Sale at etsy store for non glass items

So yah. I am doing a shameless plug. I need to clean out, de-clutter, and sell some of my scrap glass from glassblowing too. These are all my many crafts and ideas and things i have made over the years as a side source of income. I find it interesting when i see imitations. It really is flattering that someone else likes my idea so much that they market it too. I hope they make more money than i do.

Please visit the etsy store (see link in sidebar). I have a 20% off sale if you convo me. If you want me to list my scrap from glassblowing, just convo me. I have had fun blowing it, now is someone elses turn to use it for fusing or whatnot.

In the meantime, one of my many art projects may finally be coming to fruition. I will have a line of cat purses by the end of the summer up for sale there too. If i get a good response, I will offer other handmade purses.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Happy Fathers Day1

My dad is now enjoying his super jumbotron remote control. One that is big enough for his large hands to hit only one button (instead of three). I haven't heard him laugh that much in a long time. My sisters idea. Great idea too.

It's the little things.

Life is good.

Auctiva new Fee Structure

Auctiva has been free for a while. I recently ( literally a few days ago) got an email with proposed new fee structure (up to 35.00/mo ) and that it would be effective July 1. The fees also have a FVF and a transaction fee! There is a huge rant section in the auctiva boards about all this.

Vendio has come out with a welcome package for auctiva users and will be unveiling it soon.

In the meantime, I have moved my pictures to photobucket, and started making my own auction templates.

More news soon

Waffles in a Can!

Yes, it's true. My sister told me they made a pancake mix and sold it in a reddi whip type can. I didn't believe her, so she took me to the Whole Foods market (the only place here she can find it) and showed me the can in all its glory.

She was right, but at 7 bucks a can I was skeptical. I tried it anyway.

I LOVE it. The batter tastes a bit sweet to me, but the pancakes are great. Even better- I can make as many pancakes as I want by just squeezing the nozzle. Not too hungry? Make just one. Starving? Use the whole can. Needless to say, it went pretty quickly just from showing everyone how cool it was. I *think* it makes about 24 pancakes-i'll have to buy more to make sure!

And cleanup, what a snap! Just run the nozzle under the faucet, recap, and put back in the fridge. That's it. Then it's ready to go when you have your sister needing brain food for her college paper (that you are proofreading) or you get home early (or late) and need a snack.

Pretty nifty I think.

Helping my sis out

So my sister is trying to destash all her anime, clothes that don't fit, and her JE merchandise. She is getting ready to move long distance again (like when she went to Japan) and needs to pare down for this move. She is also trying to raise some funds for school this summer. We are proud of her efforts (the little over achiever), and are all trying to pitch in to help where we can. She has Japanese books and english books, Japanese pop star boy band merchandise (JE) and clothes and random stuff.

here

Thanks!

Cat Toys

I spend a fortune on cat toys and stuff for my two furkids. My girls are spoilt rotten. Yes, really. I have a twin bed and they take up half of it. They only weigh 5 lbs each. My weenie cats walk all over me.

And they still love the simplest toys: strings, paper bags, balls, and plastic bags.

One of my girls loves to hop in the plastic shopping bag to get a ride. We call it "Going wheeee!". She hops in, I slowly pick it up, and carry her around. Give her a little nudge type swing. Her whiskers are all forward and her eyes are bright like she is ready to pounce a bird. I don't do it much anymore- i dont have the strength.

They also fight over feathers and strings. I have to call their names and make them take turns. Usually it works.

And my little furkids LOVE to mangle paper bags. They hop in and out, pounce on them, attack them, and literally dragrace into them and slide them across the floor. My little one also llikes to take her paws and hit the bottom of the bag on its side and "walk" the paper bag. It literally looks like the bag is waddling slowly across the floor. Helps to have a bare floor.

And they sleep so well after playing too! It's like taking kids to the playground.

I just make sure I put everything up afterwords. Don't want any curious kitties injesting anything.

Now i have to get locks for all my inside doors and somehow, my armoire. They have learned to open plastic storage drawers, bifold doors, and regular doors. Not that they have the height to do it, they are just too darn inquisitive. And their legs are half the length of a normal cat's legs! Munchkin kitties. and boy do they make up for it too. You would think there were two of each of them the energy they have. I have to keep them off of high places and keep them from jumping up on everything. Counters, storage cabinets (7 ft high i might add)- nothing is off limits to them, even when I say it is.

I just hope they dont figure out the latch and zippers on my purse!

Endometriosis and doctor rant

Endometriosis sucks.

Chronic pain sucks.

I am the wuss of the family.

I have family members with 5th degree belts -fighting and teaching. I have family members with broken backs that have been fused, and re broken- someone that wasn't supposed to walk. They refuse a second surgery, and don't take pain meds for it. I have family with lupus that went into remission. All immediate family.

