New Beads in the Shop

I got my shop stocked up with more beads last night.  Go take a look to see more pics!

New nuggets with sparkly gold cores

Etched nuggets (with sparkly cores...easier to see that gold in person than in the photographs)

Some lovely merlot nuggets made with aventurine cores and encased in rubino oro.

Some shiny, metallic beads that turn from blue to gold mirrors, depending on the viewing angle

Turquoise beads drizzled in silvered ivory wisps

More silvered ivory on deep, transparent blue and etched for that great matte finish

Viola's Charms are a wonderful lavender and are decorated in scrolls of gold aventurine.

These raku eggs aren't new, but they are lonely.  Sniff.

Beads Galore - the Loot!

Here are some of the beads I bought.  I'm not showing all of them because I want to keep some surprises to myself for awhile.  :)

Aren't these cool?  They are Ivory Magnesite.  I'm still questioning the name....how come something so brightly turquoise be called ivory?

These Actinolite stone beads came from Afghanistan!

And who has seen agate look like this??  This is called Etched Agate.

Gratuitous Little Horse post

Mellisa at Chinook Designs asked for it, although I've gotten plenty of interest about Dylan from many others.  He is a Great Pyrenees, but might as well be a little horse because he is so big.  Or at night, we gnash our teeth lovingly call him Weeping Pony as he cries, whines and barks.  All night long.  The first two months found us working through major anxiety issues with Dylan.  And we pretty much conquered all of them, with the exception of lying quietly in his crate at night and sleeping.  I could cry and whine to you for an inordinate amount of time about this, but I will refrain.  I will share the fun stories and cool pics of my big, sweet boy.

This boy only weighs 76 lbs (he has gained almost ten pounds in the two months we have had him with us), although he is so furry that most people guess he is a solid 115 lbs.  If Dylan stands up on his hind feet, he is eye level with me or a little taller and I am 5'3.

I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard this boy bark during the day, which is surprising because Great Pyrenees are known for their barking.  We are thankful he is not a barker (our boxer Maggie is a loud and frequent barker).  When he has barked during the day, it is a very low, loud bark (as opposed to night in his crate, when it is a high-pitched, non-stop barking that would make you think his skin is being peeled off slowly by his volume and pitch).  If Dylan is out in the backyard (90% of the day) and he hears Maggie barking, he will quickly come inside as her wingman to see what is going on and if she needs back-up.

This boy LOVES the cold.  He can't get enough of it.  Dylan likes to sleep out on the back porch on the cement patio or under our cypress trees in the shade.  He will bump noses with our cat Henry, but never tries to chase him (or our other cat, who still isn't used to dogs after living with Maggie for seven years.  Abbie is slow to embrace change).

When it snowed this winter, Dylan loved going for walks in it.

And tearing around the backyard like a wild thing!

Little Horse enjoys going to one of our local dog parks to sniff the other dogs and run like the wind between all the trees with either my seven year old boy child or me.

But what he LOVES the most is to go on walks.  Every night.  I will kick open the flap of the pet door and call his name.  By the time I get my coat on and scarf wrapped around my neck, he is inside and sitting patiently for me to put on his leash.  Sometimes he is so overcome with excitement, he will raise up on his hind legs and do a half turn while looking me in the eye.  I swear he is grinning!  Dylan doesn't jump on me.  Ever.  (Or anyone else, for that matter.)  And then he sits back down and patiently waits.  He is funny on walks.  Because as much as he loves them, he can never seem to wake up.

Dylan is constantly yawning while we walk!

Dylan is one of the most laid back boys (ahem. aside from his nocturnal antics) and is wonderful with our kids.  He ignores the cats.  Doesn't bark at the mail lady or UPS truck.  He walks nicely by my side on our nightly 2-3 mile walks.  He sits when I ask him to do so.  

However, he does have a sense of mischief in him, which is probably a combination of boredom and his age (he's a teenager at a year and a couple months).  

Dylan.

Is.

A.

Thief.

