Dizzy Miss Lizzy's Crafts Page

At Long Last!

2010-04-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

Success, at last! I have been trying to get a video series done about my ceramics, and met with one frustration after another.

First it was not having any blank tapes, and lacking any spare cash to buy some, then, it was finding time to create the video and get it edited.

From there, enter one maddening frustration after another with You Tube. I finally gave up on them, and went to Vimeo.com, and here is the result: (click here).

It uploaded smoothly, and was a frustration-free process. I recommend their service! (Oooops..was that a plug?!)

You can select for the video to open in a new window by right-clicking the link. If it you cannot for some reason, simply click the 'back' button on your browser to return here when you've finished watching.

I hope you enjoy the video. Thanks for visiting.

On Getting a Treasury

2010-04-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Well, I finally managed to snag a treasury! you can check it out HERE . Landing one of these coveted spots is tricky, and time-consuming. Unless you have absolutely nothing to do but sit in front of your computer waiting on the last hour or so of the countdown to the next opening, you're pretty much out of luck.

You have to have all your ducks in a row, and be spot-on with the timing. You cannot answer the phone, run for a potty break, go get a snack or anything else. If you take your eyes very far from the computer screen, you will miss the opening! Guaranteed!

Advice on how-to? Calculations? Nope, not from me. There are entire forum threads and Storque articles devoted to the matter. the best resource I have found, at least the one most helpful for me, is the Treasury countdown clock on Craftopolis . All the other assorted directions are about counting pages, adding or subtracting mintues, trying to allow for folks ending their treasury early... blah, blah, blah. Phooey! Too much calculating and math for my brain! I let the Craftopolis clock do that for me. And it worked!

Have your items picked out a day or so in advance, and waiting in Poster Sketch (there are how-to's within Etsy), and I even went so far as to pre-compose my title in a Word document, and had it copied to my clipboard, so when the slot opened up, all I had to do was paste it in, and not worry about trying to type in a big rush and making a mistake, and ending up loosing out.

That's it for today--short and sweet. And now it's time for my show...

Cheers!

Curses, Foiled Again!

2010-03-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Humpf! Not only did I not get to the dojo with my video camera, it turns out my timing was way off. Seems it is "spring break" week for a lot of the schools (2 weeks for some schools!), and the dojo is having "spring break karate camp" running. So, the place is going to be full of kids making all kinds of racket, and not conducive in the least to capturing quality video with clear audio to record the forms.

The good news, however, is this: I have learned that I am within pretty easy reach of my next belt level. All I have to do is solidify my most recently learned 'pinan,' learn 3 more combinations, and I will be ready to test! Woo-Hoo! Gotta get that video done as soon as spring break is over!

Meanwhile, I do believe I will practice on the cats. LOL They always make interestisng subjects. Although, being cats, they may not be in the mood to cooperate. Just when I want to tape them playing, they will most likely decide it is nap time.

When I say "practice," I don't mean how to make a video--I already have lots of experience with that. What I need to learn and practice is the "today" method of burning one's finished movie to a DVD, or uploading it to You Tube. I have a You Tube account activated and waiting, but at this point, it is sans content.

That's it for today, folks....I have to work today to make up for the fact that I'm playing hooky on Monday. ;-)

A New Thing to Try...

2010-03-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Today is the day I dust off the video camera, install a new tape and freshly charged battery (ok, maybe not--mayble I'll just run it off the AC adapter)...and take some video.

My first project will be to take the camera to the dojo and capture all the forms with which my brain is struggling. At my age, I'm finding that learning a new form is hard, because there are so many different moves in certain sequences, that practicing is next to impossible. Why? Because when I'm just learning a new one, it is like information overload, and I tend to forget most of it by the time I get home. Serious bummer! How can I practice what I do not remember! UGH! Getting old sucks!

So, I'm going to capture all the forms on tape, upload them to the computer, burn them to a DVD that I can play on the TV, and have something to practice with! So there, brain!

My next project will most likely be to tape the cats' antics, and learn how to upload a video to You Tube.

And what does any of this have to do with my crafts: Just this: once I've mastered that, you can probably look forward to seeing the occasional video here in my crafts blog. Something to look at, as well as read!

I'm off and running! Catch you all on the flip side!

Cheers!

P.S. ummm...welll..... time got away from me, daughter stopped by, had to go grocery shopping, so I suppose this 'adventure' is put off until... ummm...tomorrow?? That's karate class day, anyway..don't want to get in the way of class...Wed?? hmm.... appointments...Thurs....visiting other daughter, & will miss karate class...Fri.. no transportaion! RATS!!! Hate to wait a whole week!

Today, not crafty--just helping out a friend.

2010-03-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Thanks for stopping by. Today, rather than write about crafts, I am trying to help out one of my Etsy buddies. Her daughter is facing very serious surgery, and I'm sending you to her blog, ( click HERE ) for the full details.

In a nutshell, she'd like to arrange for her daughter to receive a flood of postcards from all over the world while she is in the hospital following the surgery.

   She is not asking for any money or anything else..just the postcards.

   I normally do not get involved in passing around 'sad stories' that I get via e-mail or see posted on FaceBook or anywhere, as 99% of the time, they are scams. This time, however, the individual is known to me, the facts can be verified, and I am comfortable in assisting her with this request.

  Feel free to re-post this, and please, reference your original source, so it does not get tossed aside and discounted as 'another one of these fake sick kid stories.' Thank you!

Work to do today...

2010-02-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ah, work...LOL

I have several photos that need to be re-done, because they were taken with my old camera, and the resolution was not as good as it should be.
As someone who writes blog articles on how to take better photos, I'm sure it would behoove me to make sure mine are 'up to snuff.' ;-) Some need new backgrounds, and some need a better presentation, as many of them were taken in a hurry, just to get the listing up and running.

That said, let me digress for a moment to state that I feel 'artful presentation' can be a double-edged sword. It is not always desireable to have an 'artsy' set with other items in the photo. It can create a good deal of confusion in a potential buyer's mind as to what is actually being sold.

It is one thing to show items on a pile of small rocks, or with a plant, or on a model. It is quite another to picutre shoes, for example, along with a necklace or other jewelry or apparel. It muddies the product. What are you selling? Shoes? Jewelry? Scarves? Keep it clear and simple.

It also pays to be creative. I have lost count of how many pairs of earrings I've seen photographed hanging from the side of a coffee mug. While there is probably not much 'product confusion' here, as it is usually a fairly tight shot on the earrings, it is still obviously a mug. It's an over-used and trite device. Likewise hung from a glass. This is usually a very poor technique, especially if a clear glass, or even one with a delicate pattern. The background shows through, and the product is not clearly visible. That is to say, it does not "pop."

There are many other poses earrings can take: laid flat on the backdrop is one, but also a very common theme. Try hanging from a piece of driftwood, or artificial foliage, but keep the scale in proportion. Hang them from the edge of a small jewelry box; show them held in the palm of a hand...yours, or a model's or a jeweler's form hand. Be creative!

I know re-doing photos can be a real pain-in-the-drain. Especially for products such as mine, which are fragile, and must be stored with at least minimal protective wrapping. It makes for a very time-consuming project... which I why I have not gotten around to it yet. But, I promised myself I would work on it today, so off I go.

Cheers!

Almost the Same Name... Still Awesome!

2010-02-21T14:30:00.000-08:00

Here is yet another fantastic Etsy shop, this one belonging to a dear friend of mine. Please visit the shop,
octobermoondesign and check out her positively gorgeous Celtic-inspired work.

She has a beautiful assortment of jewelry, pocket mirrors and assorted artwork. Her art pieces are fanciful and modern, very colorful. No matter what your color scheme, there will be a match in here somewhere to pick up that perfect accent color and tie it all together.

I think this one is particularly nice, very feminine and evocative of nature. Indeed, that's her title: "Soul of Nature." These are all original artworks, and created with mixed media, including such varied things as colored pencils and photoshop.

Here is one of her jewelry items:

This is a hand-done small artwork framed into a darling casual necklace. I rate it as a 'must-have' for any animal or bird lover. The little owl has such personality!

Below is one of her Celtic inspired items---

Isn't this a lovey mirror? Just imagine how special you will feel checking your makeup in a "Dancing Goddess" mirror!

This is another artist/crafter with an extremely reasonable price point for her works. They are original, beautiful, unique, and yet still very affordable. If you're looking for that perfect, yet different gift, look no further!

I, personally, have a large problem with the viewpoint that says, "If it is inexpensive, it must be of poor quality." That, I feel, is only true of the mass-market import wares found at large chains such as Wal-Mart or Target. When it comes to original artwork, who among us, in today's economy, would not appreciate the chance to own or give a beautiful, hand-crafted and unique piece at an affordable price? I know I would!

I realize there are two posts today, featuring crafters with very similar shop names. It can get confusing, as there are innumerable variations possible, some a subtle as the insertion or omission of a single space or other character, making it "unique" in the eyes of a computer program...not so much to us poor humans.

Now--time to go shopping! :-)

Note:

All of the images used in this post are with the crafter's permission, and are copyrighted by her. Please do not copy or use them in any way. Feel free, however, to post links to this blog.

Awesome Artist!

2010-02-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Folks, you simply must visit this Etsy shop: OctoberMoon. She is a fabulous artist, and does beautiful ACEO artwork. Her price points are extremely reasonable for this calilber of artistry--you can easily afford more than one!

Even though Christmas is now well past, you can still view some of her custom artwork glass ornaments. They are absolutely stunning! She will custom-paint an ornament with a portrait of your special animal friend.

Since this kind of custom work takes a fair amount of time, I'd say it is not too early to plan ahead for this coming December, and order your special animal friend ornament now!

They would make excellent and much appreciated gifts for friends or family you know who are really 'into' their pets--and no law says they must be Christmas gifts--birthdays or 'just because' occasions would be just as appropriate.

I love her work. The portraits are at once realistic and true to life, while still having a bit of a whimsical quality about them. These would also make wonderful memorials to animal buddies no longer with us.

In addition to her ornaments, she also offers fanciful beasts of clay, original art cards (that's the "ACEO" part), and a few vintage items of a fanciful nature.

Simply click on her name in the first sentence to visit her shop--you'll be glad you did.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Cheers, Lizzy

Blogging, Anyone??

2010-02-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

Good evening.

   At least it is evening here. It usually is when I'm writing, posting or creating; I'm a bona-fide night owl.   Nothing of much importance gets done before noon. ;-)

I was recently asked to host a presentation on how to create a blog presence. Since this was originally done within a private chat, the information was not widely available, so I thought I'd put it up in my crafts blog for others to see. Here is the original transcript of that chat:

Many people think blogging is difficult, or that it takes a very long time. Neither is necessarily true. For me, personally, it is somewhat time consuming, but that is only because I do so much of it: writing 4 different blogs, and because I have a bit of a problem with brevity. I tend to over-explain. :-(

Hence, for me, Twitter is difficult. I only get 140 characters??? OMG!!! ;-) (I'm not used 2 having 2 make stuff so short & use cryptic abbrvs.; it cramps my style. -- ok, that "sentence" is only 55 characters..that would work. But, for me, it took a lot more time and thought than just writing normally. LOL)

When you open up a blog, the very first thing to remember is this: it is YOUR blog! Do with it what you will, and make it your own. There is no need to copy anyone else’s style or subject matter. Think of it as a conversation with your readers. A one-sided conversation, to some extent, yes; much like a telephone chat with bad reception on your end. You can talk, and be heard, but somehow, the other party’s replies aren’t clear. LOL That's what the 'comments' box is for...and you don't have to put up with being interrupted while you are making your points, as often happens in person.

