shipping fragile stuff is The Pits

Etsy's great - you can put things you make on sale there. Awesome! If someone likes it, they buy it (or at least put it in their Favorites, which I love). It's a wonderful place to shop for unique items, they treat the sellers fabulously, I just can't go on enough about it. So I was super excited when I opened my Etsy shop a few months ago. It's fun - I loved beautifully wrapping the items for my customers, and I always slipped in a little "thank you" gift. It was going along splendidly, except for one HUUUUGE caveat: "shipping". Ugh. I sell glassware, and in order for it to arrive unbroken, I have to pretty much mummify the stuff in multiple layers of "stuff". Meaning, by the time it's safe and ready to go, the box is ginormous, about $13-worth of postage, just for one pair of wine glasses. It's crazy, who wants to pay $13 for a $28 order?

So I'm thinking about closing up shop, and just posting a pic and babble on a bit about the stuff I create right here on my blog (and Facebook). I'm glad I tried it, my customers were all wonderful folks, Etsy treated me great, but... how I wish I could sell my wares in a real store of my own. Maybe some day.

ANYhoo, here's a pic of some glasses I did with a "tentacled" theme. Until I find a glue that's waterproof, non-toxic, and can bind polymer clay to glass, I'll just keep them for my own personal use. Hope you enjoy them.  :)

 

Shameless Promotion

I finally took the plunge and opened my very own Etsy shop. I'm adding new stuff all the time, and am really excited about my new tiki-themed glassware I'm working on right now. Still trying to finish up my BadTable Manor wine glasses and dishes as well. Fun Shtuff!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/badtablemanor?ref=ss_profile

 

I is for Irony

A few weeks ago, I entered a contest in which a limited number of Haunted Mansion-philes (and those willing to cough up $285 per ticket) would be chosen to attend this:
http://www.yourhighwayinthesky.com/tag/room-for-one-more/

What the heck, I figured, and tossed my name into the Disney hat.
Well, guess what...
I got an email from Disney today, congratulating me that - you guessed it - I'd won the opportunity to purchase said tickets. My heart leapt out of my chest, and was about to race upstairs to tell Hubby of our incredible luck, when I read, "in Disney's Contemporary Hotel". Wait. We don't have a "Contemporary Hotel" our here in California. Yep, turns out the Haunted Mansion they were talking about is in Florida. FREAKING FLORIDA.
Wanna guess how I feel right now?...

Steampunky Dials patio lights, WIP

Cat food cans, vintage dial print-outs, patio light set, foamcore, hot glue, paint. Looks best when plugged into one of those sensor thingies that makes a wonderful "flickery" effect.

The porch light is back on ( aka, 'BTM reopens it's virtual doors')

I'm sure there's a name for it. Some kind of syndrome that causes one to rid herself of perfectly good stuff - a jacket, a rotisserie motor, a blog, always regretting it shortly after. Maybe it's Mom's voice in the back-back of my head, echoing, "Monica, clean out your closet - it's a pigsty!". Maybe I'm a commitment-phobe. Maybe I should get back to the business of *big echoey voice*...

"The Blooooog Rebooooorn!" *lightning crackle/thunderclap/maniacal laughter*

Generally you'll find me babbling in here about Halloween and other spookinessness. The creeping-death-slow progress of the garage walk-thru; sporadic posts about the Etsy shop I keep starting to open, then panic and shut down (figuring out shipping fees is terrifying, plus the worry of a certain well-known amusement park company suing me for using their images without changing it the required 17%). How the heck does one figure out if 17% of an image is changed, anyway.
So here are some of the thangs I hope to eventually muster up enough courage to sell someday:

Thanks for returning to the Manor, please feel free to leave nice comments, and see you soon!