He steals the kids toys when their bedroom doors are left open.  Or if they didn't put all of their possessions away in the family room, he will grab one (or all) of those to take to the backyard.  Dylan has been known to pull books off their bookshelves and either read them or eat them, depending upon the topic (he liked reading the story of Nubs, who was a German Shepherd rescued by one of our Marines overseas in the Middle East, but thought Chloe's book on letters was too tasty to just read).  He has also pulled the kids' artwork off the refrigerator or counters to decorate the backyard to his liking.

You can see from this collage, he liked my winter hat crocheted by my good friend Wendy (she occasionally joins me in my studio on my second torch).  Dylan dreams of becoming a Firefighter.  He likes pulling things from our recycling bucket, like the cheese container or empty bag of chips.  He likes stuffed animals and markers.  And little girls' Valentine's cups.  

Dylan is still at the trainer's facility to help work through his anxiety and crate issues (which I think is going to be a major FAIL and sadly, a big waste of money). I know that in time, he will become calm at night and lose his anxieties as he learns we are a constant home and family for him.

I miss him.  I miss his presence and knowing that if I walk into the kitchen during the day I will see him on the back porch or under the trees.  I'm looking forward to bringing my Little Horse back home.  I have missed our nightly walks. 

I can't wait to bring him home tomorrow.

Updated at 9:20pm - 3.23.10 Dylan just turned a major corner and is now taking treats and food from the trainer.  Massive progress going forward.  The trainer asked to keep him another week to continue working with Dylan and make the progress we had expected within the original two week time frame.  As much as I miss him and can't wait to see him, we decided to continue the training.  Yay and sigh.

Beads Galore!

While I was on vacation last week in Arizona, I visited Beads Galore in Tempe.  It is an incredible bead store chock full of just about every type of bead.  In the past, I have been known to go a little bit nuts and blow my Rainy Day savings account (ok, more than that) on multiple visits in less than a week.  But this time, I had promised myself I wouldn't be buying beads.  

I just wanted to go to get some hook & eye clasps for leather cord.  When I found them, I was blown away by the price of silver since the last time I purchased any.  CRAZY PRICES!  I turned on my heel and was headed for the door, bound and determined to stick to my promise that I wouldn't buy any beads.  I still have beads from LAST year that I bought at Beads Galore that I haven't even pulled out of their baggies.  Sniff.  Those poor, unloved beads.  But my mom-in-law was still looking at chains and clasps, so I lingered.  

While I lingered, I found some really cool beads.  I know my friend Keirsten has been wanting to get some new bone beads and I looked with the intention of finding a cool strand for her.  But I just couldn't do it.  They creeped me out.  Sigh.  They looked like miniature vertebrae to me and then I started thinking about what kind of creatures the bones came from.  Squirrels?  Raccoons?  Yaks?  I don't know, but whatever they came from they creeped me out.  I'm sorry I failed you, Keirsten.

I did end up buying several strands of new beads, but don't shake your finger at me just yet.  I didn't spend a fortune.  At least not a large fortune.  And.  They're not for me.  Some will be gifts and some will make for a giveaway on my blog later this week or next (depending on the weather. rain doesn't help me get outside to take bead pics!).

They had a long row of copper bead strands that caught my attention.  Ooooh, shiny.  But I passed on by after I snapped this picture.  I already have a bunch of copper.  I really need to use up more of my bead supplies before I start thinking about buying more beads.  Snort.  Kinda like what I tell myself about glass supplies, but then a wonderful sale came along last week and I ordered 10+ pounds of glass.  So much for holding off for another two months on buying glass!  Where were we?  Copper!  Beads Galore has everything so well organized, hanging nicely in strands with prices and beads all clearly marked.  And so much of it is shiny!  So easy to get lost in there.

Besides a wall of Czech glass beads organized by color, they had aisles and aisles of beads organized by type of stone.  This store appeals to my obsessive compulsive need for organization by color and type.  My closet is organized by color, as is my glass cabinet and all of my boxes of beads.  For awhile my books were organized by color, but then I couldn't sleep at night and had to change it back to alphabetical.

