eHarmony

Before Thanksgiving, Mark installed some beautiful cabinets (in the garage!). He had a specific purpose in mind. Of course I tried to make him see the merits of another possibility. Here is how it went down.

The Bachelor:

Traits:
*Sturdy and reliable
*Spacious and roomy
*Open to sharing the spotlight
*A little dull but definitely willing to hang out with someone much more colorful

Looking for:
*Some color and excitement

Bachelorette No. 1
Traits:
*Colorful and lots of fun
*A bit disorganized

*Tired of living in piles on the floor

*Needs plenty of room as she likes to live life "large" and spread out

Looking for:
*Someone willing to showcase all the beautiful possibilities
*A temporary home

Bachelorette No. 2
Traits:
*Good lines, sexy, edgy, flashy
*Quite organized and likes to stay within the boundaries

*Tired of living in plastic bins

Looking for:
*The spotlight
*A temporary home

Of course I think The Bachelor and Bachelorette No. 1 are the PERFECT pair. But instead he went for the sleek and flashy Bachelorette No. 2.
*sigh*

Any ideas where I can find another eligible bachelor who wouldn't mind living in a sewing room?

Would you like a little whine with that wine?

Back in September when we were vendors at Quilting in the Garden, it was over 100 degrees. We melted. Today we were vendors for the Madera Wine Trail. This is what we wore: long johns (tops and bottoms for me), t-shirt, denim shirt, fleece jacket, gloves. And except for the gloves, I wore it all...all day.

Knowing my friend, Candy, who lives in Minnesota where it gets authentically cold, would get a chuckle, of course I emailed her. Her response: "I'm amazed you can type with such frozen fingers! Hope the 'cold' isn't keeping the customers away and that you're having sales success." Do I detect a slightly sarcastic tone to that reply? Nah....I'll admit it. We're weather wimps here in California.

But about those sales....Most of the people were more intent on making sure they didn't miss a single glass of free wine at any of the wineries. Buying something? Uh, not so much...

Even so, we're not whining about our sales. I purchased a couple of gifts from a friend who is a gifted potter, and he thanked me for doubling his sales for the day. So yeah, we're not whining...

Mess Mass Production

Mark and I never seem to learn our lesson. After vending a show, and going nuts for a couple of weeks right before the show because we're trying to get too much done in too short a time, and saying we will NEVER do that again, and will be "extremely organized from now on," we almost immediately lapse back into our old behavior. You know...."we have plenty of time to get ready for the next show." Pfffft.

It wasn't even that long ago. End of September. And here we are, in the same predicament. Only this time we have shows on back-to-back weekends. Yikes! What were we thinking?

The first is the Madera Wine Trail's Holiday Spirit Weekend. We have never vended for a wine trail weekend before. We haven't even attended a wine trail weekend before. Not really knowing what to expect, but based on the assumption that there will be a lot of people who are going from one winery to another, we are making a lot of wine charms, wine bottle stoppers, slumped wine bottles with cute little knives for serving cheese.

This is what it looks like around our house.

Kitchen counter:


Inside our oven. (Because we have to rinse out all those alcohol bottles, so we dry them in the oven before we put them in the kiln.)

In case you were wondering, we don't fuse or slump our glass work in the oven, even though Mark likes to tell people that we fuse and slump in our microwave. He says it takes about fourteen hours in the microwave. You wouldn't think anybody would fall for that, but you'd be surprised how many people say, "Really?" Maybe you have to actually know him. He gets that reaction a lot. Even from those of us who know him well. He says it with such a straight face, and then you I end up feeling so dumb after I fall for it, after all these years. Yeah, anyway...

(Side note to Mom and Dad: Mark doesn't drink anything stronger than diet coke, and while I like my glass of wine every night, I was not responsible for drinking my way through all these bottles. Although lately we have become friends with many a bartender.)

On top of the washing machine,
and the dryer.
Until after our second show next weekend--our annual open house--this is my new motto:

100th Post Giveaway--Playin' the Name Game

I have reached the milestone of writing 100 posts, so I figured a giveaway is in order. You're gonna have to work a little bit for this one, but don't worry, it's nothing too hard. Mark made some really cool new fused glass items. I like to give them names. He thinks that's kind of odd, but I think it's a good marketing strategy.

