A Glass Act

I made some beads over the weekend, including a double layered vine stringer bead that I was very impressed with.



I took a couple up to the bus stop to show a neighbor since she's been asking me about them for weeks. She insisted I show them to another neighbor. I don't get along terribly well with the other neighbor, so I avoid her if I can. I explained how the beads are made (in short: 3000 degree torch flame, molten glass, metal mandrel, kiln at 1000 degrees for 8 hours). The second neighbor then proceeds to volunteer me to teach her 10-year-old daughter to make beads. Like she didn't hear anything I just said. I was stunned into silence. So I finally said "Maybe in a few years" which sounds better than "Not in a million years, bitch". I don't even like her kids, for one thing.

I don't even let my OWN kids near my glass stuff. I might teach my kids when they're 15 or 16, if I think they can be responsible and careful at that time. No one else under the age of 18 is allowed anywhere near it. I'm not taking responsibility for other people when burns are an inevitable part of the whole equation. That, or I'm gonna have a waiver drawn up saying that they know the dangers and they don't get to sue me if they hurt themselves. They'll still have to be at least 18 though.

So yeah. Some people.

Spectre is doing great. His wounds are healing up nicely and he can put weight on his leg again. He's running and playing and happy. He doesn't like the antibiotics but he takes them without a fight if I rub his nose. He's a sweetheart. I was scared for a couple days because even though the vet warned me that his skin my slough off a bit, they didn't tell me so much would come off that I'd be able to see the muscles underneath. Gross. Husband had to do his warm washcloths at night because I cried every time I had to do it.

Ghost has been exiled from the bedroom for the last few nights because she insists on sleeping on my throat and kneading my chin and playing in my hair and just generally being a pest.

Son has learned to ride a bike with no training wheels. When he tried the first time, he fell over and broke his arm. He was terrified when we took them off again, so the first thing we did was teach him to catch himself with his hands and feet. Once he learned to balance, that was all he needed. He got a new bike as an early birthday present because the other one was way too small.

My torch got here yesterday. I'm excited to set it up, but not terribly excited to have to re-learn everything on it.

So that's it for today. Thanks for reading.

Leap, frog!

I have a wonderful idea for making starfish bead pendant things. I need to go make the frit for it though, and that's kind of a hassle unless I'm feeling the need to be destructive. I think I might put a bunch of rods in the kiln and heat them up and drop them in a bucket of ice water and be done with it. I hate the "heat, plunge, heat, plunge" method. Takes forever.

My torch and marver are supposed to be here tomorrow! Also expected tomorrow is a package of glass from Frantz! Husband located a flamework supply shop in Golden that carries everything. So $15 I don't have to spend on shipping every time is $15 more that I can spend on glass. Woot!

***


Ghost followed me into the shower last night and decided, a little too late, that she didn't like it in there. She needed a bath anyway though, so she got one.

Ghost kitty is eating solid food and has finally figured out how to drink water from a bowl! Yeah!


Spectre, on the other hand, isn't having any part of being weaned. I have to force him to eat solid food, and then he bites me and spits it back out. I can stick it clear in the back of his mouth and he'll eat it, but then he goes limp and plays dead until I stop. *sigh* I need someone to wave a magic wand and get him weaned.

***

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Burn, baby, burn.

I spent most of the weekend working on some Pandora-style beads as a special order through Etsy. It was cold and windy, so it took forever. They did come out perfectly though, and I was really proud of them. You can read details about them on my deviantart account.



Ghost is mostly on solid foods now. Still hasn't really gotten the concept of drinking water out of a bowl, but I'll take solid foods. Spectre isn't having any of it and still insists on either drinking from the bottle or starving to death. I'm going to have to force feed him soon if I ever want him weaned. *sigh* On another side though, they're actually turning into playful kittens now. They chase each other and wrestle and chew on everything and run around like they're crazy. So cute.

Very exciting news! My darling lovely husband bough me a fancy glass torch for my Mother's Day / birthday present. It's a Nortel Mega Minor and it can do all sorts of fancy stuff, including boro and making marbles up to 2". I'm so excited! He got the marvering pad that mounts on top of it too! Silver glass here I come!




So that's the summary of my weekend. Maybe something exciting will happen this week that I can write about. Thanks for stopping by :)