I'm Gassy

Or Gas MASKY at least. :-D Chris, the 'lovely dude' (<--he liked being called that the other day on the blog) who I speak of on occasion here on the blog, turns a whopping 40 years old today. Seriously ancient. (just him, this doesn't apply to any other 40+ year olds) In honor of his getting older, I decided to paint the logo that he paints on EVERYYYYYTHING, his gas mask. :-D

I used OPI Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow as a base, with L.A Colors Striper in White (I didn't use the brush, just the polish). Topped everything off with Essie Matte About You.

On another note, my silicone nub finally fell off my f key, so now I have to press really hard. lol

Politician Raffles Off a Breast Augmentation to Raise Money!

No, this politician is not in the United States. Gustavo Rojas, who is campaigning to be an alternate in Venezuela's General Assembly is raffling off a boob job at $6 a ticket as a fundraising tool. He claims it's no different than raffling off a TV set.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) would disagree. This society (which I am a proud member of) has ruled that offering plastic surgery services as part of a promotion or raffle is unethical, since it trivializes the serious nature of plastic surgery and may influence people to undergo surgery they may not want or be a good candidate for. I can see the rationale behind this ethical rule, but don't necessarily agree with it.

That being said, there are radio stations which have raffled off free breast augmentations as their "Breast Christmas Ever" promotions using questionable non-ASPS surgeons. Is it really a "prize" to have one of these surgeons operate on you? Sounds more like a punishment to me!

Story source

Thanks for reading.

Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon

Anthony Youn, M.D.

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Steampunk at Fan-Expo Canada

Our Booth at Fan-Expo Canada

Quick Note about Fan - Expo Canada

This year i was invited as a special Sci-fi Guest at Fan-expo Canada and It was a fantastic experience beyond anything i could have expected . I really enjoyed to meet all the steampunk enthusiasts , meeting sci-fi writers and illustrators , it was so nice to see many people had already seen my work & how they appreciated to be able to see it in person. I was proud to be part of the The steampunk 101 panel in such great company , it was very informative and especially a lot of FUN with a few laugh here and there , we were also in great company at the meet and greet at the Royal Fairmont Hotel - Epic !!! . I'm Looking forward to the next meeting at the Steampunk Exhibition in 2011 or maybe before ! I cannot words how grateful i am for all the fans , the support and the organizers of this event . Special Thanks to The Steampunk toronto Society & Steampunk Canada .

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade CatherinetteRings.etsy.com

At the event i was sitting next to Tom Hodges : http://hodges-art.deviantart.com/ and i commissioned an awesome sketch of YODA .

I also had the pleasure to meet http://faebyl.deviantart.com/ and got myself 3 of her favorite pieces .

I got two large prints from From illustrator Echo Chernik and more ...

I will have many souvenirs in my studio to remember Fan-Expo Canada 2010 .

Coming soon...upcoming exhibitions

See me in Chicago in Wicker Park along Division St - September 11 & 12. I'll be set up selling jewelry... stop by to check out the latest!

My sketchbook is in the works. I plan to post photos as I near completion before it is mailed to the Brooklyn Art Library and goes on tour...

Put On Your Dancing Shoes: Meet the New Cast of DWTS

First Up ... The Women:

Audrina Patridge

Brandy

Bristol Palin

Florence Henderson

Jennifer Grey

Margaret Cho

And Now ... The Men:

David Hasselhoff

Kurt Warner

Kyle Massey

Michael Bolton

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino

Rick Fox

Getty

TEAPOT - 2

Second layer of washes - beginning to work on the handle, top. reflections, roses, lace.
You can see a light raw sienna wash on the lace, and a slight blue on the edge of the drape of the lace over the edge of the table.
Added more yellow to roses and began some shadowing of the roses.  In retrospect, wish I had NOT begun the shadows now.
I believe this is how it looked when I began the presentation to GCWS.