Anyhoo, I need some help on a couple of these. Give me your suggestions on what these should be named and you are in the running for fabulous prizes.

Oh, and a disclaimer before we get started: don't even think about commenting on my photography. I already know the pictures are completely sucky. I did these on the fly just to get them posted. These are not the photos that will be going on the website. I'm looking for name suggestions, not photography critiques. Just wanted to clear that up. And, Aaron (our chief photographer), if you are reading this, I wanted to let everyone know that YOU were not the responsible party for these pictures. Now on to the good stuff.

Item #1: This gorgeous red bowl was slumped in a mold called "origami." So the shape is funky and fun. But "red origami" just isn't doing it for me.

Item #2: This bowl is so much greater in person (remember what I said about critiquing my photography, people). Deep chocolately brown with creamy swirls. I have two thoughts: fudge ripple or espresso with cream. Any other contenders or is one of these already a winner?

Item(s) 3: The glass on these 6" bowls has kind of a metallic look to it. The one on the left has a silvery cast to it, while the one on the right tends to look slightly more golden. A couple of weeks ago I had the perfect name. I'm sure of it. Didn't write it down, so it flew the coop. I want an "edgy" name. Something urban. However...urban oilslick, urban decay...those are just a little too edgy, and not very marketable. Ideas?

To get a chance at fabulous prizes, just leave a comment. If you become a follower of this blog, you will get a second chance to win. If you're already a follower, just leave a second comment saying "I'm a follower" and you will automatically get a second chance as well. The winner will be chosen by the ever-so-impartial random number generator, so you don't even have to come up with a winning name to be the winner. How easy is that? Comments end at 3 p.m. PDT on Monday, September 21.

And now for the fabulous prizes: your choice of either a pendant

or this slumped beer bottle, which is very versatile--a little serving dish for nuts, olives, etc., or more functional, keys, change, cell phone (sorry, coins not included--they have to go back to the petty cash box...).

So get those thinking caps on. Not only could you win a prize, but it might be your name suggestion that ends up on our website.

Kinda Like Oprah. Part 3. The End. Promise.

Okay, I know everyone who read part 2 was really hoping they could see the actual footage on Around the Block Designs, rather than just pictures of my computer screen and transcription of Alex and Ricky's conversation. Really. Fascinating stuff. Well, guess WHAT? You can! For this weekend only, you do not need to have a subscription to The Quilt Show. They are making it available to anyone who wants to check it out.

July 10, 2009
http://www.thequiltshow.com/
Weekend Fun
Melinda Bula Show 501: Free This Weekend!
That's right! We are so sure you will love Series 5 and want to see the rest that we are opening up show 501 with Melinda Bula to everyone for the weekend.
But hurry! It is open through Monday night at midnight Pacific Time.
Forward this to a friend who would enjoy seeing this free show at The Quilt Show.
Just Click Here or on the Picture to start the show. It's that easy.
See the whole Series

Now I realize that Alex and Ricky didn't pick this specific episode because of us. So watch the whole thing. It's a good episode.

But if you are just dying to hear all about Around the Block Designs, then I think we're about halfway through.

And Oprah, we've still got openings...

Kinda like Oprah. Part 2.

Remember this? So I got an email that the episode with our giveaway was airing yesterday. First of all the promotion: I highly recommend The Quilt Show for anyone who watched Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts on HGTV for eleven years and for anyone who loves sewing and quilting. The pairing of Alex and Ricky Tims was genius. Their show is informative, interesting and entertaining. It is reasonably priced and since it is web-based, you can watch it at your convenience.

Inbetween segments with the guest artist, Alex basically did an infomercial about Around the Block Designs. Wow, she said some nice things about us.

Okay, so since it requires a membership to actually watch our episode, I, uh, took pictures of my computer screen. Rather than video, you will see my crummy pictures, and rather than audio, you will get to read my transcription of most of the conversation. Excited?? (geez, I hope the FBI won't come knocking on my door for felony copyright infringement or something...)