They had lots of hematite.

And of course a long table filled with cheap lampwork made overseas in sweatshop factories with crummy ventilation and no OSHA requirements for eye protection or age restrictions.  Large dichro focals for two bucks or less.  Disgraceful.  I won't start in on a rant, as much as I would like to right now.  Can you tell that's a hot button for me?

So those are the luscious shots of beads I got from Beads Galore.  Soon enough you will see pics of some of the beads I scored.

Coming up tomorrow is a post about Little Horse with lots of pics.

Arizona Beads!

I got all of Wednesday at my Aunt Gail's home and much of it was spent in her studio.  H-E-A-V-E-N!  I tried out several new techniques.  She's got two torches set up with great ventilation and good lighting.  We were surrounded by TONS of glass.  I had no orders to make (yay for a little vacation) and fiddled around trying out things that have been in the back of my mind for weeks.

I made this big cube bead with a gorgeous color of transparent blue that is no longer sold (not even found in batches on eBay or the lampworker forums). Sniff.  I loved it!  It is a dot-on-dot technique with multiple layers of clear encasing it.  I smashed it into a square and really like how it turned out.  Will be making more of these, but maybe not as large.

Here is the same technique, but with a cobalt blue and not smashed into a cube.  I had not intended to leave the bead ridged, but the bead release on the mandrel broke and the bead started spinning so I finished in a hurry and stuck it in the kiln.

This bead was playing around with a transparent orange base and then another light transparent dipped in a frit which created some cool reactions and awesome blues.  Unfortunately, I didn't do so hot of a job photographing all of it.  So that's something on the To Do list for when I return home.

How's the cement patio working for you as a background to my beads?  It's all I got out here in AZ. :)

Tomorrow I will be sleeping in my own bed, which will be nice.  But I'm really not ready to leave my in-laws, aunt & uncle, the mountains or the warm temps.

Bead Preparations

When I opened up my blog to questions about anything, Erin left this comment: I think it is always fascinating to see what goes into making a bead. It makes me appreciate it so much more. I would be interested about the basics of how a bead is made, but also how you choose your color palette. Do you have a preconceived notion of what you want the bead to be like, or is it more organic, growing out of the flame with a mind and direction all its own?

Erin, I LOVE to know how anything and everything is made.  I enjoy watching documentaries on companies that make actual products or factory/assembly lines.  About six years ago, one of my customers that was a major carpet manufacturer gave me a tour of their factories in North Georgia.  I was captivated by the dozens of people it took to operate all the different machines and how different the materials looked at the start of the process before they were turned into carpet.  Likewise, with art or jewelry, I love knowing how each piece is made to appreciate all of the work that went into it, as well as have a better understanding of the value set on it in an Etsy shop or on eBay.

I have a tank of chemolene (similar to propane, but it burns hotter/cleaner) hooked up to my torch, as well as an oxygen concentrator.  I first turn the red knob on top to the left to let a little of the gas seep out so I can flip my lighter and get a flame out of the torch.  Then I roll the silver knob forward that is on the side of the torch to release the oxygen into the flame.  The oxygen mixes with the gas on the surface of the torch and turns the orangish-yellow flame to one that is filled with blue.  The oxygen jacks up the temperature of the flame to very hot temperatures.

I fiddle with both knobs to get even amounts of gas and oxygen to create a neutral flame.  If there is more gas coming out, the flame is more bushy and yellow and called a reducing flame.  A reducing flame brings the metals out of the glass to the surface which turn into different colors or turn into a metallic finish.  A flame that has less gas and more oxygen is called an oxidizing flame, but I don't remember why a lampworker would want that kind of flame.  Obviously I haven't used that much in the last five years! :)

Here is a video my friend Wendy made a few years ago to show you how I make the bead once the torch is fired up.  I need to get her to do it again for me so the setting is my pretty bead studio and not the garage with junk piled up all around.





