullan, are the owners of MULLANIUM and are very well known and respected for their amazing songbird sculpture collection.

I had to own one...I've wanted one for ages and ages...an original Mullan....and we stopped to talk with Tori for a long time before The Lenster and I picked this one out to begin our very own collection. All of the pieces used on this are authentic antiques, each little piece with its own story,  and their craftmanship is just gorgeous.

everything they have in their collection, which includes jewelry and boxes, are all handmade with love and a great eye !! Their work is in over a 1,000 galleries, museum stores and speciality stores worldwide....and now at the Weinberg abode !

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The Lenster loved the red curly and bought some.

and I became enamored with this little antique suitcase filled with old dirty, dusty goodies and for a mere $50 got both it and everything in it. That's a mirror on the side of it (which is really the top) and I plan to hang it just as is !!

there were many really cool displays

and of course many more luscious flowers

 

well, you know me...I took 245 pictures so I thnk it's best I don't go on and on and on.....and on.....

TTFN !!!!

Still dreamin'

I find all these things inspiring...I store all my pix on a secondary hard drive so I never lose them...

Here's more of the street walking pix from California.

and.... all the pix were done with my iPhone..the 4S has a super camera.

How easy would this be...just find some old books and fold the pages

great use for twigs from your garden, yes?

a resin dress form

I remember from my childhood that I had a parakeet named "Poochie Bird" and she had this exact kind of cage. Hilarious !! Must remember to share this one with my brother Les.

These replicas are made of resin (below)

You just know that if he would have fit in my suitcase he'd have come home with me !! Maybe I could have bought him a seat on the plane...

DO YOU SHIP ?????

a Restoration Hardware bedroom

The Lenster is sending signals.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY !!

I always figure there's a corner, somewhere, in this house for one of more favorite finds !!

hope you enjoyed the shopping experience !!!

California Dreamin'

Shopping with friends....the best!

After the wedding hoopla ended, the next day The Lenster and I took off with Wendy & Judy to visit with the Queen of all things waxy -  Daniella Woolf (middle) and Kimmie.

and their dogs.....

****BIG ANNOUNCEMENT !!****

Daniella has a new book "The Encaustic Studio" which can be  ordered on Amazon.com and is geared for crafters who want to explore beeswax. I got to see the very first copy and it's wonderful... and.... comes with a DVD !

Daniellas art with wax is so interesting and so different

and you can learn all her tips and tricks....of which there are MANY... in her book.

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Then we were off to Los Gatos to visit a favorite shop of mine "Natural Expressions" a quilt and bead store.

Yum Yum.

The Lenster and Wendy are chained together !

and Judy likes it too!

after lunch and a quickie stop at the Apple store (I always need a tech fix !) we browsed in every single store on the street & then zipped back over to Capitola !!

(I can see my Portugal class friends drooling over these heads !!)

Now you know I can buy strange things...but I totally had to have this (below)....a solar powered hummingbird...I am going to hang it from the skylight in my upstairs craft room.

I figure it will make Mollie the cat nuts!!!!

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Oh...and...speaking of Mollie...many of you asked me how she's doing....well...she had a little surgery...YUCK!!

and she's channeling some outer planet...

But, quite honestly...she is doing just fine !!!

 

More inspiration pix tomorrow and a Mollie update...stay tuned !!

 

Woot....Woot !!!

Well..I hardly know where to start being that I've skipped a few days of blogging.

OK...lets just get this out of the way...

YES I ordered the new Ipad3 today...online! Can not wait!! My iPad2 is permanently attached to my rear end so U can easily imagine how I'll feel about my new 3 !!!  I'll alert the media on March 16th, when it arrives.

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This past weekend, as many of you know, we were out in California for my nieces wedding.

The night before, the grooms family took us all for sushi...OMG..I was a happy girl !

Next morning, with extra time to kill, The Lenster and I scooted over to The Monteray Bay Aquarium. I took these pix with my Iphone 4S...great camera.

then...zipped back to Aptos for the afternoon wedding...

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 we had magnificent weather so the outdoor wedding was really special

The Chuppah (Wedding canopy) was covered with my fathers Tallis, which is over 100 years old.

up onto the chairs they go

the wedding was so intimate, with just immediate family. The bride and groom will have a BIG party on their first anniversary.

Ali had both of her deceased grandmothers & one of Kens grandmothers special pieces of jewelry sewn into her bouquet. My moms brooch was on the stems

Pearl earrings were in the flowers

everyone danced the Hora !!!

All the ladies got purple pashminas as gifts

My brother Les (Ali's dad), who had JUST had 2 stents put in 2 days prior was lookin' and feeling great!!! P.S. I'M older !!!!

My sister in law Muffie is the MOST wonderful woman on the planet...she'd had a lot to cope with right up until the day of...

Ali will be undergoing some chemo next week...

God Bless all of them.

The wedding party and the cake were AMAZING. The party was catered by Jonathan Miller who was the chef to actress Charlize Theron for 4 years. The food was wonderful!

Ken and Ali are a magnificent couple...how much they adore one another...I know they'll have a gorgeous life together.

I love Muffies sisters Robin & Cindy too (& her brother Neil)...Cindy bought one of my necklaces...

but most of all I love my nephew Aaron who flew all the way over from Korea and had to fly all the way back the day after...

Aaron speaks, reads and writes fluent Korean and is studying over there. Even his IPhone is programmed in Korean !!!

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Day after the wedding....

WELL....that's a blog in itself....spent the day with Wendy and Judy from WaxWorksWest....Oh My...let's just say it involved a trip to a bead store

some antique shopping and more....

I'll save it for another blog...thats a promise...

but, meanwhile....if you live in CA and want to take a great waxy workshop this weekend

"Making Faces" with guest artist Charlie Levin (she's a girl!)

I would have flown back in a heartbeat for this one !!!

you dont have to know a single thing about painting a face...AMAZING !!

Heres Wax Works schedule

and go visit their page on FB

 

No Jet Lag allowed here

Bye Bye New Jersey and off to California we (The Lenster and I)
went...

Tomorrow is my niece Ali's wedding. Outdoors ! The weather here is goooooorgeous and sunny and warm !

When I come to northern CA I always try to stay with my dear, dear friends Wendy & Roger . Wendy of the famous WaxWorksWest studio in Corralitos. Wendy & Roger own a fabulous home in the same town as my brother, Aptos, but this weekend, in particular, my brothers house is jammed with relatives and friends.

Wendy has room!!!!

so, what are Wendy, Lenster and Roger looking at.....

from their deck...

The fish !!!

Wendy has some of the BIGGEST Koi I've ever seen.

Wendy also has some of the most wonderful, interesting and exciting art and collectibles in her house...

as many times as I've stayed here it never ceases to amaze me...

 

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Wendy and sister Judy have re-done the WaxWorks studio. It was terrific before, but now it just blows you away with all state of the art built ins...

 if it pertains to Encaustic wax and you want it, need it or just have to have it....it's for sale HERE !!!

and...they offer amazing classes with top artists....like check this out..the beginnings of a portrait and you dont have to know how to draw AT ALL.

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and then....we went over to the Pajaro Valley Arts Center to see the installation of this weeks Contemporary Encausic Works. OMG...it would blow you away...completely !!

Here are just some of the incredible pieces ALL DONE WITH ECAUSTIC WAX (sorry I dont have the artists credits...humble apologies to them)

(Roberta I recognized yours right away !!)

YES...WAX !!!!

totally makes you want to learn wax, doesn't it !!

 

So....think about signing up for one of their classes and go visit the Pajaro Valley Arts Center and get as excited as I get ....no matter how times I've seen it !!