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.