On the Beat with Ron Gardenhire

Sometimes the rain works against us. Sometimes the rain works for us. At Target Field in Minneapolis a few weeks ago, it poured before the game, which caused batting practice to be canceled.
Ordinarily, this would put a major crimp into our interviews. However, this time, it presented an opportunity to talk to Manager Ron Gardenhire in the dugout before his pre-game press conference.
I have always liked Gardy. Even White Sox fans would have to admit that Gardenhire is an excellent manager. He's also a funny guy. As usual, in our interviews for Global Traveler magazine, we talked to Gardenhire about travel. His answers were interesting and amusing.

Listen To Dan Lu's JOhn Doe Interview

Want to know what makes Daniel Lutheran so bouncy happy?

Listen to his interview on The John Doe Radio Show.

"Good times, good times."

Making a Splash

Since yesterday's nails were so, well...GREY, I thought today I'd make some colorful ones!! I tried a technique of using a crumpled paper towel to apply the colors other than the base color. I I think (if you squint) it looks sort of like the shadow on the bottom of a pool of the ripples on the surface of the water. Perfect for a day like today, which was absolutely gorgeous. (uncharacteristic for a Vegas summer- it never even hit 90°!)

I used Essie Turquoise & Caicos as a base, with Essie Mint Candy Apple, Essie Bone Chilling White, and Orly Bailamos sponged over it. I also used Orly Bailamos for the 'moon', then edged it with aqua colored crystals. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Tonight was the last night of bowling league *sad face*, but here is a picture of my team- we took 10th place (out of 18). GO TEAM (Our name was 'I Can't Believe It's Not Gutter') Gotta love that not just one, but TWO of my other bowling buddies chose ME to give bunny ears. What kind of crap is that?! :-P

Team 'I Can't Believe It's Not Gutter' (Alicia, Bill, Joanna, and Me)

Hopscotch

I remember loving hopscotch when I was a little girl. We played it on the school grounds. We would draw with chalk on the gravel pavement. You would toss a rock on a square and jump over that spot until you reached the end, being careful not to step on a line. My BFF and I played it all the time. I think I was the hopscotch queen!

Mondays

I love Mondays. No, seriously. Especially after a weekend of shows and running around and heat and craziness (it was 95 degrees when I left Marcy Field yesterday afternoon!!!!), it's nice to be able to just relax a bit, get organized and make a plan for the rest of the week.

Of course, then there's always Fridays, when I sit and panic at what I have not accomplished during the week...

But anyway. This Monday was particularly good. I decided to take a break from all of the custom orders and make something that I wanted to make! I started the flower for this piece a long, long time ago - pre-Colden - and it has been sitting in the top drawer of one of my bead cabinets since then.
















I was inspired by Laura McCabe's new book to add an embellished spiral rope to the piece, and then I found an old vintage button amongst my stash that works perfectly for a clasp! Since there are three loops on the back of the flower, I will also add a dangle of embellished spiral rope that hangs from the center. I worked the spiral rope with size 8 beads for the core, because I was a little nervous about breaking beads if I used size 11s. What I discovered is that the size 8 beads make the rope very, very loose - that's not necessarily a bad thing. And it worked up super-fast, too.

Today was also a good day because my new (to me) digital SLR camera in the mail today!!! I'm so excited - I can't use it until the batteries and charger arrive late this week or early next week, but it came with a MACRO LENS. A REAL macro lens! I am so excited about the prospect of being able to take good closeup shots of my beadwork - at last!!!!

It's very late right now - about 10:45 - and Colden JUST went to sleep. I am near exhaustion myself, but the question remains: do I go to sleep and try to get more than five hours of sleep before we have to get up and start running around tomorrow, or do I stay up for another two hours and try to get everything finished today that I was supposed to do?! Hmmm...

2010 Emmy Awards: Glamour Girls

These glamour girls look radiant and ravishing on the red carpet. Eva, Lea, January, and our other famous small-screen stars certainly made a big impression at the 2010 Emmy Awards.