There are many sites on which to get started, but for my money, (figurative money, that is, because it is free), the easiest on which to begin is Google’s Blogger a.k.a. Blogspot.com. (exactly where you are reading this very post.)

The actual opening of an account is easy, and in fact, if you already have Google e-mail, all you have to do is log in and select to start a blog. But, you do not have to have Google mail...signing up for a Google account is free, and easy... and you can then use it for all sorts of different Google applications.

In fact, any of you currently using Google Analytics for your Etsy (or other) shops, already have a Google account, and when you go to http://www.blogspot.com/ , you will be given the option to sign in using your existing Google account. Keeps things simple--less to remember!

Once you are at the blogging main menu, you’ll be presented with several design templates from which to choose. Select the one that fits your personality, or even your mood. Select the layout that fits best with your plans. Do you plan to me more photo-oriented, or more text-oriented? A mix of both? There are templates to fit any of those options. With that done, you’re all set.. Ready, set, BLOG!

In the world of mules, there are no rules.. Oh, no, wait…that’s Ogden Nash in Camille Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.” I mean, in the world of blogs, there are no rules.
;-)

Every Blogger has her own style. Some are like lectures, some are funny, and some are preachy. Some are long, some are just a paragraph or two. Some write daily, some weekly, some monthly. It is entirely up to what fits with your style, and your schedule. The way to avoid frustration with your readers, (and with yourself!) however, is to make no promises or statements regarding the frequency with which you will write.  Just do it when the mood takes you.

The important thing is to simply decide on something, and try to be consistent. I say ‘try,’ because we all know how life has a habit of getting in the way of the best intentions. Start small. Don’t set impossible goals of being the most prolific Blogger on the Internet. I certainly did not begin my first blog with the intention of ending up writing 4 of them! ;-) But here I am…it snuck up on me.

But then again, I am a writer, and I love writing. It is what I do best: painfully shy as a child, I learned to express myself on paper. If writing does not come as easily to you, don’t sweat it. There is no requirement for a set number of words. A blog is not a school essay assignment or book report. Make it what you will.

If you have trouble with spelling or grammar, write your post first in a word processor program, and take advantage of the spell-check and grammar-check utilities usually included. (Be warned—those are not foolproof—they will not catch context errors in the presence of a correct spelling, and they also occasionally want to INCORRECTLY “correct” grammar.)   You can then copy/paste your masterpiece right into blogger.

Begin it as an experiment. Post jokes, or silly trivia. As you learn to do that, your own writing style will develop. Don’t even promote and advertise it to start with. Get comfortable with the concept first. The time for ‘getting serious’ will come along. You’ll know when that is, and I cannot tell you, as it will be different for each of you.

When that time arrives, you always have the option to completely delete any and all earlier posts, if for some reason you feel you’d not be comfortable having your trial run on display. ;-) As you become more comfortable with developing your own style of writing, I’ll bet you discover a ‘secret.’ It is this: your writing style will very likely take on the tone of you, speaking, in a casual conversation.

And that’s all a blog is—YOU, speaking to your readers through a new medium. In fact, if you have a small tape recorder or digital recorder, you can even SPEAK your blog posts, as the ideas come to you, and write them down later. Then, you will automatically gain that conversational tone you want to have. Write ‘pretend’ blogs in your word processor, if you don’t want anyone to read your first efforts. Keeping a journal is a good way to begin this process.

And now, some of the questions I was asked are as follows:

Q. Will having a blog help my Etsy sales?
A. Maybe. Possibly. But, in my opinion, that should not be the be-all and end-all goal of a blog. Promoting your blog and shop; cross-promoting both, will certainly help your online visibility and presence, but beyond that, there are no guarantees. There is a saying, "The only guarantees are death and taxes." ;-)

Q. What do I write about?
A.   Write about whatever fires you. Your crafts and their process; your other hobbies; fantasy; jokes; the sky is the limit.

Q. What if writing is hard for me, or I don't like to write?
A.   No matter. You can make a photo blog, using simple, brief captions. OR select a random photo, and use it as a basis for a flight of fancy: invent a story or scenario around the picture. I.e., what just happend, or is about to?

Now, get going, and have fun! THAT is your assignment! Have fun and play with it.

Introduction to Woodworking

2010-01-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

WOODWORKING FOR BEGINNERS

So, you want to learn to craft things from wood, do you? Wonderful! Woods are among the most basic and rewarding media with which to work. It is malleable, and many types have a delightful fragrance, and it is available in virtually any size and shape.

Let me begin with an introduction to types of wood. At the most basic level, there are hardwoods and softwoods. Within each grade, there are variations and degrees of hardness and softness as well. For example, oak is considered a hard wood, but there is a wood called ‘blood wood’ that is many times harder. Oak is relatively easy on your equipment, while blood wood will very quickly dull your woodworking tools! Hardwoods in general, though will dull your tools faster than soft woods.

Pine is a soft wood; balsa wood is even softer—yet, surprisingly, balsa is actually classified as one of the hardwood group!

Pine can be dented with a fingernail, while the balsa can almost be carved without tools: you can dent balsa with a knuckle-strike! (Yes, it is still wood, and doing that would probably hurt some, but not as much as smacking a hunk of oak, which would not dent, and probably bloody your knuckle in the bargain!) The classification is determined by the type of tree, botanically speaking. If you care to pursue this puzzlement further, see these articles for more in-depth information on the differences and variations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardwood http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softwood

Now, on to the actual working with the wood. First and foremost are your tools. Treat them well, and they will serve you well for many, many years. I have some antique planes and chisels that belonged to my grandfather in the late 1800’s: they are still as sharp as ever, and can still be used. Keeping your tools sharp is the most important safety tip I can offer, besides the obvious one of using safety glasses (and hearing protection when using power tools).

A lot of people hear that piece of advice, and say, “Huh?” They think that a sharper tool will be more likely to cut them. Well, used incorrectly, yes, you can cut yourself. Handled carelessly when getting the tool out or putting it away can result in injuries as well. However, the real danger from a dull tool comes from the fact that it will not cut as cleanly through the wood; it is more likely to catch on the grain, bind, and slip…and that "Ooopss--it slipped.." is what sets you up for getting hurt. So, keep your tools sharp, and know how to use them to stay safe.

One of the most obvious safety rules is also one of the most ignored, whether in the work shop or in the kitchen: don’t cut toward yourself!! This may seem like elementary advice, but trust me, it is the single most violated rule, and the one most responsible for injuries outside of just plain stupidity, like the fellow I saw reaching across a running table saw to turn it off!! (Hello, dummy!! You got a death-wish, there??)

Okay, with the basic types of wood, and the safety lecture out of the way, let’s move on to some of the tools you’ll need for basic woodworking. If you have never worked with wood at all before, go to your local lumber outlet, and ask if they have a scraps/sample bin. You can usually purchase an assortment of small pieces of various types of wood for minimal cost. Have them tell you what each kind is, and write it on the wood with a pen. Just use these as study or reference pieces. Learn what they look like; study the grain; get familiar with their scents.

Your first tool: sandpaper. It comes in umpteen grades and types. For woodworking purposes, the coarsest you would need is usually about an 80 grit. This will remove a lot of material in short order, if it is shaping you are trying to do. It will also leave visible scratches in the wood. As you progress with your item toward a finished product, it must be re-sanded several times with ever-decreasing coarseness of paper. Usually, a 180 grit, and sometimes 200 will be used for the finishing touch. If you have stained a piece, and find that after it dried, there is a slight roughness that was not there before, that means the grain was raised some by the application of the liquid stain. In this case, you will want a light touch with about a 320 grit to just knock down the grain without leaving marks or removing any color. After this, your finish sealer coat can be applied. For the full skinny on sandpaper, (possibly more than you want to know!) ;-) check out: http://www.sizes.com/tools/sandpaper.htm

Your next tools are: saws of a few types; hammer; chisels, a square, glue, clamps, and lots of sharp pencils.

For small work, a basic coping saw is handy, as it will cut through most woods, and will turn tight corners when doing a pattern. It is the hand-tool equivalent of a jigsaw (sometimes called a saber saw), or scroll saw. It is best to learn with hand tools before trying to master power tools. It forces you to go slowly, and learn what the wood is telling you.

A crosscut saw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosscut ) is the old fashioned-looking saw many of us think of, with a blade length of up to about 2 feet, and a teeth-to-top height of about 8 inches. These saws are tapered, being ‘shorter’ at the front and ‘taller’ at the rear where the handle attaches. Crosscut saws are for larger work, and come in a variety of tooth styles. The differences are in pitch (angle of the teeth) and in fineness (how many teeth per inch of blade). Each type has its own purpose. For smaller hand-crafted items, the crosscut saw would be your first-use saw, to simply cut the proper size piece from a larger board.

Hammers come in many types, but the most common is the claw hammer, and is what most folks see in their mind’s eye when the word ‘hammer’ is spoken. This is fine for most woodworking, but for small work you may want a much smaller hammer, such as a tack hammer, for use with very small nails. Especially in soft woods, a big hammer is heavy, and difficult to control, and can leave ugly dents and gouges in your item when (yes, 'when,' not 'if') you miss the nail head (and yes, it even happens to the pros!)

Chisels come in a wide variety of widths and shapes. There are flat blade chisels for making square-edged cuts, and there are gouges, which are u-shaped and v-shaped for making either decorative lines and carvings, or useful channels for sliding parts or hidden seams. Yes, of course, there are power tool equivalents, such as dado head cutters and routers to do these tasks…but again…learn first with hand tools! It will make you a better crafter in the long run.

A square is very important in making sure you have all your corners lined up and your 90-degree surfaces exactly at right angles to one another. Use a good combination square, which incorporates a steel ruler, a sliding component used to line up various dimensions of work, and a small built-in level.

Your choice of glueis very important. Be sure and use glue specifically made for wood. It dries clear, but nonetheless, it is very, very important to clean up any that seeps out of any seam while it is still wet. Once it has dried, it is much harder to remove, and any residue left will make a spot that is sealed, and your stains will not ‘take.’ Hint: apply stain (and let dry) before assembly, just in case you don’t get all the glue wiped back.

Clamps: When gluing, you must square up your work, and clamp it tightly until the glue sets. Nails notwithstanding, they do not ‘suck’ the wood together as tightly as a clamping device, and are really only supplemental ‘clamps.’ It is really the glue that actually holds everything together, so be generous…which is why you will have seepage that needs to be wiped off !

Carpenter’s pencils are typically flat, so they don’t roll off the work surface, and are normally sharpened with a pocketknife or utility knife.