After the flame is set up, I hold a mandrel in my left hand to heat it up (it needs to be hot for the glass to stick) and a rod of glass in my right hand to dance in and out of the flame so it heats up slowly.  Then I can start making the bead by melting the glass on the mandrel while constantly turning the mandrel to keep a round bead.  If I stop turning, gravity will pull the hot glass downward and then I will have a majorly wonky bead to contend with in getting it back into shape. 

As for my color palette of choices, I have a few hundred colors to choose from in my glass cabinet.  I had to do inventory of my glass a few weeks ago for my taxes and found I had close to 150 pounds of glass in my cabinet.  HOLY SHMOLY!  That's alotta glass!  Probably a little more than half of the glass is opaque.  I'm not good at choosing four plus colors of glass to mix on one bead.  I like to keep things simple, so I normally choose two colors or sometimes three if I'm feeling a little crazy (although may have to pull out my color wheel to see what three colors line up in the spinning triangle...I think the art term for those three colors is trident, but I could be mixed up).

Most of the time when I sit down at the torch, I have some orders to make and those are first on my list to get in the kiln.  I pull out the necessary colors and get to work on my orders.  Sometimes working on those orders will spark new ideas of variations on those same beads in color/shape or completely new beads.  A lot of times, I already have ideas floating in my head during the week of what I want to make when I do get to sit down at the torch on weekends.  If my mind is blank and no inspiration is in me when I look in my glass cabinet for colors to pull out, I'll ask my kids what colors they would like for me to use in a bead for them.  That's enough to get me started and then I easily flow in other directions with new beads.

I do try to have the colors out ahead of time and know what kind of bead I want to make because it is difficult to keep a bead warm enough and in the shape by continuously turning the mandrel while I back away from the torch, open my glass cabinet, turn on the little light inside and lean over to search for the specific color, pull it out, turn off the light, shut the cabinet and go back to the torch.  All of my glass is organized by manufacturer on each shelf and then by color, so I've got a good idea ahead of time where to look.  But still.  I try to avoid those hassles by knowing what I want to do before I even heat the mandrel for the bead.

I Didn't Fall Off the Edge of the Earth

I just landed in sunny, warm Arizona last Saturday night!  And have spent hours upon hours catching up on my family blog.  It had been since the end of January when I last posted on there with pics of the kids and updates about what our family was doing each week.  I was sensing a planned revolt and flogging from some of the grandparents.  I spent a good two hours on the flight editing pics, cropping them down to size and adjusting the exposure if I had blown it in the sun on the playground. 

Every night since Monday after we got wireless internet set up, I have spent 2-3 hours adding posts to the family blog.  As of 7:30am Mountain Standard Time (Arizona doesn't follow daylight saving time), I am caught up with all of the pics that were on my laptop.  Now, I can breathe.  I still have hundreds of pics on my camera that I need to upload of our vacation so far.  But I can breathe.  I am caught up with everything loaded onto my laptop.  And now turn my attention back to my beads blog.  Yay!

A couple weeks ago I asked if anyone had any questions for me and you guys came through.  I'm starting with Tari's from Pearl & Pebble: I wouldn't even know where to begin with specific glass questions!! You play with fire and I am afraid of playing with fire and so I never learned how to speak "glass." My adjectives include smushed and swirlly! Although you've probably already blogged about it,because you ARE a fantastic blogger, how long does it take you to make a bead like that big swirlly one with all the colors. (The one you have been hoarding)And do you have a varigated glass stick or do you lay each color down individually? Can you completely control glass, or will there always be that element of suprise? Ok so maybe I had a few!!!

Tari, I don't think you would be as scared of playing with fire if you were in my studio.  Here's your open invite to come sit with me if you ever venture as far South as Atlanta.  It sounds scarier than it is.  The torch is stationary.....it is screwed in tight to the torch counter, so it's not moving.  And the flame points away from me, so my whole body is behind with my arms on either side and really only my hands come close to the flame.  The flame is approximately 1500+ degrees hot, so my hands feel the heat well before coming close enough to get burned.  If I take my time to slowly warm up rods of glass, it is unlikely it will break and fly back at me from temperature shock.