And here I am pouring out my wussy misery. Wishing I could overcome my pain barrier and live a full life. I was told my chronic pain was all in my head. I pushed for the laparoscopy from my OB/GYN. They found endo, adhesions longer than my finver and polyps. Benign thank goodness. Now after only a week and a half of sweet relief, two months later- I am in enough pain that i can't even sit up long enough to watch a movie at the theater, I can't vacuum (not that I miss vacuuming, I just like a clean house...lol), I can't exert myself. I have to lay down all the time.

This frustrates me on many levels.

I used to walk faster than most people jog. I am used to a fast paced catwalk stride, not to the invisibly fettered small- stepped shuffle I now use.

I am used to filling my day with crafting glass, chainmaille, screenprinting, clayworking- anything to get my hands on and into to release the energy i have.

No more; I am lucky to be able to walk down the street to the mailbox and back. To do daily mundane tasks, like a load of laundry or taking the clean dishes out of the dishwasher. To make it through the doctor's visit without embarrassing myself because of the pain.

My confidence in my self and in my practitioners is dwindling as my pain increases again. I don't want to live my life laying down to curb the pain. I want to be able to do what I did before; I want to live life to the fullest and be happy.

My doctors say i shouldnt have any more pain because they got it all. If I am still in this much pain, I wonder. Especially after them saying there was nothing wrong in the first place and it was all in my head, and then they found all that during surgery. How do you trust them after that?

My specialist says I may be on pain pills forever. WHAT? I think not. I don't like pain pills. I react differently than most people do to medications, and pain pills are no different. And I don't want to risk becoming addicted either. The whole point is to get me back to where I can handle things. Back to me.

Now they want to put me on Lupron and basically put me into menopause at 33 years of age. I am desperate to be pain free, but I worry at what cost? I have never had luck with birth control pills- the mood swings from them killed a relationship I had. I went from laid back to witch from hades, with almost all the different brands too. So this lends to my qualms about taking this Lupron. And then, if it doesn't work? Makes me worse?

My head spins with worry about my family and bills while I am on TDI. I can't live like this. I refuse to accept this as my lot in life. I WILL be able to do the things I love and miss. I WILL be able to go out with friends and family. I WILL get my life back. Somehow. I WILL NOT CRY.

To anyone else out there with chronic pain or endometriosis or both. There is hope. With a GOOD doctor, and with support. I have scoured the internet to supplement what my doctor didn't tell me. Armed with this, I hope the specialist I just started seeing will prove agressive, empathetic, and, well a good doctor. If not, back to the drawing board and an online search to find someone that IS.
NEVER give up.

Hand pulled cane and stuff

So I will be selling my scrap glass online. I hope someone else can enjoy some of my pieces and help me recycle it so it doesn't go to the landfill. There is only so much I will be able to use myself when I start fusing and blowing again.

I also have alot of hand pulled cane in colors. White and a nice spring green that reduces, orange, light blue transparent, some with a little dichroic ribbon. Some latticino and twisties.
The twisties I like because they look like the inside of the old cats eye marbles. Remember them? Yah, I'm old, and an old soul too. :P
My twisties and rods are bigger than lampworking rods (or cane to some- i use them interchangeably)mostly pinky size and bigger. I cut them into 16 and 23 inch lengths for storage. I also have some stringers made from that. Flat like noodles too. Mostly amber. And I love the horns too. I think those are the neatest thing.

Now I need to learn to make complex latticino and murrini and milli. And get money for more glass to make stuff with.

And get well. What incentives!

Always looking for a deal

Yep, I love to shop. Especially for glass. My COE of choice is 96. To be honest, it dosn't offer the wide range of colors and neat do dads that 33 or 104 does, but it's great for casting and blowing. I will be learning to fuse when I get well, and will be using 96 coe for that too.

To be honest, I have always been drawn to the other COEs, mainly for their color pallette and neat colors available. For example, I LOVE the silvered glass I see posted everywhere by various retailers. It makes me want to drool. I know, not a pretty visual, but really - If I had those colors in my COE I would be a happy camper. Someday, I will cross the COE battlefield and delve into silvered glass and boro glass and all the treatments and do hickeys I can sample.

Until that day when I have unlimited income, I will satisfy myself with the dreams of the future.

New Ebay type venue

So I found a new site to sell stuff, and I think it is going to take off in the next year or two. I like the way it's set up so far, and below is a general setup and link.

So I have had a while to play with Wigix, an ebay type model that has split fees for the buyer and seller (usually only 1.50 each up to 100.00, then the seller pays an additional 2% for sold items up to 1k, etc.), with nice features like getting paid a commission for making pages for items (like pre-loading info).