There you go! Your elementary introduction to woodworking! Go exploring, have fun, and take a field trip to the hardware store, and explore the lumberyard, deeply inhaling the marvelous fragrance of fresh-cut wood!

Clocks

2010-01-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Hello, again!

    Today, I'll go into a small discourse on our clock production. We have a wide variety of styles and sizes, ranging from very modern to classical, and from small desk-top mini clocks and executive pen sets, all the way up to grandmother curio-cabinet clocks.

   We manufacture all of the wood components ourselves, starting with the raw wood, as described in yesterday's post. The only purchased parts are the clock motors, faces and bezels themselves, glass, mirrors and pen accessories.

We have (or rather, my husband's family, years back) designed all of the styles ourselves. Hubby and I do come up with our own new ideas, as well.

   When available, we like to incorporate as much recycled material as possible. This is usually with glass or mirror components found on our classical-styled wall clocks and our curio cabinet clocks.

    Sometimes we are lucky enough to find used wood. 99% of the time, we prefer to use hardwoods, but now and then, an opportunity comes up that is too good to pass up. This happened recently, when someone was replacing a fence, and we were able to salvage the old redwood fence boards. Redwood is very soft--you can gouge it with your fingernail, but it does come up a very beautiful color, all on its own with no stain needed.

    All we have to do is go over each board VERY carefully and throughly with both a visual inspection and a magnet, to find and remove any stray nails, screws or staples that could damage the tools (or us!). Once that is done, we proceed to run it through the planer to smooth out the boards, and restore them to 'like new' appearance....just as if we were starting with raw, new wood, as per yesterday's post.

   In the back of my mind, I am designing some new ideas that will combine our clocks with our ceramics, for a whole new approach and product. I already have one of these in production; you may have seen it on my Etsy store site. (I've provided this link to the listing, because I cannot find the original photo. I'll have to re-take it. Curses!)

More designs are still "cooking." Keep your eyes peeled!

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to one and all. For those of us who celebrate the Winter Solstice as the turning of the year, it has already been the new year for a week and 4 days. ;-) Nonetheless, since I closed out for 2009 in my last post, I'll start this next one on the "traditional" New Year's Day. It is my wish that everyone is safe and well, and not suffering overly much from too much partying last night! ;-)

And now, on with the blog:

THE WOODWORKING SIDE OF THINGS:

My wonderful and uber-talented husband is a master woodworker, and loves working with wood and making things with his hands. Together, we make hand-crafted hardwood clocks. I am hubby's apprentice, and I am learning how to make the clocks, but I am so far behind that I don't think I'll ever catch up: he's got too many years head-start because this was a family business of his late step-dad. We bought the business when his health went south, and he could no longer do the work. That is why hubby has so many years up on me...he worked in the family business since he was in his 20's!

My lack of experience notwithstanding, I do enjoy woodworking, and I love the smell of the wood as its being worked; splinters, not so much, but it happens...'occupational hazard.' [ I remember years back, before I met my current hubby, a friend of the family worked for a cabinet maker. He got a nasty sliver at work, and was picking it out. The (mean, nasty) boss came by and said, "Got a sliver? Put a circle around it, and take it out on your own time!" How very rude! I would have said, "Why? I got it on company time!" ]

We will use oak, maple, walnut or cherry woods, but oak is our favorite. It has a pleasing grain and accepts stains nicely. If you look at a piece of oak furniture, and compare it to the raw wood, you might be very, very surprised to learn that the color you think of as 'oak' is actually an applied stain. The wood itself is very much lighter in color. (See photo, below.)

Raw (Red) Oak Stained Oak

On the left, above, the actual color of the wood; and on the right, the usual "oak" color most people think of. This is a stain color called "Golden Oak" in the brand we use. I have noted the raw wood as 'red,' because oak comes in both red and white varieties. The white oak is even lighter, almost like maple, but we don't use it much, as it is very difficult to work with, which in turn raises our cost on the finished product.

There are certain woods that, while they are beautiful, we don't use much for any number of reasons. First, we try very hard, when possible, to use recycled/salvaged wood to save on resources. We absolutely avoid buying wood from clear-cutting operations, and will use only farmed woods from sustainable operations whenever possible. This eliminates many of the exotic hardwoods like zebra or koa wood from our available stock.

When the exotic woods can be found as farmed wood, they are usually very, very expensive, so that is another 'stopper.' Sometimes, we can find small pieces in the 'scrap' bin at our supplier's, and these we craft into either smaller items, or use as accent laminations.

Another of the main reasons for not using much in the way of some exotics such as bloodwood is simply the wear and tear on the tools. Bloodwood is so hard, it is almost like cutting a rock, when it comes to what it does to the saw blade. One or two passes through, and you're done: time to have the blade sharpened! After that, if you persist, you will be burning your way through from the friction of the blade's rotation, more than cutting. Not only is this hard on the saw blade and its motor--it is dangerous. The blade can easily bind and cause the wood to break and/or be thrown, or, worse, catch fire!

We like to buy raw lumber, in inch-thick sections, called '4-quarter stock' in the lumber industry. (Don't ask me why--I've no idea why they would use the 4-quarters of an inch measure instead of just saying 1 inch!) There is also 1-1/4 inch thick wood we can sometimes get.. called, you guessed it.... '5-quarter stock'!! (** Check out this post on another blog for that author's take on silly ways to measure things: http://straythoughtsonaleash.blogspot.com/2007/08/silly-counting.html**) At that, it is 'nominally' those measures--meaning, they got it close, but not exact. This raw lumber is as it came in from the original mill. It has been cut into boards, but is of random lengths and widths, and still rough--not planed or sanded at all.

We select what projects we want, and from there, cut the wood into the lenghts and widths we need, then run it through our planer to pare it down to the exact thickness desired, and do a preliminary smoothing. (Actually reverse that--it goes through the planer first--easier and safer to feed large boards than small pieces!) This is an operation that creates a lot of shavings! By 'a lot,' I mean that if we are running say, 20 boards through, it takes several passes on each board, as you cannot take too large a 'bite' at one pass. One person feeds the lumber in, and another 'catches' or pulls it on the outfeed side. Guess which end I get: Right! Guess on which end the shavings end up? Right, again! More than once, I"ve found myself nearly knee-deep in wood shavings from this proceedure!

Tomorrow, I'll go into some of our actual crafting operations, and design inspirations.

Until then, Cheers!

Winter is Upon Us

2009-12-22T22:52:00.000-08:00

     Yesterday (Monday the 21st), was the WInter Solstice: the shortest day of the year. From here on out, the days begin to lengthen again, so in a very real sense, Solstice, and not January 1st, marks the 'beginning of the New Year'.

     I had planned a nice little Solstice celebration, complete with burning a small Yule log in our portable firepit, but the weather had other ideas: it rained! Fine! So I came inside, and turned on my battery-operated, cat-safe "candle," and drank a glass of egg nog. Gotta be flexible!

     As the year winds down, and we all reflect on where we've been and where we're going, I thought I'd finish my blogging for the year with some stray thoughts to clean up some mental 'loose ends' as it were...enjoy my rambling nonsense:

     It occurs to me that every time I think of some new trend in inventions, someone beats me to it--probably because I don't have the means (or know-how, in many cases) to design and create a prototype, and finagle my way through the legal hurdles of copyrighting said idea. None of these things have anything to do with crafting, so I present them here simply as entertainment.

      I do follow auto circles to some extent, and I enjoy watching races. I've also followed the development of solar, and seen the very bulky solar-powered cars that race through the Australian outback. The biggest drawback to solar always seems to have been the inordinate weight imposed by all the battery packs required.

     My thought, going back several years, has always been, "Why not have the photo-voltaic solar cells just drive the motor directly, and eliminate any need for batteries?!" Lo and behold, on TV yesterday, there it was! My idea, come to fruition! Oh, man! (Slaps self on forehead.)

     One of my previous such frustrations includes, "If we can put men in space, and return them to earth without being 'cooked' on re-entry, then why can't we make a toaster that doesn't get hot on the outside?!" Sure enough, a few years later, there they were: cool-touch toasters!

     I'm going to stop voicing my ideas--someone must be stealing them! ;-)

     Next, I'm going to actually invent something for my cats. Purrhaps it will let me reclaim my bed at night! Hee hee hee...oh, I forgot: the cats allow us to share their bed!

***

     I have the solution to the country's economic mess: just print more money, and pass it around! Hee hee! Our money isn't backed by the silver standard anymore. It really is not worth much more than the paper on which it's printed.

     So, just print up a cool million for every citizen over the age of 18, and they will all go out and buy stuff, or pay off bills, and the economy will be all better!

(Well, I can dream, can't I?--I warned you, today's blog was for entertainment purposes. Please don't take me seriously today!)

     Hmm..you know, it's not just the end of a year, but the end of a decade. We're now all 10 years older! HA! I just had to bring that up, didn't I?! (Ducking)

     In one of my modes, I am a stand-up comic: I used to belong to a comdey improvisation troupe. If you have ever watched "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" on TV's Comedy Channel, you've seen the kind of thing I was into. In fact, I'll tell you a little secret, here. "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" actually began as my stage name! I liked it, and decided to keep it as my online personna.

     Sadly, there is no such group where I now live, and I miss it greatly. It was a lot of fun...and sometimes, I just run in that mode, and my online friends and acquaintances reap the "benefits." Some of them may not realize I'm just being a wiseass...a professional wiseass, at that. ;-)

***

     And with that, I'll close out this blog for 2009.   May you all have a very Happy Holiday, whatever one you celebrate, and a prosperous New Year!

More reasons why about yesterday's post

2009-11-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made a strong case against "Black Friday." Today, I offer these links, the first one is within Etsy.com's "Storque" blog..and yes, you can read it without having an account...I signed myself out to check... and the second is a link to the page explaining the entire project.

This is about shopping locally, at small independent stores, instead of at big-box chains, which, in spite of people's arguments about "how many jobs they provide," actually do more harm than good to our economy. This is about bringing production of goods back onto our own shores, and thereby saving and making thousands more jobs than would be lost by loosing the 'big box' stores.

Read on:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/new-rules-support-your-local-economy-6092/

http://www.newrules.org/

Cheers!

Black Friday--Please Boycott!!

2009-11-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today's post is simply intended to plead with all holiday shoppers to not patronize brick-and-mortar stores on so-called 'Black Friday.'

It is an unfortunate tradition that is very disruptive to families' holiday celebrations. If really feel you must shop that day, please shop online only!

I was just going to post a link to my Face Book page, so everyone could read what I wrote in detail, but I then realized that not everyone who may read this blog is a Face Book friend, and so would be unable to read it. Thus, I've just copied/pasted that text here:

****************

Ok, people. Here it is: it's far past time to kill he over-hyped, over-priced, obsessive consumer shopping monster that has this country in its grip!

Here are TWO websites to help in this endeavor:

http://www.adbusters.org. and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Day

I have been annoyed in the extreme with corporate 'rushing of the season' for many, many years. This year, however, came the straw that broke the camel's back--and I'm GOING TO NAME (corporate) NAMES!!