My adjectives are the same. :) I don't know the technical, glass terms that are used by the masters.  I have read very few books on lampworking and have had only a handful (okay, maybe three) informal lessons at the torch between my Aunt Gail and my friend Diane Kovach when I first started lampworking in 2005.  I have seen perhaps a dozen demos from highly respected artists at various monthly bead meetings between the Southern Flames in Atlanta and now ASGB in Arizona this past weekend.  I like swirly, smushed, smashed, squashed and any other term that literally refers to a bead. :)

It took me probably close to 45 minutes to make this big, swirly, hollow bead.  This was an all ivory hollow to start with before I decorated it with Striking Color glass that turns all these different colors through a heating, cooling, re-heating, re-cooling (over and over. and over).  I also added silvered ivory (which is made by melting sheets of 99% pure silver onto ivory and then pulling it out into long, skinny rods of glass called stringers...one of the few technical terms I do know!) between the shocks of Striking Color.  The more heat applied to silvered ivory on a bead, the more it expands and spreads little cracks and veins over the surface.  I didn't get a picture of the rods of glass before I left, but it's initial appearance is very underwhelming.  I still look at it and wonder how such a vomitous color of a brownish glass rod can turn into such stunning blues, greens and purples.

 
Most of the silver glasses (many are made by Double Helix and have names like Aion, Gaia, Ekho, Triton, Psyche, Kronos, Terranova or others) have these wonderful color-changing reactions, or can take on metallic appearances if reduced in the flame (a flame that has more fuel than oxygen because most lampwork is made in a neutral flame with even amounts of fuel and oxygen).  The rods can be clear, black, transparent blues or greens or that ugly, brownish/vomitous color.  After the silver glass is worked in the flame, it looks dramatically different from the original rod of glass.  Most of the other glasses, whether opaque or transparent, will look very similar to the rod form after they have been melted to form a bead. 

Some color changes can occur due to chemical reactions between glasses/colors, but most of the time I have a very good idea of what the bead will look like using the glass colors/rods I choose.   I feel like I do well at controlling the glass to make it do what I want it to do.  I can make the shapes I want and 99.999% of the time the colors and the beads turn out exactly how I want.  With some glass colors, they change or strike in the kiln.  So there is some surprise with how those look when the kiln is opened. 

Normally, my biggest surprises are how many beads I pull out of the kiln.  I'm shocked at how many I have made.  Time flies when I'm having fun.  I lose track of time and count of the beads I make.  Sometimes I only make a dozen and other times I am surprised with almost 90 beads like this weekend when my husband helped give me hours upon hours on the torch.

Thanks for asking so many questions, Tari!  My next post will answer Erin's questions. :)

Shipping Out

Got two packages shipping out.  One is headed up North as a surprise and another across town.

The across town package is a little sad for me.  It is a surprise ring that my friend Cas of Metallo Bianco made for me.  It was absolutely beautiful.  And it was two hairs too big to fit any of my fingers and three hairs too small to fit my thumbs.  Sniff.  So. Very. Sad.  Hmmpphh.  It is a size 8 and I'm betting it will end up her her Etsy shop soon enough for someone else to snatch up!

I held onto this ring for over a week because I loved it so and I just needed to look at it and hold it.  But now it is on its way back to its designer, along with some other goodies I packed inside that I hope make my friend smile.  Sigh.  Goodbye my beautiful ring.

Another Focal Bead

I made several pendants this weekend using Double Helix colors.  Here is another.  :)  

I really like the red that came out in it.  And hints of deep, royal blue.

I have pics uploaded for other posts on my glass colors and thoughts are brewing on how to answer Erin's and Tari's questions from last week on how I come up with ideas.  I just need more time to sit down to write it all up.  I'm struggling with blogger's new way of composing/editing posts, so those are on hold until next week.  Also coming next week is a post on Dylan and many of the things he has thieved to the backyard.

