Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Sept 28, 2010

Almost the end of September - can you believe it? And it looks like my warm, lovely summer weather is almost gone also. We've actually turned the furnace on today....well, just to get the dampness out of the air.

Along with September almost gone, I've lost that driving desire to make beads. I'm thinking maybe it's because September was such a slow month for sales. Yesterday I hauled out all my lampwork books and perused them hoping for inspiration. The flowers that Leah Fairbanks makes are oh so lovely - and Larry Scott's dot beads - his technique is so exacting...no spark yet.

So, what to do - maybe I need to continue making soap. Two weeks ago, I noticed that we were almost out and ordered my supplies. I've developed a recipe over the years that not only requires coconut oil, palm oil, and olive oil, but I also include castor oil, shea butter, canola oil, sweet almond oil and some good old vegetable oil - and I can't forget the goats milk and a bit of white clay. All of these oils together have resulted in a gentle, conditioning, moisturizing bar that we not only use on our bodies, but Bruce uses for shaving, and I use as a shampoo. So, if you've never tried hand made soap - the next time you feel like treating yourself, it's worth a try.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Sept 15, 2010

Tomorrow I am having a drawing on my facebook site http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeanniesbeads/125348505100 - it's a $35.00 coupon to be used on either my Etsy or Artfire site. All you have to do is click on the button to "like" the site - good luck. I'll draw the randon winner in the morning - Ontario time. Good luck!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sept 15, 2010

My kiln is back in working order! The relays that I ordered were here in record time. I changed them out one by one to determine which one is bad, so now I have a working kiln, and a spare relay!

Florida was fun - although I didn't like the fall I took while on a 27 mile bike ride. Luckily I was homeward bound, and only had to ride about 5-7 miles with a bruised hip and skinned knee and elbow.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Sept 5, 2010

.....What to do when my kiln is on the fritz???? Some of my experiments worked having them sit in a fiber blanket - some of them just cracked .....