KOHL'S is REQUIRING ALL of its employees to work on so-called "Black" Friday. That's bad enough, that they (and all other brick-and-mortar retailers) are SO greedy that they cannot even allow thier employees to have the entire Thanksgiving weekend holiday in peace and quiet with THEIR families.

No, they have to take it a step further, and open the freaking store at FOUR A.M.!! I'm sorry, but NO ONE needs to be shopping already at THAT hour! It's the middle of the danged night for pete sakes!! If anyone seriously has to shop (doubtful) on THAT day... they can surely do it just as well during the store's normal operating hours!

This means that every single person who insists on going shopping that day is RUINING SOMEONE ELSE'S HOLIDAY!! There is no more plain and simple way to put it than that.

FURTHERMORE--there is a ripple effect...for many families, this means curtailing or cutting short their own holiday plans to accomodate the outrageous, obscene work schedule of the retail employee in the family. My own plans have been affected, even though my kids are adults with their own families. However, my husband and I are spending the holiday with HIS mother this year--3.5 hours from home. We won't be home till Sunday. Ergo, I need someone to care for my pets, and administer meds ON SCHEDULE to one of them.

Thanks to KOHL's extreme family UN-friendly policies, my daughter will now NOT be available at the appropriate times to do this....forcing us to seriously impinge on and alter our own plans. She is the best (and really only) option for this; she lives near, our animals know her, and she knows their routine. (And no, I cannot afford to have them boarded, so don't even go there! )
You'd better believe I just sent a scathing e-mail letter off to KOHL's corporate! I even told them that I was struggling to maintain civility as in truth, I had NOTHING ladylike to say about the matter.

WHY NOT just start the shopping season on Monday? Let FAMILIES have thier 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. In my opinion, anyone who thinks it is that necessary to go shopping that early should be taken out to a field and horse-whipped! That is unbridled consumerism at its very worst, and about as necessary as watering the lawn in a rainstorm!

GET A GRIP, people! STAY HOME!! BOYCOTT BLACK FRIDAY!! HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE STORE'S EMPLOYEES! LET'S KILL THIS MONSTROUS TRADITION THIS YEAR!

PLEASE RE-POST THIS ANYWHERE AND EVERYWEHRE YOU CAN--BLOGS, YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE, TWITTER, CHAT ROOMS YOU ATTEND...WHERE EVER! LET'S PUT A STOP TO THIS CRAZY NONSENSE FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL!!

Thank you!!

A Not Altogether Wasted Monday...

2009-11-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

I finally finished my kitty cat coasters, and by the skin of my teeth, at that. I ran out of sealer spray just as I finished the backside of the last one! WHEW!

Here's how they came out:

As you can see, I went ahead and did mixed sets. Even though my poll is not expired, it was running 50-50 between all one color and mixed sets. I am on the hunt for more of this thin pine, and when I find some, I'll add some single-color sets to the offerings.

If anyone of my readers KNOWS of a source for this very thin knotty pine (originally used as packing material), within a20-mile radius of my location in the far eastern side of Contra Costa County, California, please let me know!

I'm fairly pleased, but there were a few minor issues with the paint and the wood grain. It happens. Not a lot can be done about it, but, after all...minor imperfections are all part of 100% hand-made items. It proves no robots or other fancy machinery went into the manufacture!

Next, I have to spray the new mousie ornaments I've finished...but that will involve going and buying more sealer first. Ahh... interruptions..gotta love 'em! Good excuse to stop by Peet's for a mocha??? (hee hee hee.) Actually, had to go out anyway--stop by P.O. and ship out an order; go to bank; might as well pick up the spray while I'm out and about. And in reality, I guess I don't really get to go to Peet's, as it's 3 miles in the opposite direction from my main errands. Oh, well, was fun thinking about it. LOL

That's that for today. Back to work and off to errands!

Cheers!

Finishing up

2009-11-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

Good Morning.

   At least I think it still qualifies as morning...that's an unusual phrase for me to use. LOL Actually, it is 10:30, I just got up about 45 minutes ago from a delightful Sunday sleep-in, and I'm still in 'waking up and becoming functional' mode.

   I worked out in the studio until after 10 last night, finishing up several of my mouse ornaments. They will be ready for their photographs today. I also finished 3 sets of the kitty-cat coasters, and they will receive their sealer coats today, then be photographed.

    As of this moment, I have made 3 sets of 4 in assorted kitty colors...and am now all out of the recycled wood I was using. So far, I have had no luck in tracking down a new source of this same kind of wood. It seems that things are now packed exclusively in cardboard or wrapped in paper, and not protected by thin wood. The hunt goes on.

***************************

Okay--started post this a.m., put it on hold ... it is now 3:30 p.m., and I've finally finished all I can do for today out in the studio. The mice are finished...got the antiquing done.. now they must dry 24 hrs. before I can spray the sealer, and THEN, several hours later, they will finally be ready for photos...so, I was considerably ahead of myself this morning. (Overeager to be done?) See? Told you I'm not a morning person. Brain does not work well before noon. LOL

   While there is much more that I could be working on out there, I've had to quit for the day, as the antiquing process involves some pretty heavy fumes, (from the solvent used to wipe back the antiquing...sort of like a paint thinner kind of smell), and I was getting a headache. So I picked up all my paints, to get ready for tomorrow, when our 'regular' business partners will be here to work, and I can't have my painting stuff in the way.

   In fact, I still smell it, so some must have gotten onto my sweatshirt...I must conclude this blog and go put the shirt outside to air out!

   However, my new mice and coasters should be up sometime this week, so keep watching!

Cheers!

The Year is Flying By...

2009-11-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Holey Smokes! Can you believe it's already November???? Every year about this time, I ask, "WHO put grease on the calendar?!" No one ever 'fesses up, though. Sigh. Must be that "Murphy" guy! LOL

.......and here we are, already into the second week of November! Yow! Well, folks, I've finally found my missing stencils, so I can now get back to work making more of my recycled wood coasters. Woo Hoo!

Here are a couple of photos of ones already made:

These are square, irregular thickness pieces of knotty pine, salvaged from packing material. Go green! ;-)

I also plan to offer some with kitty-cats. The one pictured below is but a single one that is a prototype.

Please visit the poll in the sidebar at top right, and help me choose which color kitties would be most popular for the new coasters! ;-) I'm sure I'll do at least a few of each, but having an idea of which color should be the highest quantity would be helpful. Thank you!

Halloween and Fall Thoughts

2009-10-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

    Happy Halloween, or Happy Samhain, whichever it may be for you!

    While I am not so fond of the end of summer and the coming of cold weather, I have always liked Halloween. It is and always has been my favorite holiday, as it sparks my creativity, and I can let my imagination run wild to create whatever quirky ideas may come forth. I'm not into the Hollywood version of guts and gore, but I do enjoy the creation of spooky and mildly to moderately scary scenes. I was for a few years, involved in the production of a Haunted Theater back in the day.

    We members of the Pacifica Spindrift Players had decided that "everyone and his brother" does a haunted house theme...but we...well, we are a theater group, and we have a perfectly good theater...so what else to do but created a haunted theater?! I was involved for the first three years of this production, prior to moving from the area. It ranked among the most fun things I've done in my life. (While I've provided a link to that group, sadly, it does not seem that the haunted theater is being done anymore.)

      Carving pumpkins, painting my Halloween ceramics, helping my daughter decorate her house for Halloween (no kids on our street), all are things that occupy my thoughts at this time of year. Baking? Eh...not so much.   I did more than my share back when my kids were young, and cooking is not one of my favorite things to do.   That said, I do have a good stock of holiday recipes upon which I can rely when the budget gets too tight to shop for gifts...definitely the case this season!

     Holiday cards...I'm going to 'mail' all my holiday greetings via e-mail this year. That will be both budget-friendly and eco-friendly, saving both postage and paper! Only a few people who either do not have internet access, or whose e-mail addresses I do not have, will be sent paper greetings through the Postal Service.

    Gift wrapping this year?   Use up any leftovers of purchased wrap I already have. When that runs out, I'll go to plain white tissue paper, and/or recycled brown paper bags. Gift tags? Handmade from holiday cards received in prior years.

    Although I am a California native, my parents were New Englanders. They also lived through the Great Depression of 1929. Hence, I was raised with the frugal Yankee values of, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." This was instilled in me from childhood, and explains why, when I was home sick from school one day, I shed oceans of tears over the 'terrible waste of food,' when my mom had gone to the store for cough medicine for me, and a few small grocery items.

     Mom did not drive, and the little store was only a block away. However, it was pouring rain that day, and by the time she got a few doors from home on her return, the paper sack had become so waterlogged that it broke. All the groceries fell out onto the sidewalk. The bottle of orange juice smashed, as did the bottle of cough syrup. Mom scooped up as much as she could, and ran to put it on our front steps, which were sheltered from the weather. Then she ran back, and got as much of the rest as she could. As it happened, the loaf of bread ended up on the step below the broken bottle of cough syrup. Given that the medicine was inside a box, the broken glass was contained, but the liquid seeped out of the box, and dripped down onto the bread. You must realize this was before bread was packed in plastic bags--the packaging was cellophane--easily torn, and not liquid-tight by any means.

     Now, I don't know how many of you are familiar with the cough syrup that was branded as "Pertussin"; that's what she had purchased. If you don't know what it is, the smell is something on the order of turkey stuffing, as it has a good deal of the herb thyme as part of the ingredients. There sat the loaf of bread, soaking up 'eau du thyme,' while my 10-year-old self wailed from the top of the stairs about the waste, the terrible waste.

     Mother, needless to say, was annoyed on a number of levels. She salvaged what she could, grabbed a broom to sweep the broken orange juice bottle from in front of the neighbor's house, and prepared to return to the store to replace what had been lost. (I think maybe she waited for a break in the weather...that part of the story is less strong in my memory.)

    That was a bit of a long-way-around of stating that I am no stranger to 'green' and 'eco-friendly' habits. It's always been just something I do. Only nowadays, it seems to have evolved into a fad and a buzz-word. That concerns me, as fads are all too often passing fancies that do not stay around. With many fads, that is just as well. But when it comes to responsible husbandry of this rock on which we all live, a 'passing fancy' is not okay.

    Cheers and may you all have a bountiful, wonderful and safe holiday season.

Winter Is A-Cumin' In....

2009-10-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

   The first signs of cold weather are here. While we have mostly either evergreen trees, or those that loose their leaves without first turning color, there are other signs that the season is turning. For one thing, we've had our first big rainstorm, and then this week, two days in a row of howling winds, with gusts strong enough to do serious damage to trees, and even to the landmark San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

   Cooler weather, however, severely impacts the ceramics business. For one thing, the ceramic clay itself is much slower to 'set up' in the molds, and when it has set up and the excess dumped out, it takes much longer for the piece to become solid enough to remove from the molds.

On the painting end, the paint is much slower to dry, and glaze, especially, takes 'forever' to dry in cool weather. I've had to resort to turning on the space heater in my studio today, and I hate doing that, because they make the electric meter spin like a doggoned helicopter!

