~*Black & Whites*~ ~Update!!~ Vickie Enkoff passed on.

It was a GREAT week!
Spent several days around Manhattan with my DH and Lil sis.
Took her down to China town for the first time (her and I together for the first time) ... showed her Pearl Paint.
Brought her to Herald Square for the first time.
We walked to Madison and 23rd street... Spent a few hours at Barnes and Noble a couple of days and enjoyed several of the wholesale stores.
(My first time taking her in with me)
Then Fri. We hung out with Regina for the first time since Christmas!
That was fun.
We each made some jewelry.

Spent the day *reading* in the sunlight yesterday.
That was LOVELY!
The sky was SO blue and the day, although it was warm, was very windy.
I took many pictures to share, but will post them much later.

I am now packing up the B&Ws today.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I signed online today, and learned that V died a few days ago.
The news is heartbreaking really.
She was an awesome pal to all who knew her.
I knew her well a few years back, and we talked almost daily for a while.
She was a very supportive friend to me, and kept me smiling, and I know that I did the same for her. I will miss her, I do miss her.

If you would like to send some art work, Frida Khalo work was her favorite (they were both artists with a broken body yet brilliant mind) she created a Frida type shrine days before she died. Please send your art work to celebrate the passing of Vickie to her husband-
Grady Enkoff
P.O. Box 3695,
Fontana, CA 92334
Remember to let people know how much they mean to you, they come and go pretty fast!
Amber

~*Stardust*~

To celebrate the end of summer school (extra credit) for my li'l sis... DH and I took her to see Stardust.
Although the movie hadn't gotten such rave reviews, I myself LOVE the movie.
It was a fun fantasy movie, and I really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen as opposed to waiting for the DVD.
As an added bonus, a woman in the row below us, wore
Dior Addict Eau Fraiche
"Notes:
Mandarin, Jasmine Petal, Bergamot, Orange, Mandarin Leaf, Gardenia, Queen of the Night, Bulgarian Rose, Mysore, Sandalwood, White Musk.
Style:
Sensual. Soft. Feminine." -Sephora

It really matched the movie's visuals, and I suppose enhanced the experience.

Better than smellorama AKA smellovision.

Bob De Niro made me laugh a lot!

As usual though I was the only person who clapped and said "Yay" at the end of the film, then a lot of the others followed... Why are people so shy?

It is as if people need someone else to break the barrier of expression to make reacting out loud OK. Well, I am not complaining, I am just concerned.

DH didn't care for the movie because of the animal sacrifices (done old world style)... Reading entrails for answers to the witches questions. I too do not care for those scenes, however since I have done my share of dissections I was not as easily grossed out by the handling of innards.

Now, Stardust the movie is a colorful feast for the eyes, it is full of surprise moments and a few wonderful cameos that leave their mark despite the quick come and go.

If you like movies like Legend, Labyrinth, Willow, The Fifth Element, Shrek, The Prince and the Pauper and LOTR... you will probably like this movie.

The Trailers we saw included ~*Spiderwick*~... We are really looking forward to it.

A few other movies too.

We needed to start going out to the theater again. Just wish that it was not so expensive!



I got tagged by 3 people that I still need to catch up on- Sonji, Amy & Heather... I will get to it soon.
Thank you for thinking of me!!!

15 years ago

If you think the furniture he is making me is impressive, you should see what else he can do!

This was what he made for me 15 years ago for my birthday.

What a sweet gift!

P.S.1, Harry Potter, Flooding, expressive opinions

I will start with the flooding.
It rained a lot here Wednesday.
The basement filled up with water.
Many people LIVE in the basements in this area, and they were a sad sight to see.
I went out in the morning and saw cars that had been washed onto the sidewalks, Some cars were UNDER water.
One building a few blocks away, the basement garage was *full* of water. There was about 3-7 inches of clearance between the water and the top of the garage door.
So many people were standing outside in disbelief. It was a sad sight.
It was SO hot and humid too.
DH worked from home... I caught up on some much needed sleep.

I worked with polymer clay and had some fun pulling canes of flowers.

I used his computer with wireless this weekend and watched You Tube for the first time without having to wait 45 minutes for a 2 minute video clip!
I have to get wireless!!!