This week is passing quickly as I try to wrap up loose ends with work, finish all the laundry and cross off items from the Must Do list before we head out to Phoenix this weekend.  I'm so excited!  We'll be staying with my in-laws who escape Minnesota for two months, as well as visiting with my aunt and uncle.  The ASGB rescheduled their monthly meeting and I'm thrilled....now I can go with my Aunt Gail, instead of missing it by one day!

Todd is in Denver for work this week, so it's on me to get it all done.  Kids.  Laundry.  Dylan (he's starting a two week doggy boot camp tomorrow to mainly get over his severe crate anxiety that has allowed only one night in seven weeks of quiet).  Taxes.  Laundry.  Soccer practice.  Work.  Did I say laundry? :)

I will be closing my shop Saturday morning since I won't be taking my beads with me on this trip and I don't feel it's fair to make folks wait on me to ship out purchases.  If you've had your eye on something, go ahead and get it now so I can ship it out right away.

Really looking forward to a week of downtime.  No work blackberry.  Limited parental responsibilities.  Family.  Warmer temps.  Torch time.  Catch up time on blogs/photo editing. No stress!

Sneak Peek of My Weekend Beads

Here is the first kiln load from yesterday morning and last night.  

I thought I was done with nuggets, but I took off in a new direction with sparkly golden cores.  I can't wait to finish cleaning the batch I made today so I can etch half of them and then get them listed!

 

This is my favorite focal bead from last night.  I only used Double Helix Ekho on ivory.  This glass has a very high silver content, which caused all the dark veining over every bit of the ivory.

Feedback on Etsy: Part One

I'm taking a look at the Buyer/Seller Feedback coin.  I think each side is important.   For buyers, it builds a reputation of trust; especially for new customers coming to your Etsy shop.  It shows not only that previous customers were pleased with their purchase, but that a shop provides good customer service and products.  As a buyer, that's important to me.  Either on Etsy or eBay, I look at sellers' feedback to see if it's even worth looking at items in their shop.  I want to know that I've got a good shot of receiving my purchase quickly and knowing that it was accurately described.  It is also comforting seeing there are repeat buyers who keep going back for more.

The flip side of that coin is that it's a boost to sellers that we are providing valuable service and worthwhile goods.  Sometimes, I have had my fill of my own beads and I lose sight of their 'specialness'.  Or I get positive/plus sign feedback with no words, no thanks, no "oooh, I really, really just want to lick these they look so delicious!"  And then I receive a text/email/convo/feedback in my shop with a 'SQUEEEEEEEEE! I can't keep my fingers off them! OMG! OMG! OMG!' and my faith is renewed in my skills/abilities.  My inspiration is sparked again to move forward in new directions and create more.

I also look for feedback to post to make sure my beads or jewelry were received.  If I don't get feedback, I wonder if they got lost in the mail.  I always have little butterflies in my stomach when I send out beads until I know they have been safely delivered.  After receiving a delivery confirmation, I will give it a couple of days before sending a convo to the buyer asking if they received the beads and to make sure they are happy.

It's nice when buyers acknowledge particular details about my beads or service.  I think everyone likes validation and being acknowledged for their efforts, yes?  I spend alot of time on the torch (granted, it never feels like enough time for my creative spirit!), as well as cleaning out the beads, scrutinizing their structure and integrity before creating a set to photograph and spend time uploading and cropping pics (that's the extent of my editing as it is extremely rare I muck with the tint/colors/contrast of my bead pics) and then going through the Etsy listing process.  Please don't get me wrong or think that I'm whining, because I'm not.  It is just a lot of work that goes into getting to the point of listing beads before ever shipping them out.  It is finding/making the time to do all this on top of working full time for the phone company, taking care of my husband and two kids, a zoo of pets and not sleeping more than a coupla hours because Weeping Pony thinks he must cry and bark all.  night.  long.

So when feedback is left in my shop that is more than just a green plus sign, I'm thrilled.  Seeing what excites other people about their purchases is fun.  Knowing that it is something I made is even better.  I may even do a little jump with a heel click.  :)  It recharges me and keeps me going.  It pushes me to do more and try new designs.  It ignites a desire in me to, in turn, delight my customers even more.