    The pumpkins have been out in the stores for a week or two now; Halloween costumes, too. Another sign of Fall is the ripening of the pomegranates on our tree. Now, I am 'sure' there is something useful to do with pomegranates besides eating them. (Funny, don't you think, how things you loved as a kid don't seem so appealing to your adult self?) I used to love pomegranates. Now, not so much.

  Perhaps something to do with getting sick on the undiluted juice that was just sicky-sweet?    So much for attempting juice-making with them. I think maybe they used to also be used as dye for yarn or fabric, but since I neither spin yarn nor do weaving, that option is out.

A whole treefull of beautiful red fruits, threatened with the green waste bin. No, no! My Yankee-bred conscience won't allow that! Think!   Aha! Solution: pick them, and donate to the after-school program at the karate school. Problem solved! (And they were very grateful!)

   My thoughts turn belatedly to crafting Fall decor for Halloween and Thanksgiving.   Something inside me just refuses to experience or prepare for a season months ahead of time...doing that finds me burned out by the time the actual holiday arrives.

  I get disgusted beyond polite words at seeing Christmas items out on display in the stores already! It is just not right! Let Halloween and Thanksgiving have their fair share of time on the calendar, please. October is for Halloween; November is for Thanksgiving. I do not care to see Christmas displays prior to December 1st. (Okay, okay, the day after Thanksgiving if you must!) Who's with me?


    And now, I must return to my studio to finish that stubborn slow-drying glaze! Cheerio!

Discoveries

2009-10-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hello, Crafters and other friends!

    As I've stated many times, I'm a "Jill of All Trades."  I love variety and trying new things.   One of my many crafting forays was an attempt at soap-making. Mind you, I did not have a 'scratch' recipe... I purchased soy-based soap 'melts' into which could be put fragrances and colors. I made several one year for my grandsons' Christmas gifts. They were quite amused to get little bars of pink soap, scented like bubble gum and with a tiny plastic pig encased in the middle. AHA! You have to actually wash your hands to get the toy!

That bit of gift-making experimentation over with, I packed up the supplies and put them away. In the meantime, we moved. To say that chaos ensued would be a world-class understatement! Eventually, I got my new art studio up and running, but it very quickly got taken over by our full-scale bisque ceramics operation.   All my other crafts languished in various closets and cupboards.

    (Creating ceramics is an extremely dusty enterprise, and dust is incompatible with all my other crafting ventures, e.g., jewelry, scrapbooking, soap, needlepoint, etc. The dust is very, very fine, and sifts into literally everything. A closed cupboard offers no protection. If you have ever sanded wood with a power sander, it is finer dust than that; if you have ever done sheetrock sanding, it is finer dust even than that!)

    As this year's budget is on the tight side, I again thought about the soap, and since I now have granddaughters about the age the grandsons were during my first attempt, I thought to unpack the soap stuff, and do a reprise. Well don't you know, I tore apart my craft cupboard in the studio, and no soap making supplies were anywhere to be found.

    I did find some candle-making supplies, and instantly learned that candles should not be stored in a room that reaches over 100 degrees F. on a regular basis (when the kiln is running). Ooops! Well, of course, I did know that candles should not be stored in hot places, and we carefully keep all our holiday and emergency candles out of the attic. However, at the time my art studio was finished and things put inside was before I acquired the kiln and began the ceramics business.   By the time we installed the kiln, I had completely forgotten the candle-making stuff was in there. Grumble, grumble...I know now!

   Among the other things I found, however, were some stenciled coasters I had begun making years ago, and which got packed up with all my other crafts for the move. I had completely forgotten about them as well. However, now that I've re-discovered them, I'll be putting the final finishing touches and listing them in my Etsy shop.   As to whether there will ever be any more of these made depends on my being able to find similar material.

   Many of my crafts are 'upcycled' from things originally with a very different purpose. Not quite "scrap crafts," though; I don't make reindeer from egg cartons, for example. The wood from which the coasters were made  began as packing material to prevent bailing wire from cutting through paper-wrapped bales of wood-chips. (My elder daughter used to have a couple of Guinea Pigs, and we used the wood shavings for their cage litter.) However, since I no longer purchase bales of wood chips, I no longer get these pieces of thin wood. It is not sold in that thickness at retail. The only such thickness is found in balsa wood, strips of thin plywood, or bass wood, intended for hobby model-makers, and the cost is prohibitive. The search goes on.

   I have also found my stash of sewn-on sequins in assorted shapes, which I use to decorate some very special Christmas stockings. These stockings are very labor-intensive, and I usually just make one pair every now and then for special friends. That said, however, I am now stuck on the problem...once again...of not being able to find the appropriate raw materials. They use old-fashioned nylon stockings (not pantyhose) with a seam up the back of the leg, and also mens' old-fashioned thin silk dress socks. Trying to find either item nowadays is, well, let's just say the proverbial needle in a haystack has a better chance.

   I have a lot of work cut out for me still as I continue to search through my cupboards, looking for my soap-making supplies. Who knows what other forgotten crafts or supplies I will find as I search? It's a regular first-class detective mystery!

Not Quite Crafts...

2009-10-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

By now you know this blog is mostly about my crafts. Today's post is not. I do have some vintage items I'll be putting in my online shops from time to time, so I thought I'd share a few of the pictures here.

This first one is an abstract poodle pin, given to me by a school chum when I was in high school.

I don't really know anything about the maker, whose mark is seen in the lower left photo, above.

The next item is an antique GOP elephant pin. I've no idea whether it was just a "party pride" pin, or related to a specific campaign. I've not been able to find out. All I know is that it was with my great-great aunt's stuff when she passed back in 1963 at the age of 86, so it's definitely very old.

For your enjoyment next on the menu are a couple of vaseline glass bowls/candy/nut dishes. No clue as to vintage, maker or pattern name (no marks on the undersides!) They came to my mother from a great-aunt of mine. They are both intriguing shapes, but I've never really been fond of this yellow-green color glass. I'm more partial to deep, rich tones, like cobalt blue glass and ruby or cranberry glass. At right above, shown in normal lighting, and below left, under a blacklight.

The next one is taller, and is shown below right, in normal light, and below center, under blacklight.

And that's all for today, folks! Thanks for stopping by to look at my curios!

New shop slowly taking shape--and other miscellaneous stuff happening ;-)

2009-10-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

Check out my shop on ArtFire. It is slowly but surely being populated with items. I have so many different things I do that I don't spend a great deal of time on any one of them at a stretch. I bounce back and forth..."multi-tasking."

Truth is, I thrive on variety, and would end up bored to tears and in a looney bin somewhere if I had to do the same thing over and over and over all day long, day in and day out.

This week, I got to get back into video editing, which I enjoy, although, I'm not real thrilled with the Windows "Movie Maker" program. It has limitations I do not like, so I'm researching other options. I have Pinnacle Studio 7, but the hardware card seems to be among the missing. Until that can be located, I cannot install it in my computer. Further, my current computer has 2 built-in firewire ports to which my video cam can be connected, so there may not be space inside for the Pinnacle Studio card. (All of that, however, is hubby's department--he used to make a living as a hardware/software configuration specialist. However, working with such large clients as Wells Fargo and Kaiser Permanente...and having their hard drives in your possession, complete with all the data on their clients....was an extremely high-stress job, and probably responsible for his several heart attacks! So, I put no pressure on him...if/when it gets done, it does, if not, I'll muddle through.)

Today, I'll be getting some more painting done, as I have to clear the painting out before tomorrow, to make way for cleaning green ware. Cleaning green ware is a very, very dusty process, and completely incompatible with painting or glazing. The extremely fine dust will settle into wet paint or glaze and ruin the job. Too bad I can't afford to create separate rooms for dusty/non-dusty operations! That way, everything that is 'in process" could be just left out for the next work session. Ah, well, such is life. ;-)

That is all for now, folks. Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, Wednesday....

2009-10-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

    Finished the race video...tried to work on the one for MIL wedding (now 2 years old--shame on me!) and found I HAD finished it, but at the time, had no means to burn it to a CD or DVD. Now I do, but it won't work! Grr... tells me all sorts of error messages, such as "invalid file type" or "no disc in drive" (now that's an outright lie!)

   Well, since the video I was having trouble with is from a saved file 2 years old..that may be the problem. I might have to re-upload the original raw footage from the camera, and start all over again in the editing process. Grrrrrr.....

    Not quite sure how to proceed at this point, so I'm going back to paint more mice while I think about it!

    Just posted up 2 new ornaments today on my Etsy site. Will do more tomorrow, or later this evening on my Artfire site.

    Keeping it brief today, and lately. Just quick updates, no articles in mind just now.

Work in Progress...

2009-10-05T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I found the program in Windows to edit video, found the missing fire wire cable for the video camera (it was plugged into the back of the computer the whole time! I guess that's. sort of like loosing your glasses while wearing them! DUH!)

Now, all I have to do is finish editing the video I shot of the Radio Control car races, (promised to hubby), then the wedding video (2 yrs old!!) for my mother-in-law... and THEN I can shoot my demo video of my studio and the entire process of ceramic-making!

Woo-Hoo! Onwards and upwards!

Happy crafting, everyone!

Fall Is Here...

2009-10-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

And with Fall, Winter is not far behind. :::sigh::: I sit here and wonder who spilled grease on the calendar. How is it that days can drag, while years zoom? And the older we get, the faster they go...with still so much left to do.

Speaking of which, I've decided to offer some of my "Mousechief Crew" tree ornaments as DIY projects in sets of 4. I thought it might be fun, and folks might like to paint some up to their own specifications and color schemes. the first two sets are now posted in my Etsy shop. Here they are:

This is set #1 above. It has the candle climber, North Pole, Bell, and Hickory Dickory mice.

Below, is set #2, which features the wreath napper, bedtime prayers, sleepy Willie, and "Grandma Mouses."

Set #3 is not yet posted, so I'll keep it secret a bit longer. These darling little mousie critters average about 3" tall, and are quite detailed. Regular readers will recall that week or so ago, I wrote an in-depth article about the full process for creating these little fellows, as well as my carousel animal line.

***********************************************************************

I also make a Western-themed line, which are much larger statuettes, and excellent gifts for the horse lover in your circle of family or friends. The overall process for making the Western items is exactly the same...with the exception of the size, and the fact that several are multiple-piece molds.

A mulitple-piece mold has some or several of the various parts of the finished statuette poured separately, for if it were to be poured all of a piece, there would be too many angles for the piece to release from the mold without breaking. So, these smaller parts are poured separate, and must be attached with a clay slurry mixture while the clay is still very wet. This is done just as soon as the figure comes out of the mold.

It can be very tricky, for often these parts are small, and they are fragile, and easily squished at the soft clay stage, or cracked and broken off at the green ware stage while it is being cleaned. Here is one example of such a piece:

In this item, the Buffalo Soldier, the extended front leg of the horse is an "attachment," and as you can see, it is sticking out "in harm's way." It is a very difficult item to clean in preparation for firing, withouth breaking this extended leg. Imagine a few strands of raw spaghetti laid across your palm. Now, if you were to close your palm, and begin to squeeze, it would not take much before those strands would snap. That is a pretty fair example of how fragile raw green ware is. You can literally crush it in your hand with little to no effort.