They call it "Contribute" a page, and it earns you 5% of the item revenue (ad revenue and transaction fees)! All you do is populate the fields in your spare time and wait about 3 days for your page(s) to be approved. You also have options of buying and selling these pages if you do not want to wait for a listing.

To submit a page:
Items must be un-submitted, generic in description, have professional photos (don't let the cat get in the camera lens...lol) and be something that is identifiable.

For example a Craftsman Phillips Screwdriver, not old screwdriver lot. Items are either vintage / collectible with proven authenticity (i.e. Fenton Hobnail Bell FAGCA Limited Edition 1985), or new (i.e.30" Zenith Flat Screen with DVD Combo).

Great for the people with websites already- just use your info.

If you can't post any of my links to the right, I always try to put them in the post too.

http://tinyurl.com/d4apvz

Hope this helps everyone.

Molding and Casting

So I am making a ton of molds for casting and slumping right now. The pieces will be between 6" x 6" and 10" x 10" tiles and one full body (well half body). I even enlisted some help on the larger one.

This has been a great learning experience for me, and I have enjoyed every back-breaking minute!

I hope to cast everything in the near future after I have finished making all the molds and they are dry and ready.

The larger mold weighs about 75 lbs right now, so it takes a while to dry properly, while the smaller 12 inch molds should be dry in a matter of a few days with all the humidity here.

Patience, I keep telling myself. I can't wait to start, and I hope my efforts are not all for naught. We shall see. Pics soon.

I will try to put a tutorial up later for those interested.

Whimseys

So whimseys are fun to make sometimes just to see what you get. I like to see where the glass leads me.

But a few times you see your finished product you scratch your head and wonder WHAT was I thinking?!

Sometimes you name it something you think resonates with you or an apt descriptive name, and the customers think it is something totally different.

Art is wonderfully subjective, and it never ceases to amaze me the creativity and connective processes that the customers have. I guess I am too focused sometimes.

Happy Easter!

Hope those that celebrate are enjoying the time spent with family and friends in the spirit.

The "EB" will be leaving eggs for everyone here soon, cats included :P.

Surgery Sucks but cookies are good, mkay?

You would think I wasn't such a wuss. I am. I freely admit it. Just a few small procedures that I went under general anesthesia for, nothing major I thought.

When I came to, I heard the nursing staff talking about Girl Scout cookies one of them had for sale. Yep, I bought two boxes right there, while still under the influence of the anesthesia. Sadly, they didn't have the chocolate covered shortbread cookies , or I would have bought a case for my extended family and I to split. So I got to go home holding my prized cookies not too long after. Just the thought of them made me want to get over the next few days so I could eat solid food.

I realize now just how out of shape I am, despite my petite figure. I couldn't even walk to the mail box down the street without pain. Such a wuss. it's a shame, really. I should be running and jumping imitating Eddie Izzard. I am working on it though. I was told it could be two months. Sigh.

So, if you ever go in to surgery, get the good stuff, and hope there is a bake sale of some sort to gleefully depart you from more of your hard earned money.

Some days its just not worth gettin outta bed

Ever had one of those days that doesn't start off right and ends worse?

I fell out of bed, went to get up, hit my head on the bedside and knocked myself silly, and then at the same instant one of my cats tried to jump on my shoulders and missed. Ow. I shoulda stayed in bed after that.

That was the beginning. And, no, I wasn't drunk or hung over or anything.

The fridge side froze my Pepsi (yep one can exploded all over in there, nice) on one part of the fridge, someone ate my bacon and some fatso *me* drank all the chocolate milk and forgot to buy more.

I plopped down in front of the TV, turned on the VCR, then the TV. Nothing. VCR was fine. I hit the power on the TV again. Nothing. I unplugged and plugged the TV . STILL nothing. Fiddled with it until I realized I was late for work.

Stuck in traffic. Saw that my recently filled tank was half full, and remembered sis borrowed the car. Three of the nine girls I work with called in sick, and I wasn't feeling too hot myself. So of course, we were slammed at the dr.s office. Tripped on the stairs and strained my ankle pretty good too.

Got home. Lane construction delay of almost an hour. My mailman gave me an empty flat rate envelope in pieces in a plastic bag with their "sorry this doesnt happen often" blip. Hoped it wasn't glass or something I had sent out.
One of the cats had thrown up on my nice freshly laundered bedding. Fiddled with the TV to no avail. Hoped I could download wrestling on my laptop. Tried to clean, got sick. Decided to try to go to bed.

Stepmom asked for brownies. Eggs froze too. Made them. Got them a tad too gooey. Oh well. Went to bed, went back downstairs to get the bedding out of the dryer. They were still damp. Hit my head. Again. Remembered I needed to eat. Exploded some beefaroni in the microwave. Ate what was left. Cleaned up and tried to fix my bed while the cats jumped on it and me wanting to play. Played with the furkids, then had to mediate while they fought over sleeping spots. Glad it wasn't a bad day.

