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before we even turn around it'll be 2013...remember when we were all sweatin' 2000....oy vey ! I'm sure you ask yourself ...where did those years go...I never got any older...did you ?? !!
Well...I'll be away from the computer till the 9th and then I'll be off for CHA so I figured with just another day to do some immediate mailing I should fill ETSY with some cute earrings !
All of these are available on MY ETSY SITE
and super afforable too !!
catch you all in a week !!
Once a month our womens group from Temple gets together and either has a discussion on a pre-selected topic or we rehearse for a special service we are going to lead or.....
in the month of December
we meet...as has been the yearly custom...at my house for the (pre or post) Hanukkah celebration.
and
there's food up the wazoo cause everyone brings a dish !
so...even tho Hanukkah is over...we lit the Menorah anyway
and we gathered to have the best fun ever...
I put out a huge bowl of fortune cookies (picked up at the local Chinese restaurant) and it was really REALLY funny when we opened them and read aloud
and then we set about doing our "project" for this month, (last year we made jewelry) which was to make cards for people in our Temple who are either sick, have a birthday or have lost a family member.
NOW...
Important...
these are NOT crafters...at all....I had everything pre cut and pre packaged for them and all they needed was a glue stick and some imagination and the rest was up to them...
I'm pretty damn proud of them...we made 35 cards using some cut paper and stick ons from K&Co. Found the stick ons at our Amazing Saving store for 99 cents a pack...that's a lotta stickers!!
The Lenster and I had the most unique and fascinating experience last night....amazing to say the very least !
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First...off to dinner with our friends Fred & Diana to a wonderful institution in the Bronx called Patricias...with a FAAAAABULOUS wine celler (1082 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY 10461)
romantic, classy and intimate
and....they offer wine for up to $7,000 a bottle...Ye Gads !!!
they even had an encaustic wax piece of art hanging..I totally thought of my friend Fanne when I saw this !!!
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then...on to the most marvelous adventure...
to stroll the spectacular grounds of the NY Botanical Gardens Enid A. Haupt Conservatory building that showcased more than 140 scaled iconic buildings and structures under thousands of twinkling lights.
The indoor display was artistically crafted by Paul Busse's team at Applied Imagination, and the landmarks were made of natural materials such as bark, twigs, stems, fruits, seeds, and pine cones and included the original Penn Station, Yankee Stadium, Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, The New York Public Library on 42nd Street, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
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When you entered the building you walked up stairs and were handed a glass of wine
you approached a replica of MACYS, 34th street done in a gorgeous basket setting
first you go through the rain forest
as you walked on....you saw....
The Brooklyn Bridge
Penn Station
now just remember...everything is made from twigs, branches, leaves, nuts....and...magnolia leaf roof shingles and radish seed marquee lights...I mean...REALLY !!!!
and the model trains zip by every few minutes on a quarter mile of track.
St. Patricks Cathedral
Yankee Stadium
The Conservatory Building
The Apollo Theater
The Guggenheim
the angels at Rockafeller Center
Advanced ticket sales are advised...it gets crowded. We went to an 'adults only' (no kids) time slot. Dont miss out...it's amazing !
Got a minute...visit my ETSY shop !!!
you might want to Make a Statement !
well...boo hoo...
Chanukah is so celebratory that you want it to go on, like, forever !!
On the fourth nite we celebrated outdoors with a huge gathering
Several syangogues got together to sing and light the huge Menorah. Rabbi Susman helped to lead the event.
and then a parade of about 20+ cars came through, honking and cheering and each of them had a "mobile menorah" on top !
have to admit..it was chilly out but it was pretty festive !!
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Tonight we lit the 7th candle.
Jared and I did the blessings together and we said extra prayers for the families in Connecticut.
Then we went to services where everyone brought their home menorahs
and I did the blessings again
Our choir director, Esther, played and we sang...sang...sang
Well...just one more night to go....
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This has been a fantastic week for my ETSY shop...practically as soon as I've made something it's sold...sometimes 3 or 4 in one day..I am so thrilled...so, if you haven't checked it out yet...please stop and shop
You can spell it however you like.....Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is celebrated Dec. 8-16, 2012.
On the Hebrew calendar, the dates are 25 Kislev to 2 Tevet and this year is 5773.
The story of Hanukkah is one of revolution and miracles:
It is an eight-day celebration.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C.E. during the Maccabean revolt against oppressive Greek rulers.
It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays and is celebrated by lighting a nine-branch candelabrum, commonly called a menorah. (Technically, the candelabrum for Hanukkah is called a hanukkiah to distinguish itself from the seven-branch menorah used in the Temple )
Just like other festive holidays, Christmas for example, we give gifts, mostly to the kids. We eat traditional Hanukkah foods like fried potato pancakes (latkes) and doughnuts (sufganiyot), and play with a spinning top (dreidel) that has four Hebrew letters on it.
The letters -- nun, gimel, hei, shin -- form an acronym for the message of Hanukkah: A great miracle happened there.
The Clubhouse, in our development, is decorated beautifully for Christmas and Hanukkah
In 2009 I did a YouTube video singing the Hanukkah blessings. Click Here to see it !! (No obligation)
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My Canadian friend Carmi Cimicata sent some of her designer friends a bezel and asked us to participate in a blog hop.
These are the two that she sent me from the new InstantGlam line by Brazilian jewelry designer Fernando Dasilva
I put the two together (altho we were not required to) and added a collage image. I filled the bezel with resin and used Platinum Stickles around the edge. Then I sprinkled on some of my old copper Zamora beads which stuck to the Stickles when they dried.
then, I went about the task of making a whole necklace out of it. The bezel had a perfect back for hanging...
I'm not sure Carmi expected us to go to these lengths but I can never help myself !!!
I'll never want to give this one up !!!!
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Speaking of never giving up...
A bunch of items sold this week on my ETSY site...I'm making more, but, you should go and check out what's there...like these beautiful pieces...one of a kind.
I ship as soon as the order comes thru....so...get busy!!
Several things sold while I was away in Caifornia so I've made a few new things to put up on ETSY. That always makes my heart happy !
Some inexpensive but delicious pewter earrings with sterling silver ear wires. How can you miss ?
The Happiness Heart $18.00
https://www.etsy.com/listing/117097145/the-happiness-heart
and this is what the back looks like
the second pair is called the Bird of Peace $15.00
https://www.etsy.com/listing/117098149/bird-of-peace
the front side has a lovely bird on a branch and the backside has the peace symbol
and then I've just listed this delicious necklace...simple but very different and...one of a kind.
Lady in Repose $26.50
https://www.etsy.com/listing/117116882/lady-in-repose
and the backside shows her lying down
You need to check out whatever still remains on the ETSY page cause I'll be adding each day.
The holidays are coming fast and I'll ship same day as I get the order.
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I want to make you all familiar with a very exciting stencil company. They are called Stencil Girl Products.
They have some of the coolest textures around and now they also have another new designer, my friend Wendy Aikin, who has added some of her original designs that are perfect for encaustic wax...... as well as anything else you like to use stencils for....like Ranger products.
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While I was out in Santa Cruz I went to the most unlikely place to see a fantastic encaustic wax art exhibit...Santa Cruz Fireplace on Soquel.
They used the entire store to display artwork from Daniella Woolf, Judy Stabile and Wendy Aikin...the owners of WaxWorksWest. Each of these artists has a completely different style and way of using wax....you will be amazed that everything I'm showing you below is done with wax.
now you know why I keep telling you to go out and take a class or two or three from these amazing gals!!!
Here...shameless plug !!!
Wax Works West
133 Hames Road
Corralitos, CA 95076-0502
831-786-9120
