Gift For The Holidays-Hunger

I was talking with my aunt yesterday and learned something that I find very, very disturbing. My aunt volunteers for St. Vincent De Paul's. They put together food boxes for the hungry. They do this year round and do the holiday food boxes also. Anyone who has been hungry may know a bit about how these places work. You sign up/register and are eligible to receive ONE food box a month. What you get depends upon what is available.

These places are funded in part by our federal government and private donations. Since Obama has been president the federal funding to these places has been reduced significantly. First the funding was cut by thirty percent. Then it was cut another fifty percent. And they are replacing canned fruits and veggies with fresh. Noble idea but most fresh produce doesn't last a month! As for the private funding many donations have also been reduced or stopped. I know for a fact that my aunt regularly buys cases of foodstuffs to take in to be put into these food boxes.

The amount of foodstuffs that they are able to provide in these boxes has been drastically reduced. What once was enough to feed a family for over a full week is now only enough for a couple of days.

Normally St. Vincent De Paul's where she volunteers makes up between 350 to 400 holiday food boxes. These ones have the goodies to cook a holiday meal. A frozen turkey, cranberry jelly/sauce, canned pumpkin for pie and stuff like that. This year they will only be able to make up 35-40 holiday gift baskets. I find the fact that they will only be able to do 10% off what they normally do very sad, disturbing and extremely frightening.

I guess our government has come up with a way to end joblessness and homelessness-starve these people to death...and on that sarcastic note....

I ask that all of us who do have enough food remember and think of our nation's hungry. Please, please donate to your local food banks! I know I'm buying at least one holiday dinner deal per holiday to give away to someone in need. One of my local stores always has a holiday meal special with all the basics for a very reasonable price.

New! Two Holed Handmade Dichroic Glass Beads Beads

I've added another category to my Artfire Supply shop, The Glass Goddess-Two Holed Dichroic Beads! So far I have only have single bead quantities listed. I will be adding some sets also. Two, three and four bead sets.

I made these several years ago. They started as a request. I had fun with it for a while, but they quickly became a very boring and tedious chore. They required a LOT of grinding and shaping. If I ever get that trim saw that's on my wish list or I am able to put a trim saw blade on my tile saw I think they might be easier to make.

So at this time they are a unique, one of kind, kiln worked bead.

Of course the Grand Opening sale is still going on. Remember to use the coupon code "25%OFFGRANDOPENING" to get the sale prices.

On another note Pearl of the "Beading Gem's Journal" is having another Modahaus Photography Studio give-away! Today is your last chance to win! It sure looks like a neat system.

GRAND OPENING SALE! 25% OFF!

I'm announcing a GRAND OPENING SALE in my supply shop, The Glass Goddess! Now from Oct, 21 thru Nov 4. 25% off your purchases! Just use the coupon code "25% OFF GRAND OPENING" when you check out!

High quuality fused dichroic glass cabochons, yummy gemstone briolettes and even some agate cabochons!

I will continue to add new items to the store.

So please enjoy my pretties, leave some comments and I really, really hope you'll like what you see!

About My Supply Store, The Glass Goddess, Part 2

The reasoning behind my supply store,

The Glass Goddess is twofold, well OK threefold.

Reason Two-Stocking gemstone briolettes stems from my frustrations trying to find what I wanted. Seemed like whatever color, size, shape or stone I desired was only available in a full strand. I usually only needed a pair. I couldn't afford more than that nor did I need more...At that time my funds were rather meager. I think part of the problem is that I'm always looking for colors that will stand up against the dichroic glass I want to use them with.

So I have spent the past year and a half purchasing a few strands here and there. I have finally been able to get them broke down into pairs, a few singles and some four and six piece quantities. And now I am getting them photographed and listed!

I am pleased to be able to list gemstone briolettes in small quantities for those who need only a small quantity of stones and may not have the funds for larger quantities. I look forward to more varieties, shapes, sizes and colors!

Did I mention I love gemstones? I also seem to have an eye for the fanciest, highest quality strands! At a bead & Gem show or store I always head straight to the best of the best!

About My Supply Store, The Glass Goddess, Reason #1

The reasoning behind my supply store, The Glass Goddess is twofold, well okay it's threefold.

Here is reason number one-

I've had a lot of people ask me if I sell my dichroic glass cabochons or tell me I that I should.

I have to admit that I have a hard time putting my dichroic cabochons up for sale. I find that when I'm making them I am already creating jewelry with them in my mind! Those that I have definite plans for I put aside for my use. The rest I'm putting up for sale in my supply shop. If I decide I want to use a listed cab I can always drop the listing and use it. Also I have enough cabs to keep me busy for quite a while at the rate I'm (not) using them.

All of my cabochons are made using compatible fusing glass in a digitally controlled kiln. Quite a bit of work goes into the making of these and they are fired a minimum of two times.

I prefer clean, precise shapes in my cabochons. I think growing up in rockhound country has influenced my ideas of what a cabochon should be. Smooth, clean, polished shapes, rounded on the edges.

My cabochons start with me fusing dichroic sheet glass with either a base glass or top it with a clear glass "cap". I call these fused glass pieces "slabs".

I take these slabs and draw the desired cabochon shapes onto the slab. I take my time pondering and agonizing over the best, most efficient use of the glass slab in front of me.

I rough cut the shapes out of the glass slab using a Taurus III ring saw. As these are rough I use a grinder to clean up the shapes. If I think the cabochon is to thick I will use a flat beveling grinder to thin these cabochons. I do this more for earring cabs that pendant cabs to reduce the weight. I also grind a bit of a bevel on the edges to help round them out nicely during the fire polishing cycle. Once I've finished shaping them I switch to a channeling bit on the grinder. It grinds channel or groove that can be used for wire wrapping the cab. After all of this I prep the cabs for another cycle in the kiln. I treat the ground edges with a devitrification solution to ensure a shiny, polished finish. When the solution is dry into the kiln they go for a final fire polishing. When they come out I check them for quality. If I'm not happy another round of grinding, flat grinding and channeling will ensue.

Gorgeous New Chalcedony Briolettes Listed!

I just received these gorgeous new briolettes in the mail. The consistency of their color, shapes, faceting and translucency is amazing!

Hot Pink Chalcedony Faceted Pear Briolettes 10mm x 6mm

AND these rare colored orange beauties!

Fanta Orange Chalcedony Faceted Heart Briolettes 10mm x 8mm

Please check out all my other yummy offerings in my supply store, The Glass Goddess

More New Goodies

Here's some more new listings and this isn't all of them either!

Here's a link to see all the new finished jewelry in my Artfire store, Willow Walker Designs.

And for all the new dichroic fused glass cabochon listings in my supply store on Artfire, TheGlassGoddess.

I am trying to list several items a day in each store and I am also trying to blog more often. I look forward to blogging daily again.

New Goodies Are Listed!

I have been busy getting goodies listed into my supply shop, The Glass Goddess on Artfire. It's starting to look good-like an actual store. I've listed a dozen of my dichroic glass cabochons and about a half dozen gemstone briolette bead pairs!

I have also been getting some more pendants listed in my WillowWalker Designs store on Artfire and have started stocking up my Etsy WWD store also.

I liked how I set up the jewelry categories on Etsy so well that I decided to switch them on my Artfire store. This should make your shopping experience easier and simpler. Everything is now listed by jewelry type, ie. "Bracelets", "Earrings", "Pendants" etc;

Stained Glass Lamp Panels

A picture of the lamp I made six panels for this past week. Here it has two installed. I love how well the colors go together. He chose well!