I’ve been busy in the shop this week, using some really cool platinum decals. (Yes, they’re really platinum!) They are celtic designs, from knots to horses and snakes. Here’s a sample… more can be found on my Flickr, Etsy, and DaWanda sites.
Golden retriever: mellow, sweet, and blinking from the camera flash.
Cairn terrier puppy: little stinker, full of mischief, chupacabra smile. The photo says it all!
Little angel, little devil. Which one is which?
We went skiing on our honeymoon 32 years ago. It was the first time ever for both of us. I can still remember the very first time we tried to get on the lift, we both ended up on the ground, laughing hysterically, ski tips pointed in the air, everybody in the lift line looking at the beginners making fools of themselves. How utterly embarrassing. We eventually figured things out, learned our way around the slopes, and managed to go skiing pretty much once a year for most of the past 32 years. Sometimes we’d skip a year, sometimes we’d go a couple of times a year. I can’t say my skiing technique has improved very much over the years, but at least I can get on the chair without making a scene.
This year, since we live only an hour away from a very “intermediate friendly” 49* North Ski Park near Chewelah, WA, Bill decided to buy himself some skis at the ski swap last Fall. He’s been skiing once or twice a month since November. I’ve skied with him a couple of times, and the rest of the time I sit in the lobby with my laptop while he skis. He’s really enjoying the ski days, and now he’s gone and decided we needed to get season passes for next year. So- a couple of weeks ago we both got season passes. Fortunately they’re good for the rest of this year, as well as all of next year, so we get to ski for free the rest of the season. However, I didn’t have my own equipment, so it was still costing me money for rental equipment every time I went with him. I’ve never been that great of a skier, but I am definitely not as good now as I used to be. These days, I cut swatches down the slope- working my way down with huge horizontal passes, zig zagging slowly down the hill. Lately I’m terrified that I’ll fall and break something. That fact didn’t deter Bill though, when he marched me into the sporting goods store and talked me into buying skis, poles, boots and bindings. I guess he really is serious about this- we both will be skiing all next year. I tell him I’m uncomfortable skiing- I’m out of shape, I look like the Michelin Man, all bundled up in Winter wear. I have a cold, I have a sore shoulder. I have this, I have that… any excuse to try to get out of skiing. He’s not buying it. We’re going skiing again next week. Hopefully by Monday they’ll have the bindings on my skis, all the snowboarders will be back in school, the weather won’t be too cold, and there will still be plenty of late season “groomed corduroy” and “packed powder” to ride down on. It’ll be fun, right? Yeah.. Umhum… I’m sure it will. IF I don’t break a bone, that is.
I love Etsy. The problem is, it’s growing by leaps and bounds. When I started selling my glass and photography on Etsy a little over a year ago, there were about 35,000 sellers. Today, there are over 800,000 registered users, of which over 100,000 are sellers. Amazing. I’m sure the growth spurt is good for Etsy owners, and it’s great for shoppers- there are a lot more items to choose from. But as a seller, many have been finding it harder and harder to get their products noticed. As soon as you list an item, it gets buried beneath newer listed items. I’ll continue listing items with Etsy, because even though it’s grown far beyond what I ever imagined it would, I still love the concept of the online marketplace selling only handmade items. You know what it reminds me of? The time we went to Disneyland to have a fun day with the kids, and we spent the entire day either in line, or shuffling our way to the next line, the walkways so crowded it was literally one big cloud of people from end to end. It was kind of scary. Can you imagine if someone yelled “fire”? It would have been a mass stampede. I always thought Disneyland should have capped the visitation at half of what it was that day. I feel the same about Etsy.
I recently discovered a relatively new online marketplace that seems to be a European version of Etsy. It is called DaWanda. They have versions of it in English, French and German. I don’t have a figure for how many sellers are on DaWanda, but I can tell you it’s much smaller than Etsy. In my first week, I sold 4 items and was ranked from 3 to 5 on the “Most popular DaWanda members”. And for a short while this morning, I was ranked in the top five sellers of the past 7 days on DaWanda, with my whopping 4 sales. Ha! I love it. I think it’s cute. But I also think it holds a lot of possibility for growth before it becomes as crowded as Etsy. Stop by and see the shop! Items that I list on DaWanda will not be available on Etsy, and vice versa.
It’s been a very long, cold, white Winter. We’ve had snow on the ground pretty much full-time since November. I think it snowed, cleared up once in November, and then started snowing in earnest again. It’s been on the ground ever since. Nothing to see but white, and sticks trees poking out of the ground. Even the lake has been white- completely frozen over and covered with a thick blanket of snow. About a week ago, bare patches of ground began to appear. Today there was more bare ground than snow, and I’m hoping the snow will be completely gone in another week. Don’t get me wrong, I love Winter. And I love the snow. But come on, this is the middle of March! We usually have snow from November to January. Maybe February. But mid-March? I am tired of the white, and ready for the color. And so I’m happy to see the white fade to color…
You might be able to see it in the photo- the waterfall is up and running! It’s been off since November. The only thing that kept the pond from completely freezing over was a stock tank heater and an aerator, which kept a small opening in the ice so the fish would have oxygen. While getting the pump and waterfall running today, Bill saw one of the original goldfishes come up to the surface. There should be about 10 more fish in there somewhere, and one catfish. The goldfish are almost 5 years old, the catfish will be a year old this Summer. I don’t know how they survive out there all Winter when the temperatures get down below zero, but they somehow shut down and “hibernate” until Spring. I’m surprised every year to see them appear after the long cold Winters. I bet the fish are ready for Spring. I know I am.