This bronco rider is even worse to deal with. Not only is one of the horse's legs an attachement (the opposite side from that shown here), but the entire torso and head of the rider is an attachment, as is his left hand and arm. His right hand is actually molded in with the mane of the horse, so it must be carefully aligned when the torso is attached. This figure is a real "PITA" to assemble, and likewise very fragile and easily broken at any stage along the way.

These are much larger items, each standing approximately a foot tall...so their added weight adds to the risk of damage. There are even some items which must be carefully laid in a box of newspaper shred to dry, or they will either fall over or 'squish down' from the weight of the wet clay.

Like the much smaller mice, these are very intricately detailed pieces, and painting them realistically takes a long time. For the most part, we just offer these in either the faux-bronze look seen here, or in a plain gloss glaze (we will do realistic painting, but must ask for a 3-week lead time, and they are about double the price of the plain finishes). The plain gloss glaze finish is seen on the rearing stallion, below. (Note that his left leg is one of those pesky "attachments.")

So, happy Fall, and ... (I dread to rush the season) .. happy holidays. Be well and be safe, each and every one.

Friday Update..

2009-10-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings, everyone!

    Today is Friday, yay for that. But, my plans have hit a snag...my idea for creating a video presentation of my work has been delayed by computer issues.

    It seems that in order to install the software to run my video editing suite, it is first necessary to have a hardware card installed in my machine. That card is still in my old computer, and changing it over is my husband's department--unfortunately, he will be unavailable to fix that until next week.

   Meanwhile, I have video to shoot at the Radio Control car races being held in town this weekend, so, I need to refresh my memory on use of the camera.   After that, if hubby wants the race video ready to upload, it will behoove him to act quickly to make the changover in the computers. Nothing like a little extra bribery for incentive, eh? Heh, heh, heh!

    I continue to work on my holiday ornament painting, and will be listing more items each day. Keep checking back in my Etsy shop at: www.DzyMsLizzy.Etsy.com

    Thanks for following my blog, and for shopping with me! You are all appreciated.

Cheers!

Photos, Editing, busy, busy

2009-10-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Well, there is a lot to do today. I have a slew of mice to paint; photos to re-take and tweak; which in turn must be uploaded to computer, edited, and swapped out for other pictures in my Etsy listings.

Then, I must re-install my video editing software, as it was in my old computer. I am supposed to be editing a wedding video for my mother-in-law, ... (ahem--the wedding was 2 years ago! Ooops!)... but, that video was also in my old computer, and it somehow did not transfer across to the external hard drive when we sent the puter in to have the data rescued. UGH!! I was about halfway done--now I must start from square one. This time, I'm in a time crunch, as I promised to bring it when we visit for Thanksgiving.

Next, I have to get out the manual, and re-learn this video cam (it is fairly new to me...I've hardly used it at all), and shoot the video I want of my studio processes. Probably some of the cat's antics, as well... I've more or less hinted at a promise of cat videos to friends on my other blog (part of the Cat Blogosphere).

That's about it for today--none of it will get done if I don't get off this computer! :-)

Cheers, Lizzy

The Holidays are Coming; The Holidays are Coming!

2009-09-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

A 1 an' a 2, an' a 1...2...3.... and heeeeeere we go! It's October, and that means just one thing: the official beginning of the time of year known as The Holiday Season.

Most B&M stores have their holiday offerings out ridiculously early, 'rushing the season,' as it were. I don't care for this practice, but I do understand that with mail-order sales, which is what we online crafters are doing, it is necessary to be a bit ahead of the game to allow for shipping time.

That said, I still do not like to be working on holiday items in June, so every September and October finds me 'busting tail' to get my Etsy and Artfire shops stocked with holiday goodies.

I am in the middle of painting a slew of cute little mice for my "Mousechief Crew" ornament collection. There will be several duplicates, so more than one person can have them; there will also be some one-of-a-kind. Aha... collectibles value? LOL Probably not.

But, you can look for my new offerings for Halloween already in my shop; and a few last-minute items will be there by the end of this week.

Christmas will not be far behind. Somehow or another, Thanksgiving gets cheated out of very many decorations..who's with me to rectify this situation? Sign on below in the comments!

That's it for today...back to work for me!

Cheers!

A New Technique

2009-09-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

Ceramic Plaques

Some of you may have read my earlier post about how I create my small holiday ornaments...as well as the larger ceramic items.

I have added a new line; wall plaques engraved with various "cute" sayings. For these, I use an entirely different approach.

The plaques are molded, in a sense, but instead of liquid clay slip being poured into molds, I begin with moist clay in a block, much as a potter might use to throw on a wheel. I have several molds, this type more properly known as "jigs," into which I fit pounded slabs of clay.

Pounded? That's right. Once the clay is cut from the large block, it is unlikely to be 100% the correct size and shape, or thickness. Chances are, a few pieces will have to be squished together to form the whole. The pounding makes sure all the layers have become one, and there are no air pockets in the middle. Air pockets spell death to ceramics. The least little bit of air in the middle will have whatever tiny amount of atmospheric moisture in it, that was trapped when the clay was molded. In the kiln, this becomes steam, and expands. It has nowhere to go, so "kaboom" goes your piece!

The pounded clay is then laid into the jig, and pounded further to fill in to the corners. Then, it is rolled with a roller to smooth the top. (The jig is fastened to a smooth surface, so the bottom is more or less smooth already.) Once the jig is completely filled, any excess is cut from around the edges, and the clay allowed to sit and start to dry. There is a lot of moisture; it can be left to sit even overnight in cool weather.

After it has hardened up enough to handle without warping too much (clay has 'memory' and a warped piece will come out warped, even if it was re-flattened before finishing the drying process). At this stage, using a sharp pencil, I scribe in the sayings, and blow out the clay shreds that result. I then add whatever edging treatment I desire, and set them to fully dry. Depending on the weather (read: time of year), this can be overnight to almost a week. These plaques are solid clay, ¼" thick.

Once it is fully dry, it then proceeds into the cleaning queue, to be pepared for firing, from that point, the same as any other green ware piece.

After firing, I use a different type of finish treatment to get my 'rustic wood' look. These paints are oil-based, and each coat takes almost a full week to dry fully, even in warm weather. Then, the sealer coat is applied, and they are ready for sale.

Business Cards and a Photo Lesson

2009-09-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

Greetings!
    Todays' article is inspired by a question in one of the Etsy forums about the feasability of making one's own business cards. There was mixed feedback in the forum, some people vehemently against the idea, claiming that self-made cards are "unprofessional," others saying it would be ok to design, but then send them off for printing.

    This article is aimed at making your own cards, from design start to finished product, right at home. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when doing so, and right from the gate, I am going to tell you that you need to have (or be able to borrow) a laser printer.

    A dot-matrix printer will not give you the professional quality card you are after. The images do not come out quite as sharp, but the worst feature of the dot-matrix printer is that the inks will smear and blur in the presence of any moisture (including someone's sweaty hand). That alone will make you look very unprofessional, indeed.

    It is just not very confidence-inspiring to hand someone a card, and say, "Here's my card...don't let it get wet, or the ink will run." WOW! (I speak from sad experience, believe me, it is true.) So, we bit the budget bullet and invested in a color laser printer. The price has come down considerably from where it used to be, but they are still not cheap-cheap machines. Ours is pretty much a bottom-of-the-line model, and it was in the $400. range. That was about 2 years ago, however; the prices may have dropped further by now.

    Next, please consider it an investment in your business, and purchase actual business-card stock.  It is now available with "micro-perfs" and make a very clean edge, (not "fuzzed" like the older type used to be). They look very professional. I strongly recommend that you do not use plain card stock and try to cut them apart with scissors or a paper cutter into individual cards. First, is is not easy to make them absolutely uniform, and size variance is very unprofessional. Sure, if you are handing out one at a time, from your purse or pocket, no one will know--but if you have a table at a craft show, and a stack of cards out...the 'handmade/hand-cut' look will be painfully obvious. My advice: don't do it. In any event, it takes a lot of extra time that you could be spending working on your craft or otherwise promoting your business.

    And now, on to the nuts-and-bolts of the how-to's.

   First and foremost, decide on what information you want and need to put in your card. As obvious as this sounds, it is amazing how many people overlook important items such as their telephone number, e-mail, fax number, or any other such contact-important bits of data. Proofread, proofread, proofread! If you have any grammar or spelling errors, you are hurting your business image. If spelling and grammar are not your strong suit, ask for help with this.

   Next, focus on your design: Are you going to use a simple logo? Clip art images? A photo of one of your products?  (Clip art is easy, much free clip art is available online, and available from simplistic to elaborate.  That said, however, public domain clip art is also the least professional in appearance. I would stay away from that option.) If you have a logo already designed, that would be the way to go. If not, it is also a great idea to use a photo of one of your products.

Be sure the product photo you wish to use was taken at high resolution, and is an absolutely clear and crisp image. This will be the first impression people will form of your goods.

    In my opinion, using a photo image as an entire background might tend to make the card difficult to read, because there are bound to be different colors within the image, and it is nearly impossible to select a font color that will have sufficient contrast with the background at any and all points of the image. (Think about how sometimes you're watching something on TV, and they put up a text graphic, and you can read some of it, but some of the text also blends with the background color making it very hard to read.)

   A better option would be to go with a fair-sized image off to one side or the other of the card, making sure that the photo in question was taken on a plain-colored background (white is probably best, in this case, unless your item is white....), showing nothing but the product. That way, it is easy to 'grab' the photo without having to worry about trying to edit out any distractions.

    As far as card stock goes, the image will show up best on crisp bright white cards, and in that case, will not look unprofessional for not being on glossy stock. (How many glossy photo-business cards do you actually see, "out there" anyway...some, but not all that many.) On white stock, your image, when taken on a white ground, will not have a sphere (or square) of any other color--the white background will blend in to the white card, and your product will really 'pop.'   I will explain how to create this 'floating image,' known as a 'zero-horizon background' at the end of this article.

   You could also use light gray, or maybe ivory. But Obviously, to make your image show to best advantage, you don't want any darker colors. Keep in mind that if any part of your product is transparent or translucent, the background color of the card will show through this part of the photo image, thereby 'coloring' that part of your product.

   No matter how you proceed, it is important to be sure you are using some kind of actual business card template--whether downloaded to work with MS Word, or using an actual design program, such as Print Shop, (what I use), or any of many other graphic-design template-available programs. When you have finished your design to the point of wanting to see it on paper, print out a test print. Many business card packages include a pre-printed template for this purpose. Make several photocopies, (so you don't use up the only one), and print directly on this for an easy way to determine proper fit and layout appearance.

    If your package does not have such a trial-template page, when you have your design roughed in, print it out on plain paper, selecting the option for the full sheet of actual business cards. Then, take a sheet of the business card stock, and hold the paper printout in front of it, against a window or other bright light. Check for proper alignment and fit within the cards, and make any necessary adjustments.