Claire Danes

Lea Michele

January Jones

Jayma Mays

Eva Longoria

Keri Russell

Kyra Sedgwick

Brooke Burke

*Photos Courtesy: Getty Images

Has Serena Williams Had a Rhinoplasty?

Has tennis great Serena Williams had a rhinoplasty? According to the Daily Mail, Serena underwent surgery for damage from broken glass on July 15th. Did she have a rhinoplasty too?

According to these photos the answer may be yes. Her nose looks thinner and more sleek. The bridge of the nose looks like it may be built up, possibly by a silicone implant. She looks great, nose job or not.

Sports Illustrated recently named her the greatest female tennis player ever. I disagree with this. Steffi Graf is the best female tennis player in the Open era. Had Monica Seles not been stabbed by a crazed fan, she might be number 2. I loved her 'two-fisted' attack!

Thanks for reading.

Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon

Anthony Youn, M.D.

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Andrew Allen at San Clemente Park on Skateborder

To celebrate the newest issue of Skateboarder,

and the Vans Mediterranean vacation article

to the Greek island of Cyprus

with Pfanner, AVE, Olson, Allen and Sauder

Andrew Allen decided to stop by the office and shred.

Andrew Allen shreds the San Clemente Park from Skateboarder Magazine on Vimeo.

Pfanner on Cover of Austrian Magazine, Playboard

Check out Pfanner's newest cover of Playboard,

shot by Chris Maderer.

Get Out & DO Something Tour Starts Today

Vans Get Out and Do Something Tour kicks off today, 8/30 at the Vans store in Virginia Beach, VA with Ray Barbee and John Cardiel. Ray and the Mattson 2 will be performing live, followed by Cards spinning some of his favorite music. Vans will be giving away a Fender guitar, Element and Anti-Hero boards and more at each stop!

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly feature highlighting friends who have met celebs.

Back when I was a wee little Johngy, my favorite tv shows were Bozo's Circus and The Ray Rayner Show. These were the days before computerized cartoons beyond my then-imagination.
It was every kid's dream to play the Grand Prize Game on Bozo's Circus. Heck, it was every kid's dream just to be in the studio audience for the show. I never did either, by the way.
My nephew Matt did meet the clown himself though. This Friendly Encounter of the clown kind occurred at an event held by the Chicago Tribune.
Shortly after this meeting, Bozo saw his show moved, altered and eventually ended. It was a sad day in Chicago.
Matt, however, has gone on to bigger and better things. He is a part-time Production Manager for Johngy's Beat as well as General Manager for my Boone League fantasy baseball team.

Bozo and Matt Parker in Chicago, IL-Early 1990's.

Grey Matters

Recently, I was putting polishes away in my Helmer cabinets, and noticed how many greys I have. I don't know, there is something about greys that I really love, and today, I thought that I'd do a monochromatic nail design utilizing a few of them.

I used butter LONDON Billy No Mates as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the white stripe, Orly Mirror, Mirror for the miedium grey stripe, Essence Pointbreak for the darker grey stripe, and American Apparel Hassid for the thin black stripe. I topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

I was recently asked if I ever use a base coat, and the answer to that is YES! I always have. I guess I just never list it because it changes between a few. I have used Nubar, Essie, Seche, Seche Ridge-filling, Seche Natural, Barielle, and I think that might be it. Since I don't wear polish long enough to worry about chipping and tip wear, I don't feel right recommending a basecoat that might or might not be good, because I don't fully test their limits. I feel OK with mentioning the Seche Vite top coat because it makes my project possible, if I didn't have it, I would 99% of the time post pictures of lumpy smudged and dented nails. :-D Hope this answers any questions or concerns. :) If not, let me know, I'd be happy to answer you!

And the cross-stitch project I was working on a couple of weeks ago, I finally got back around to finishing the stitching. :) I got the pattern from Skull-a-Day–Day 258, it was designed by Noah Scalin.