It’s been a very long, cold, white Winter. We’ve had snow on the ground pretty much full-time since November. I think it snowed, cleared up once in November, and then started snowing in earnest again. It’s been on the ground ever since. Nothing to see but white, and sticks trees poking out of the ground. Even the lake has been white- completely frozen over and covered with a thick blanket of snow. About a week ago, bare patches of ground began to appear. Today there was more bare ground than snow, and I’m hoping the snow will be completely gone in another week. Don’t get me wrong, I love Winter. And I love the snow. But come on, this is the middle of March! We usually have snow from November to January. Maybe February. But mid-March? I am tired of the white, and ready for the color. And so I’m happy to see the white fade to color…
You might be able to see it in the photo- the waterfall is up and running! It’s been off since November. The only thing that kept the pond from completely freezing over was a stock tank heater and an aerator, which kept a small opening in the ice so the fish would have oxygen. While getting the pump and waterfall running today, Bill saw one of the original goldfishes come up to the surface. There should be about 10 more fish in there somewhere, and one catfish. The goldfish are almost 5 years old, the catfish will be a year old this Summer. I don’t know how they survive out there all Winter when the temperatures get down below zero, but they somehow shut down and “hibernate” until Spring. I’m surprised every year to see them appear after the long cold Winters. I bet the fish are ready for Spring. I know I am.
Anne of “Down to Earth Creations” made my day by recognizing me as an inspiration that “makes her day”. Thank you Anne for putting me on your “make my day” list!How to send a “You Make My Day” award: 1. Write a post with links to five blogs that make me think and/or make my day.2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver. 3. Display the ‘You Make My Day Award’ logo. 4. Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news. The following people have made my day!First off, Anne of DownToEarthCreations- not only for putting me on her “You Make My Day” list, but also for collaborating with me on a couple of projects. I made the pendants, she’s beading them. More on that when they’re finished.Pollyfusia drew my name for the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy gift exchange at Christmas. She knows I absolutely adore a pendant she made in her shop that says “Bride” and has a cubic zirconia fused into the glass. So… I’m not a bride, but she made me a “Queen” pendant with a CZ in it, and I absolutely love it. It definitely made my day.
My third “You Make My Day” award goes to Squidglass. Squidglass is a very creative, extremely funny person who comes up with absolutely beautiful pieces with millefiori fused in them. They have to be seen to be believed, check out her shop and see if you don’t agree. She also is a very generous person- with her knowledge, and with her mille… (Thank you Squid!).
4th on my list of “You Make My Day” is my son, Chris, for putting this web site together for me. I could never have done it without you Chris. Thank you for your time and effort. Thank you thank you thank you!Last but certainly not least of my five “You Make My Day” awards, is Shoozles. I can’t tell you how fortunate I am to call this innovative artist a friend. She is superbly talented, full of originality, and a sincerely kind hearted person. Not one for repetitiveness, she is constantly coming up with new techniques and styles, continually raising the bar for herself, and for others. Thank you for your inspiration, Shoozles!I actually have one more “You Make My Day” award to give, but this person doesn’t have a web site or shop to link to- this one goes to my daughter, Lori. Lori was the impetus for me to open “LaWatha’s Glass & More” on Etsy. She introduced me to Etsy, and convinced me that I could sell my glass and photography. Thank you for that, and for all you do, Lori!
My husband, who normally is the most supportive man anybody could ever ask for, thinks I’ve gone too far this time. The magnets have got to stop. The pendants have got to stop. No more magnets. No more pendants. No more fusing, period… until I sell what I’ve made so far. Huh? Stop? Don’t fuse? Are you kidding me? Not much chance of that happening. Sure, they’ve about taken over the house, and the glass studio is overrun with glass. But I love working in the shop and making beautiful things. Ok, I call it work, but we all know what it truly is… it’s play. To me it’s the most enjoyable, most satisfying job in the world. Alright, busted again. Calling it a job is an exaggeration. But it’s far more than a hobby. It’s my life, it’s what I love to do. And if I can get paid to do something that I love, does it get any better than that? So I’ve opened shop, selling the fruits of my labor… online at www.lawatha.etsy.com, and also at local craft shows. My “shop” has been open for a little over a year now, and if you haven’t been by yet, feel free to stop in and check out my newest creations. I don’t stick with one style for long, there are too many different techniques out there that I want to try. So there’s always something new to see.
Currently I’m fascinated with frit blends. Here’s an example of a pendant made with frit and a fusible silhouette decal.
One technique you definitely will see repeated in my shop is fused pendants with color photos. I started with sepia tone fusible decals that I make at home using my own photography or graphics, and then discovered a source that makes fusible color decals. This is the best of both worlds- mixing glass with photography. My favorite piece that I’ve made so far using this process began as a stained glass window panel I made. I then took a photo of the window panel, and sent the image in to have a fusible decal made. I fused the decal image onto glass, and attached a sterling silver bail.
This is why I can’t quit making pendants, I can’t quit making magnets, buttons, brooches and sushi dishes. I can’t quit fusing. I love exploring and trying new processes and seeing what I can come up with next.