   One thing you want to scrutinize very carefully is legibility. It is easy to get fooled into thinking you can crowd all kinds of information onto your card while working on your computer--it looks great on the monitor--usually defaulted to "fit to window" view.   Surprise! You print out your masterpiece, only to find you need a magnifying glass to read it. I made this mistake once, by being in a hurry, and found that I could barely read the font size even with my glasses on! UGH!! Waste of stock, ink and time!    Lessons learned the hard way stick the hardest, however.    I'll never make that goof agin... I now always re-size the computer screen view to "actual size" so I know what I'm going to end up with.

   Single or double-sided cards?   Personally, I don't like double-sided cards. Many people like to be able to use the back side to make a note to themselves about what the specific product they liked was, or at what craft fair the vendor was found, any verbal offers or information the vendor gave them. If included with an online purchase, the same applies--the buyer is able to record the specific item they bought. It is also amazing how many people will never turn a card over to see what, if anything, is on the back. I even notice this (scarily) when paying with a credit card--they don't turn it over to see that I've not signed it, and instead written, "ask for I.D.")

HOW TO CREATE A ZERO-HORIZON BACKGROUND
Your Photo Lesson of the Day

This section presumes that you have at least basic photo-editing software available to you. You want to minimize the time spent 'messing about' with edits, but you still must be able to cut/copy/paste and adjust size (downward), and possibly white balance, if you have not done so in your camera when doing the shoot.

First, if you already have a great photo of the product you want to feature on your cards, you're in good shape. But look at it closely: is it sharp to the 'nth degree'? Clear color definition? Best angle? Free of distracting shadows or irrelevant items? Background same color as your card stock? If so, great, you're ready to go. If any of these items are lacking, though, you are better off to re-shoot the item with specifics for business card use in mind.

To create a free-floating image that can be easily cut/pasted into your card design with no lines or borders showing around the image, you need to have a background that is virtually the exact same color as the card stock you want to use for your business cards. White or ivory are best first choices, with light gray bringing up the rear. It is easy to find white or ivory cloth; the right shade of gray is less easy to come by.

For this to work, it must be cloth; a hard surface colored board will not work because you will have a line of demarcation between the vertical and horizontal sections of your set. The elimination of this line is what creates your 'zero horizon.' The cloth must also be opaque, and matte finish. filmy, gauzy fabric will defeat the purpose, and shiny fabrics will cause light glare at awkward places. Nothing must show through from behind. Bedsheets are actually excellent choices. They are readily available, and if you do not already have any in plain, unpatterned colors, they may be had fairly cheaply; twin size is more than big enough.

Take your cloth, being sure it is large enough to cover whatever else is behind the area. Tack or tape the top of the cloth to the wall along its entire width. Next, pull the cloth smoothly down and forward, and let it drape into a smooth curve as it falls to the floor or table, or whatever you are using for your level surface for your product. If necessary, iron the cloth first...and be sure you have taped/tacked it evenly...you don't want wrinkles; it must also be spotlessly clean.

If cloth is unavailable, you can also use paper, but it must be paper that comes in a roll, and wide enough to cover the area. (Although paper is trickier to work with--it smudges and tears easily.) You don't want folds or crease marks (or rips) any more than you want wrinkles in the cloth. An absolutely smooth, seamless background is your goal. Here are a couple of examples from my own Etsy shop taken with this method...it is actually how I do 99% of my product photos. That way, I can put them to any use without further editing.

Put your camera on a tripod or other solid surface, set it for the highest resolution possible (refer to your owner's manual). This is important because it will give you the best quality image to import into your card project. You can always reduce it down, but you cannot increase. Trying to increase the size or resolution of a photo taken at too low a resolution will only result in a very fuzzy, blurry, grainy look, and ruin your chances of appearing professional.

Take several shots from slightly different angles. That way, you have options from which to choose, and if you don't like one, you already have others, without having to re-set the entire photo shoot.

Use good lighting...bright, but indirect. As with all your other product photos, avoid using flash. Side-lighting--high from both sides works well--just be sure none of the light glares back into the camera lens. (For further photography-specific and lighting tips, please refer back to my earliest articles in this blog.)

And there you have it. It sounds complicated, but it really is not. There is a lot to read, but it always takes more words to explain how to do something than it does effort in just doing it. Don't panic. Read each step, and refer back as you progress through the stages.

Below is an example of one of my own business cards (my telephone number is deliberately obscured here for privacy reasons.. it is my home number.)

Best wishes in all your ventures, online and off!

Pretty soon..

2009-09-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to bust out either some new pix or a video of how my crafts are made....Just waiting on the right timing for a photo assistant to come help me out... (interpretation: my daughter...LOL)

Always Something New

2009-09-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Hi, Folks!

    As you may have read in my Etsy profile, I like variety, and I'm always changing up the mix. We are currently making a new line of ceramics for sale locally (not allowed on Etsy...water pipes for smoking tobacco.) It is an adaptation of an existing product, but gives us a new line.

    These, along with my Xmas decor items and Western themed items I enjoy the most, as I like seeing a piece through to the finished product. Our wholesale line is far more extensive, ranging from dinner plates to piggy banks, vases, figurines and much more....but those, we see only through the cleaning and first firing, then they are 'outta here,' and we never see them at any stage more than plain white bisque...rather boring.

    I'm getting ready to pop out a whole new line of items, not ceramics, so keep your eyes peeled for my new Holiday offerings. I'm excited!

A WORD TO THE WISE

2009-09-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

OFF-CRAFTS TOPIC POST.

This applies to you if you are on FaceBook, and play any of their games and/or ever decide to click an ad for an online game.

WARNING:

Whatever you do, do NOT sign up for any online games with GAMEVANCE.com.. Here's the full explanation of why, as I sent it to Face Book under 'report an ad':

"There are some 3rd-Party applications and games running on FaceBook, and then there are those which come up as ads. I believe this complaint falls into that category, and this is an ad/company that FaceBook should block/disallow in order to retain its credibility as a safe venue.

"Specifically, the outfit in question is “GAMEVANCE.” They run the game “Duck Hunt” among their other ‘free online games’ offerings. In order to play, they require a person to sign up for an ‘account.’ This is free, but they ask for you to supply your e-mail address.

"Yesterday, I did sign up, and attempted to play a few games. The site is not user-friendly at all, because after you have finished a game, (screen reads, “game over”), you cannot open another one; it tells you that you already have a game open, and must close it first. Unfortunately, there is no way to do this. No ‘close’ button, and by the time this message is displayed, the game you were playing is no longer visible, anyway. The only way to effectively ‘close’ the game is to log out and start again. A nuisance, at best.

"Yet, that is not the worst part. The major problem with this outfit is that they ARE guilty of SPYWARE and ADWARE.

"I had not had my “account” for even 2 hours, when I noticed, when checking one of my blogs, that all of a sudden, one of the words well down in an article was underlined as a hyperlink, and a mouse-over brought up a “GAMEVANCE” search engine dialog box!!!!

"Now, HOW did they get INTO my blog, and mess with it to do this??? Because they are SPIES!!! How do I know this? Simple! In signing up for anything that I’m not quite sure I trust, I use a DIFFERENT e-mail address than I do for anything else. No one knows about what this e-mail addy is; I don’t tell anyone. It is a DIFFERENT e-mail than the one I use for both my blogs and my FaceBook account!

"ERGO---this PROVES that “GAMEVANCE” snooped into my computer, and found all my other items, and without permission, inserted their invasive link into my blog!!! This is INTOLERABLE, UNACCEPTABLE, AND UNETHICAL IN THE EXTREME!

"FaceBook should take whatever steps are necessary to IMMEDIATELY block/cancel/remove “GAMEVANCE” and any and all of its apps from any connection with FaceBook. This is vital in order for FaceBook to maintain its credibility as a safe venue.

"This information WILL BE POSTED everywhere else on the web I can think of…including copies to the ‘big 3’ broadcast corporations. “GAMEVANCE” is a dangerous player, and needs to be taken down post-haste!"
…Liz

Thanks for reading my rant...and please feel free to re-post THIS article, (or excerpts/salient points therefrom), anywhere else you like. We don't need anymore "players" of this nature online.

P.S. --I just found out that one of my acquantances on FACEBOOK had the SAME kind of experience with these clowns...only worse...she had to take her computer in for repair to clean out all the crap this outfit installed without permission!!

NOT a good company--let's do all we can to spread the word & take them DOWN!

Ceramic Ornaments

2009-09-18T01:07:00.000-07:00

Ok--bear with me--I'm still trying to learn how this 'insert picture' function works, and for me, it doesn't always work very smoothly...and the pictures don't come out spaced as I'd like them within the text, and the captions won't behave, either...But, here goes:

Some of my little mice fellows: (I call these collectively, "The Mousechief Crew")

Then, there are the other animals...all are carousel style: some are hung from a molded-in loop and ribbon or gold thread. These can be hung directly on the tree, or from an optional brass stand for tabletop display. Some are actual carousel type, complete with pole.

And there you have it. The second of the two giraffes pictured is a "simple elegance" 24k gold-on-white, while the first one is more "realistically" painted. Nonetheless, they are all "carousel animals," and as such, are painted in somewhat whimsical colors and with very colorful and bright trappings.

These Christmas ornaments will soon be making their way into my Etsy shop. One of my tigers and a giraffe are already there. Oh, and did I mention? The giraffe found its way into a Treasury! Woo Hoo!

My Etsy Shop

Ceramic Animal Ornaments: Behind the Scenes

2009-08-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hello, there, and welcome to a short course on the creation of my ceramic animal ornaments, currently sold in my shop at http://www.etsy.com/.

ALL MY ITEMS ARE PERSONALLY CRAFTED :

MADE WITH PRIDE IN THE GOOD OL' U.S. of A.

The Basic Creation Process:

     I have basically two types: various "mischeivous mice" (I call them "The Mousecheif Crew"), and assorted carousel-type animals.

     The largest of these is only about 4" tall, and that would be the carousel giraffe. The others are only about 2" or 2½" tall max.

   (While this article is specifically about my ceramic holiday ornaments, please note that regardless of the size, type or subject matter of ceramics in my shop, they are all created by this same basic process.)

     First, the liquid clay slip must be poured into the molds, allowed to set up for a very critically sensitive period of time, and the excess slip dumped out. (If they were cast solid, they would be heavy, if they survived the firing: without the internal air space, they stand a much better chance of 'exploding' in the kiln during firing).

     Next, once the casting has set up to a point of being about like leather, it can be removed from the mold, and allowed to finish drying.

     At this point, the green ware must be cleaned; that is, carefully scraped down to eliminate any seam lines left by the molds, which split in half so the item can be removed. Prior to cleaning, the line this leaves is very visible, and most unappealing if not removed. It is a tricky process--these are small, and poured thin--and at the green ware stage can easily be crushed in the hand.