Celebrity Rookie Cards:16th Edition

They aren't perfect, but they are my attempt at the world of virtual cards. They are the Celebrity Rookie Cards.

Just how long has Ozzy Osbourne been around? Also, would this be the only card to feature a real mug shot? Whatever the answers are, the result is a hockey card from the 60's with Oz wearing the sweater of the St. Louis Blues. Surprisingly, the picture actually fits in with the look of cards from that set.
Another hockey card features New York Jets coach Rex Ryan rocking the Flyers sweater. Why not the Rangers or Islanders? His father Buddy coached in Philly, but Rex never did. Either way, whatever his reason for donning the Flyers crest, it gets him a Celeb Rookie Card.

Oh, How Fon-dant!

Today was my friend Gelly's baby shower, and somehow, yet again, I managed to get everything done on time. I think that I thrive on last minute pressure, since it seems to be the only time I can really focus on a project and get things done. As I mentioned yesterday, I made the cake for the shower, and also my gift for her, which I finished at 1:07 p.m. today. (I had to be to the party at 3, which was 45 min away, in North Vegas, and I still hadn't gotten ready yet!) The cake was a hit, as was the gift (a hand-crocheted baby afghan in the colors she wanted for her nursery), plus I had fun eating and hanging out with the girls. Plus, as it happens, I am a master of baby shower games, which I find funny, since I know nothing of babies. (They come from the stork, right?) Today's nail design was based on the cake that I did for the shower, incorporating the multi-colored dots of the bottom tier, and the graphic flowers of the top tier.

The inspiration:

The nails:

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with OPI Parlez Vous OPI? for the purple, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Spring Green for the green, and Milani Teddy Bare for the brown. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

The afghan that I made as a gift:

Completely off-topic, but I need a new laptop (mine is 7 years old), or at the very least, a new keyboard for mine, as mine is missing the 'f' key, which makes it difficult to type, since there is just the silicone nub that goes under the key for me to press. One day. :-D

I'm off to clean up Hurricane Buttercream/Fondant in my kitchen, and Tropical Storm Yarn in my living room. Perhaps tomorrow I'll get to the sewing table/area.

HOW SWEET IT IS TO HAVE A JOB LIKE ME :)

2010 High Peaks Art & Antique Show

Well, the show was a little slow. A lot slow, actually. It started out as a gorgeous day as we were setting up - a little bit of wind gusting through Marcy Field, but I put up the back wall of my tent, and that took care of that. It was nice and cool, but as the day wore on and the sun came out, it got hot, and I was very glad for the shade under the tent and the cool grass on my feet when I kicked off my shoes around lunchtime.

Sales were just okay, but what was better was seeing all of my friends and customers from the last few years at the farmers' market. Since the Art & Antique show is held in the same place as the Keene Valley farmers' market, there were lots of friendly, familiar faces. I love that - my customers really know me, and some of them come to the market looking specifically for me.

One of the vendors is a husband and wife who are silversmiths and make and sell some incredibly gorgeous silver and gold jewelry. Lots of big, bold gemstones and beautiful Native American style work. I think the husband is actually Native American, but I can't be sure. Anyway, he came to admire my work this morning, and we chatted, since I'd only seen them once or twice this whole summer, and he mentioned that he had a couple of trays of cabochons for sale. On my way to grab a bite to eat, I took a peek at the trays - boy, oh boy. That was a mistake.
















This is what I wound up taking home with me. I was just in love with the cabs that had the druzy (crystals) in them, and the gorgeous green one in the upper right hand corner is actually a drilled bead! The big agate cab in the center is going to become the focal point for one killer necklace... I've got some beautiful agate beads that will match it perfectly!

Aaaaah, now to just find some time to bead them all up!