Fellow Etsy sellers, please weigh in with your thoughts.  

What else do you think is important about feedback?  

How does it motivate you?

Shipping Through Paypal

I have read so many people's twitter and blog comments about making runs to the post office.  Unless I am shipping internationally, I don't make any trips to the post office.  I used to purchase my postage online through usps.com, but that was spendy because the cheapest postage was Priority Mail at $4.80 a pop.  I had tracking information which was cool, but I was losing money (my shipping charges on Etsy are roughly $3-5, but then I waive shipping fees for purchases over $40....and my little boxes that I use to package my beads and keep them safe are around a dollar each.  see?  money was flying out of my account faster than it was going in!).  

Then a friend tapped me on the shoulder and asked, "Um, why aren't you shipping through PayPal?  It's First Class mail AND you get tracking info."  Cause, um, sometimes I miss the obvious?  :D  It only took me a year plus to stumble onto this much cheaper solution.  Momma always said I was a smart one.  Apparently not when it came to shipping.

So here are a coupla screenshots for my fellow Etsians who are sending out jewelry or other small items.  If you receive payments through Paypal, it is extremely simple.

I am using Gunilla as an example because I still have the Print shipping label button visible on my Paypal account page showing all transactions (it disappears once you have printed a shipping label).   Gunilla lives in Finland, so I drove to the post office to ship out her beads.  You can ship internationally through Paypal, but only using Priority or Express Mail.  Both of those are spendy options and filling out the customs info is a major pain in the toukis (it requires much more information than we fill out on the green customs form).

This transaction shows Partially Refunded because I refunded Gunilla her shipping fees because she spent over forty bucks.  Next step is to click on the Print shipping label button.  The nice thing about this is that Paypal automatically populates the address information because they use the buyer's PayPal account address.

You can then select the type of shipping.  I use First-Class Mail, but there are other choices that are more or less spendy/speedy (Media Mail, Parcel Post, Priority or Express).  Then select the package size; the other option is Large Package which typically isn't suitable for me sending beads or jewelry.  Then the weight.  I have a little five dollar scale I picked up in the kitchen section of Walmart.  It hasn't done me wrong yet, I just need to make sure the needle is lined up at zero before I place the envelope on the scale to weigh it (cause it's not a fancy-schmancy digital scale).  You can change the mailing date if you are printing out the label the night before and can also type a note to be emailed to the recipient (the recipient will receive an email directly from Paypal with the tracking #, so the note is an added bonus if you have extra information to share).

After clicking on an OK button, you will get this confirmation screen.  Just click on the Print Label button.  A pop-up window will open asking for confirmation from you that the label printed correctly (you would want to do a re-print if the printer jammed or the ink ran out.)

That's it.  After the label prints out, then just cut it down to size & tape to the outside of your envelope and walk it to your mail box.  Done.

Your Mail Boy/Slave will thank you.

Weekend Beads

I made fewer than 30 beads this weekend.  Not the same rockin & rollin weekend I had a week ago when I made almost 90.  I had the time, but I was dizzy and fighting off a little head cold turning sinus infection.

So here you go.  A dozen little raku rounds that Lorelei asked me to make similar to the raku eggs I've made in the past.  I got these done first.

Then I wanted to see what the raku would look like swirled in other colors and tried teal, purple, topaz, pale aqua and grassy green.  I think the green is my favorite and I want to make more of those.  But for now, I'll just list these together as a mixed set within the next day or two.

I think I like the raku swirled to the exteriors on half and the transparent glass on the other half, like in my Gemini cubes.  Those are definitely on my mental To Do list to make more.

Thanks to the folks who asked questions and left comments on the last couple of posts.  I'm working on getting those set up for you guys.  So be on the lookout for posts on how I decide what beads to make and color selection, what the glass looks like and how I work it, as well as one very gratuitous Dylan post (Melissa, I took my camera with me on our walk today to get extra pics of Little Horse!)

Lorelei is Having a GIVEAWAY!

Check out this post & leave a comment to win this book!