     After the cleaning is finished, it is ready to be fired in the kiln. This takes about 5 hours for the kiln to get up to the temperature required (and almost another 8 hours to cool back down enough to open the kiln and handle the items.) The firing turns the items from extra-fragile green ware into bisque, which is still fragile, but no more so than a drinking glass...that is to say, it can be handled confidently, but it will break if dropped.

     The next step is the first step in the decorating process: to basecoat the entire figurine in a white stain. This allows subsequent colors to 'float' as it were, giving a bit of added depth to the color--but it also has the advantage of keeping the color coats from 'grabbing' the ceramic too quickly before it dries--allowing time to fix any errant brush strokes.

Each of these miniature figurines is highly detailed, and much care must be taken to 'color within the lines.' A good deal of the work requires the use of a high-power magnifying lens visor, and a "2-hair" paintbrush. A steady hand doesn't hurt, either.

     Each color needs to be dry before the adjacent color can be applied. That way, there is no blurring or muddying of the colors into each other. Luckily, the non-toxic acrylic paints I use do dry fairly quickly--albeit if it is wintertime, the drying time is affected, so I try to paint these before the end of the fall season. (Christmas in July and August..oh, boy!)   ;-)

     Once the painting is done, the piece is allowed to dry for at least 24 hours, and then an antiquing colorant is applied, and wiped back. This accents the shadow details and makes for a more finished look.

     The antiqued piece must again dry for at least 24 hours (weather is a factor), before being sprayed with the sealer coat, which is almost the final step.

    The final-final step is assembly. This varies from piece to piece, but may involve custom-fitting of the carousel poles, or measuring and tying ribbon to the hanging loops.

A Word on Pricing:

     Crafters for the most part know that they cannot recoup their time in pricing their items. The most expensive of my figurines are the carousel animals done in a plain glaze with selected highlights done in a 24k overglaze. These run up to about $12. each.

     The color-painted ones run in a range of about $4 - $9, depending on whether or not they are true carousel type, complete with pole, or a simpler tree ornament hung from a built-in loop. A few of these also come with a display stand included, and so are in the mid price range.

     Let's consider, for a moment....if I were to ask the hourly rate I used to get as a handy-gal.. (unthinkable in the crafts market, I know), each figurine would cost upwards of $90...because in that field I got $45. an hour. To be sure, I cannot expect that from crafts...at least not for small figurines. (A wood carver for example, working in large-scale statues, on the other hand, might well command such a price point.)

     That said, each figurine takes approximately 4 hours of labor to complete, from the casting, through cleaning, firing, painting, antiquing and seal coat. (Naturally, I cannot count the kiln time as my labor time; it is just part of how long it all takes.) Even at the minimum wage of $8. per hour (here in California), the full cost of these figurines would come out to about $32. each....just for labor...that does not include supplies and utility costs. The market won't support that.

     Ironically, the plain glazed and gold items take considerably less time in the painting end, but require 2 additional firings in the kiln--one for the glaze, and another for the gold overglaze. This is actual 24k gold suspended in a liquid, and the cost on this is about $20. for a 1-gram bottle! (To put this size in perspective, the bottle measures a little less than ½" in diameter, and only about 1" tall !!) Then, each time the kiln is run, it adds about $14 to the electric bill.

     So, the next time you are shopping online for hand-crafted items, or at a craft fair, before you walk away and decide that the item is "overpriced," just remember--most crafters are working for the love of the craft, and for less than minimum wage. They have a lot of costs that may not be readily apparent to the casual observer or shopper. They are hoping to at least make just a little profit over their 'break-even' point.

    But, by purchasing your gifts and some of your needs from these craftspeople, you are helping the economy recover, and helping to stop the hemmorhaging of our jobs to overseas markets. Every purchase helps.

Thank you for shopping and supporting "Made in the U.S.A."

Publication Alert!

2009-03-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

Friday the 13th of March, 2009

This time, it's a good luck day. I rather made my own luck of the day by my actions last Friday, but that's a long story.

The upshot of it is, I wrote an article for the local hometown paper, had it accepted and published, with a "contributed by" byline and photo credits!

The article is in the "community" section on page 18A, and is titled, "Main Street Gets Racy."

You can check it out at:

http://www.thepress.net/pages/full_story?page_label=results_content&id=2067412-Main+Street+gets+racy&article-Main%20Street%20gets%20racy%20=&widget=push&open=&.

If that link does not work, then visit:

http://www.oakleypress.com/

and just type the name of the article into the search box.

(No, I did not get paid, but it's a foot in the door!)

Some Humor

2009-03-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

Little Johnny, about 9 years old came in the house and asked his father, "Where did I come from?"

Papa gritted his teeth, and launched into a 9-year-old-appropriate description of 'the birds and the bees.'

Johnny sat through all this, squirming somewhat, and when his father had finished, he said, "Oh. Tommy across the street said he came from Ohio, so I wondered where I came from."

Ceramics Running Amok

2009-02-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

Wow! We have a 4-day weekend! That's almost unheard of. So, I'm working on my ceramics, and boy, talk about multi-tasking! I've got some stuff being painted with fired colors, some stuff being glazed, and some stuff done in stains.

Let's define all these types of painting:

Fired colors, also called underglazes, are painted on the raw clay once it is dry, but before it is put into the kiln (it's called 'greenware' at this stage.) Great care must be taken, as greenware is extremely fragile--you can easily crush it in your hand with just a hair too much pressure.

Adding to this stress is the fact that 90% of these underglazes must be worked in 3 successive coats, multiplying the handling time of the greenware immensely. There are some specialized single-coat colors for greenware, but these are normally used only for very small areas, such as for writing something, or for doing eyes or other fine details.

After the item has been fired once in the kiln, it is called "bisque." (Some folks also refer to it as 'whiteware.') At this point it can no longer be so easily broken by hand, unless it is a very fine, thin delicate piece. However, it is now essentially the same stuff as a normal dinner plate--if you drop it, it's going to smash.

Glazes are normally applied only to bisque. There are many types of glazes, both plain colored and specialty types which create many interesting random patterns. (See the blue crystaltone vase in the article just two down for an example.) Once the glaze (again, usually 3 coats) has been applied and allowed to dry thoroughly, it is fired again, at a slightly lower temperature.

The type used depends on the effect you wish. For items which have been pre-painted with underglaze colors, all that remains is to add a clear glaze finish coat. Some glazes have some translucent color and/or speckles in them, which make an interesting finish on the completed item while allowing the base colors to show through fully....see the S&P set at right-----> (click to enlarge)

When working with glazes, you do have to read the labels and pay close attention: not all types can be made lead-free, and those which cannot, such as the crystaltone and other special-effects glazes cannot be used on the insides of any items which will contain food. They should not be used on the outsides of any type of ware which will be in contact with the mouth, such as mugs.

Colored glazes can also be used as the only color(s) on some items, for example, my retro-50's Siamese cats are done only in glaze. I am currently working on a couple of items which will have a combination of colored and clear glazes. This is tricky, as you have to be careful not to overlap the colors as you can to some extent with underglaze colors or stains.

Overglazes are specialty finishes or additions which are applied after the glaze firing, and once the object is cool. Things in this category include gold or silver highlights; decals, and mother-of-pearl, for example. None of these things can be used on an unglazed piece. Once applied and allowed to dry, they require yet another firing to adhere them to the glazed item. This firing is again at a still lower temperature than even the glaze firing. Gold/Silver and mother-of-pearl can be fired in the same firing; decals cannot.

So, the next time you are looking at the price of a ceramic item, note if it has been glazed or not, and whether there are any special extras such as gold or mother-of-pearl. If so, this is all extra labor, time, and cost of firing, which add up. Yes, these items will command a premium price.

Stains, on the other hand, are pretty much a one-step do-it-and-you're-done technique. Most stains cover in one coat...but not always..some colors can be stubborn. Stains do not get used on food containers, only decorative items. These colors are applied only to bisque, and they are water-based. There are hundreds of colors of specialty ceramic stains, but any acrylic paint, such as is found at the local craft store, can be used. For the most part, it is fast and easy to work with stains....that said:

Price point with stains depends more upon the amount of detail in the item and the size. Some of my small hanging ornaments, for example, have such small detail that each one takes over 2 hours of painstaking paint work.

<-------(click to enlarge.)

However, once the painting is done, they can simply be finished off with either a brush-on or spray-on sealer, and that's all. You cannot fire stains: the heat in the kiln will burn the colors right off! (But, if you really foul up, and can't stand the paint job you did...that's a good way to start over.. LOL) ... A stained piece that has been re-fired will not come out completely white again...there will be some residual blotchy color, although very faded.

There are all sorts of other fun techniques that can be done both with stains and with other types of finishes....but that's a whole other article.

Cheers!...Lizzy

Groundhog Day?

2009-02-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the evening of the 3rd, so I missed Groundhog Day. That's okay; I won't be doomed to repeat it over and over again. LOL Funny, don't you think, that if ol' Puxatawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter...and, hmmm...coincidentally, Groundhog Day is just about exactly 6 weeks prior to the first day of spring???? Food for thought. :-)

I'm posting some of the items I have in my shop at: http://www.Etsy.com/DzyMsLizzy

To the left is a blue crystaltone-glazed vase in a shape reminiscent of an Oriental ginger jar. You'll find it in my Home Decor section. I offer a wide selection of both purely decorative items, and utilitarian items. There is some overlap; I see no reason why something useful cannot also be decorative. That way, you can leave it out and enjoy it, thereby saving space inside your cupboards!

And on the right, is a pair of candlesticks with a faux-granite finish. They look and feel like rock, but are, in fact, ceramic. They are about 6" tall, so might want to take candles a bit shorter than those with which I've pictured them, to match the proportions better...but those are the only candles I had on hand.

Below, center, is another faux-rock item, purely decorative in nature. It resembles a chunk of carved rock with a bas-relief sculpture. Again, it is cast ceramic with a specialized finish. This is one of my favorite pieces. It is such fun to do!

Those are all the pictures I'm going to post for now. I'm still on a learning curve with this, and it taxes my poor old brain! LOL

Stop by my store and take a gander at all my items--I have over 70 things listed, from new creations to a good selection of vintage items, including quite a bit of antique sheet music; some of it is really old stuff.

Thanks for stopping by!

...Lizzy

Greetings and Welcome!

2009-01-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog, so please bear with me while I learn the ropes. :-)

It is my hope that this blog will be an exchange forum for sharing tips, ideas, suppliers, shortcuts, and so forth, as we all travel down different forks of the Crafty Road.

I love to do all sorts of crafts and woodworking, but consider myself a mere apprentice woodworker compared to my hubby's skills! He is a master. My forte is decorative ceramics, both whimsical and utilitarian.

My current site for crafts is at Etsy.com: http://www.DzyMsLizzy.Etsy.com There, you will find the kind of assortment of crafts through which I rotate as the mood strikes me.

There is also a section on Etsy for vintage items, from the 50's and prior "antiques," in other words. Gosh, doesn't it seem to you that the definition of antiques has changed over the years? When I was a kid, it meant anything at least 100 years old. Now, it seems 50 or 60 year old items qualify.

Well, that's it for today. I hope you will visit often and join in with your ideas, information and tips.