One of my customers today had emailed me a few days ago about the possibility of doing a jewelry party at her camp in New Russia in October, and she mentioned it again today when I saw her. If we can get it together, this will be my first home jewelry party! I was really excited about the idea - I may see about having a few of these over the winter. It would be a great excuse to get some people together, have some food and some wine and put out some of my new work...

And speaking of new work... I've been working on lots of new projects lately. I need to do some photos and some blogging about them, and then I need to actually finish them!

Usual Saturday

1. Hang out with the asians
2. Chill at the mall
3. Look at girls (even though we never talk to them)
4. Yo-yo
5. Eat junk food
6. Go to the movies

Seasons in the Sun

I am a bit of a scrapbooker. Well, really more of a photo-albumer. I always liked to get photos of anything in which I participated. Seriously, I think it comes from my need to feel I belong (somewhere). I have gotten several team photos of the various teams on with I played (even if only for a game).
Such is the case below with the vaunted Dogs of War softball squad. The Dogs have been together for about 20 years, although few original Dogs remain. I have been a member (of some sort) since 1997.
As players get older and lives get busier, the Dogs have expanded to about 25 players. At any given game, you might see any random 10 of us. Oh sure, it bends the roster rule a bit, but this isn't the major leagues.
As for me, I am happy to participate on any level. It's great fun. It's competitive, yet loose. It's intense, yet very calming. It's just a great summer tradition and a way to keep up (if even loosely) with some old friends.
There's long-time friend Jim Gekas in the black in the back row. Tony (from Empire Carpet ads fame), Ron (from last week's post) and Harry Comerford (one of the newer guys) round out that part of the back row. Frank Moy (long-time Dog), Pete Zundel and Jim Pellum (the rookie and nephew of Jim G.) are kneeling up front. Steve Stumpf (long-time Dog, slow-motion runner and avid Sox fan), me and OT Cano (Mr. Versatile) round out the right half of the back-ish row.
We don't have jerseys. We barely have bats. (Somewhere I found that hideous green hat, though.) Still, I am sure we all have smiles and good memories. I know I do!

The Dogs in Park Ridge, IL-Summer 2009.

Surfer Stripe

Today has been craaaaaazy. I've spent the entire day trying to finish my gift for my friend Gelly's baby shower tomorrow. (I've been working on the darn thing for 2 weeks), I'll post the picture tomorrow just in case she reads this post, I don't want to ruin the surprise! I've also been baking the cake for the shower tomorrow, and after I post this, I'm off to make some buttercream, and get the decoration party started. :-D I'm SO exhausted, I was up 'til 5 am working on the gift last night, and I've been goin' all day! lol I need a nap! Anyway, to the nails. A while back, I told you all about a brand called Island Girl, and did a post with their color changing polishes. Well, today I decided to use some of their regular polishes to make a design.

I used Essence The World's Coolest from the Surferama collection as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud on the tip end. Over Essence The World's Coolest, I used Island Girl Island Volcano (a glitter polish with iridescent glitter, and iridescent mylar flakes suspended in a sheer aqua base), and then I used Island Girl Hawaiian Magic to paint the stripes. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

More Heidi Montag- Steri Strips on Her Nose?

She just keeps looking for attention. Radaronline.com has posted several photos of Heidi Montag in Costa Rica, with her face looking oddly normal except for steri strips on her nose. According to a Life and Style press release:

"The last time I didn't wear tape after surgery and my nose changed shape," she explains. "The tape is supposed to keep the swelling down and hold my nose in place the way Dr. Ryan sculpted it. Dr. Ryan always said I was his best, most cautious patient, and I'm not taking any chances now that he's gone. I don't want my face to fall off like Michael Jackson's."

That's not quite true. Some surgeons place steri strips on the nose for months as a way to reduce swelling. I prefer to take them off at one week, because no one wants to walk around with tape on their nose if they can help it. Unless you're Heidi Montag, I suppose, and are looking for any attention you can get!

Thanks for reading.

Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon

Anthony Youn, M.D.

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