Well, we were out for most of the weekend.
Saturday we hopped on over to Forest Hills and spent a little while on Continental, then Austin.
Hung out with a shop keeper in a store we love, walked to Barnes and Noble to check out some mags, and flipped through some books.
Then took a tour through the gated community.
It was SO quiet that we could hear the flapping of *sparrows* wings, the munching of nuts being chewed by squirrels and the sound of flies buzzing here and there.
Earlier in the morning DH wanted to go to a farm, but I think FH is good enough because I did not want to *smell* a farm.

After a nice walk we headed back to the 'hood, and got some provisions from the market.

Sunday the CRAZY parade was outside this time it was another country celebrating it's life here.
Good gosh was it LOUD!
Very abusive.

DH wanted to go to the field to fly kites, but there was no real wind.
So we hopped a train to LIC and I figured there would be wind by the water.
It was SO quiet over there by the train yard, that he just took in a deep breath and thanked me for getting him out of the neighborhood.

We walked over to P.S.1 and it was our first time going inside.
It may be my last.
We were both more impressed with the building interior and exterior itself than with the art.
Some of the "art" was just AWFUL!
Too many people mistake the concept of expression with the form and purpose of art.
Yes, there IS a difference.

I must admit. My favorite's included some morbid lazy bones installment that I didn't even bother looking for the title of.
It was a HUGE black skeleton laying in a hammock that was braided with skulls and heads hanging.
NOW before you think I am nuts, I didn't see it as a dark and dismal piece. I actually saw it as if the bare bones in the hammock was representative of war taking a rest.
I liked it. And the braiding was cool.

There were a few wall pieces that made me smile.
I liked some of the DOTS.

Sadly though, much of what we saw was NOT art, but conceptual babble.

There were some VERY interesting black and white compositions painted in the stairwells which inspired me.

There were some serious fire hazards that DH was pointing out as we walked through the basement.

I was just not impressed with some of the ridiculous mind numbing garbage on display.
Dragging an electric guitar over grass and blasting the sound that it makes is NOT art.
It is noise pollution.
OK so I am a critic.


The food was overpriced, I didn't order any, there were FLIES all over the place.
The food DH ordered was supposed to be hot. It was barely lukewarm.
The staff was very sweet.

I had more fun walking through the factories and pawing through the dumpsters.
I didn't take anything, but saw some cool fabrics.

The graph yard was full of kids, and aero artists.
I still need to take some pics to show you my favorite pieces.

After that we walked to Queensborough Plaza, and then hopped a bus to Kaufman Astoria Studios.
It was a bit late so DH grabbed Star $'s
We went to see HP.
Figured we could rent the Borne U.

HP was too fast, but it was fun.

I never read a HP book, but the movies are pretty cool.

That's all for now, I want to get back to making stuff.

~*Black & White*~ Charm swap

This is a private swap that I hosted.
I will list names on the picture for you to see...

What a great day....

What color is your soul painted? Blue Your soul is painted the color blue, which embodies the characteristics of peace, patience, understanding, health, tranquility, protection, spiritual awareness, unity, harmony, calmness, coolness, confidence, dependability, loyalty, idealism and wisdom. Blue is the color of the element Water, and is symbolic of the ocean, sleep, twilight, and the sky. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

So, all in one day, out of the blue DH got a mid year raise Which we needed SO much!
Today I saw several old friends... That was really cool. I visited with a friend who I met when I was teaching polymer clay classes at the art store. We went to that art store to shop a bit, saw a bunch of old friends, who just happened to all be there (Some were students and customers shopping, and some were employees) It was pretty great timing!
It was SO cool to see all of the new products on the market.
Thanks Pilar!

So I bought some unusual pearls, felt glue, ombre ribbons, WHITE staz on ink, memory glass, chipboard letters, and wooden disks and a square paper puncher. All goodies to create items with to fill up my Etsy shop. NICE store sales.

So.....

I got the COLOR thing from reading Heather's blog.

Hi Heather!

Well, I have been dealing with the zine deadlines, and using my *new* printer to print inserts for issue #3.5.
AND I have been packing up swaps from charm swaps.

I will post pictures of the black and white swap this weekend!