Wanted: Even Latticino cane

So I can't pull cane. I suck at it and can't pull a good 20 foot cane that looks good. You know, all one thickness and not too many parts where I twisted it too fast or slow.

I know I need depth perception, more muscles, and practice (and someone to make it for me :P).I guess I am too lazy or impatient.

*looks for the Latticino Cane Fairy Wand*

Shrimp Shacks or Lunch Wagons, Oh to decide!

Oh yah, can you tell I like food? Not that you would be able to tell by looking at me. I digress though, and would return to the numerous shrimp shacks here.

Also called lunch wagons, busses, whatever, these places can serve up some awesome food if you are brave enough to step up and take the challange. I know I was initially intimidated by buying food from a parked old gutted handicap bus graffitied with signatures on the side of the road. Oh but how quickly I changed my tune!

I went over to the North Shore and happend upon such a place. I was hungry, had passed a half dozen of these places already and shrimp sounded oh-so-good.

For about $12.00 I got a bunch of garlic shrimp on a bed of rice and some shredded bunny food. I gave the bunny food to the sparrows and family of hen and chicks begging close by, and cautiously took a bite.

Ohh that was soo good! I downed the rest in literally 8 minutes, and ordered a plate to go and read the graffiti on the side of the wagon while I waited.

The wagon itself had just been repainted to host a new wall of signatures and "I was here" blurbs. There were about 4 picnic tables with umbrellas and on the opposite side of the wagon, and a stand alone laundry sink in case you needed it after eating. There was a small gas station and sugar cane place within walking distance, and random chickens were dotting the landscape.

Since then, I have finally made a decent rendition of that wonderful shrimp, and no longer have to drive across the island for it.

But if you are here on Oahu, check ALL the lunchwagons out; they have a wide and varied menu that is sure to please. Thier prices are also easy on the pocket book for the portions too. I have had anything from Loco Moco style to Adobo Chicken to Manupua to Katsu, and the all time favorite here, shave ice.

My advice; look for the long lines!

Volcano Paperweight

This little beauty is over 3.5 inches high, and a blast for me to look at. It looks like a cross between molten lava coursing down a hill and a lava lamp swirling. Not too shabby.

I love online shopping

Really, I do. I just don't like having to pay shipping to here in Hawaii. It's usually half to almost as much as the price of the item.
I learned that asking for flat rate box USPS shipping from retailers is a good thing.
I also learned that I can shop online and get an average of 1-8% back if I use a rebate site to click through first (see my links). That saves me a lot. Especially when I buy at Kohl's, or non glass places.

Sign up, find and click on the store, buy stuff, rebate posted in a week or so and available for deposit in 2 months (ie March purchases deposited in May, etc). Simple enough for me. And if someone signs up below you, you get a little kickback too, nifty!

Now, If only the glass places I buy from will get on the wagon too!

Soon's Kal Bi Drive Inn

This nice little dive is located on cross streets Ala Lilikoi and Salt Lake in Honolulu. What a great place it is! When I first moved here, I LIVED there. Literally, every day. I was told by friends I would turn into Kal Bi (Kahl Bee) soon, and for a while, they all knew me at the joint and would start to enter my usual order (2 orders Kal Bi all rice to go) as soon as they saw me. It's the little things like that that endeared me to them, and keep me going back.

The joint itself is, well a joint. There is a smattering of tables (outside only), usually for 2 people, and always a line of people sitting and standing for orders. There is some good food to be had here from Meat Jun to Mandoo. Sadly, I am too much of a wuss for the Kim Chee (or Kimchi depending). It never goes to waste though *wink*.

Decent portions for a decent price (I paid under $20.00 for my usual haul, and tipped the people there a little too). I got a bed of rice, with a small 3 inch square foil wrapped kimchee and about 4 or 5 slabs of lean Kal Bi in each take out tray. My mouth is watering just thinking of them now.

By all means, if you are ever in central Honolulu, check them out.

Mirrored Paperweight

So, this little guy almost got chucked. The swirlies were decent, and the size was large. I Thought it got checked in the annealer the next day, but upon closer inspection, I wonder if that is some of the mirrored stuff in there. It's staying on my shelf for a while regardless while I just look at it.

Welcome!

Let me introduce myself!

I am a 33 year old currently living in Hawaii with my two cats (my furkids). I enjoy crafting in all its forms, from crochet to chainmaille to, of course, glassblowing.

Here you will see some work in progress, frustrations (when the glass just doesn't want to behave), links to places I love, and daily life for me.