Alex: I'm really excited about the Treasure Chest because I found the items and know you are going to love them. These are made by Mark and Cindy Wiens of Around the Block Designs. They have an array of fused glass. Mark makes the star out of glass and Cindy makes a little quilt and they are just precious. So I can tell you, if you need a gift for a quilting friend...

Ricky: How many designs do they do?

A: They have tons. And they also do plates. Wonderful plates. So if you need a wedding gift, perfect, contemporary, and in the right price range... You can get coasters. Some are quilterly and some are not quilterly, but if you go to their website you can see it all.

R: This is really a unique fused glass process they've come up with, right?

A: And here's what you need to know. Every year we have a TQS legend, and Mark and Cindy design the plaque for our legend.

R: That's right. If you remember, our 2008 legend was Jinny Beyer. When Alex and I were there we gave her a wonderful plaque with the TQS star on it. That plaque was made by Mark and Cindy.
A: Exactly. They also do jewelry. I love their necklaces because they are fairly priced. They're perfect for traveling. They come in all different colors.

R: Now I know there's a lot of different items here but I know everybody wants to know--

ka-ching, ka-ching. Is it expensive? What's the price range?

A: They're very fair in their pricing. They're fantastic people (blush) . I love them to pieces and I know you will too, because everyone in the audience is going home with a necklace. (crowd erupts into screams and starts jumping up and down. Right....)

Oprah, if you're reading this, we may have some giveaway slots still open. Have your people call our people.

Happy 4th of July!

Teeny tiny pieces

I keep thinking I will get used to these masterpieces that Mark makes out of dichroic glass, but then he makes another one, and I am complete in awe all over again. He starts working with pieces of fabulous glass. Then he starts fitting them all together, like pieces of a puzzle.

Teeny, tiny pieces. Really tiny. He will cut a piece even smaller to make it fit just so. Sometimes barely bigger than a speck. All perfectly fitting together into this puzzle of glass we call Nebula, "a bright area caused by a galaxy, or a large cloud of distant stars." After all, the glass was developed by NASA, so Nebula seemed like a fitting name, right?

This particular bowl was a custom order, and the largest size he has made, 12 x 12 inches. Pictures don't even come close to doing it justice.

Completely amazing, and soon off it goes to its new owner.

In the meantime, it sure looks good on our dining room table...

Caution: Curves ahead

A couple of weeks ago we received a custom order from the Jacquie, the owner of Alden Lane. She was having an appreciation dinner and was interested in sending us some photos of the nursery and having them fused to glass. It is a simple process for anyone who wants to have us do this. You just need a computer and know how to email pictures. Easy, right? So here we go with pretty much the whole procedure.

1. We need a high-quality picture sent to us via email, preferably a picture with good light-dark contrast. This is one of the pictures that Jacquie sent us. It can be color, black and white, whatever. Doesn't matter. It will always end up being sepia tone, which gives the pictures a great vintage look.

2. It gets printed on a laser printer in black and white (it has to be black and white and on a laser printer because of the iron in the black ink--so at this point color printing is not an option).

3. We make two-layer fused "blanks." (I know, this is a completely fascinating picture, huh?)

4. After the blanks have been fired and cooled down, the photocopied picture is attached to a blank. In Jacquie's case, she had three pictures she wanted to showcase, so they were placed side to side.
5. The pictures and glass are fused together in the kiln.

6. Because Jacquie was using these as part of her table decorations and the pictures look so much better with a little light behind them, Mark fired them again to "slump" them into an S-shaped curve on one of our fusing molds. That also allows them to be freestanding on a desk or shelf.

7. And here they are as part of a beautiful table, after which they were given to the volunteers who had helped her at the nursery.

So if you are looking for a new and creative way to showcase your own photos, for you or as a gift, get in touch with us.

It's been a banner day

You may have noticed a change when you read this post: there is a new banner up there! I had tweaked the banner myself a couple of times, never was happy with it, and made this temporary banner.


And I really did like this one because I love typography and fonts (and clearly, it was easy enough so that even I was able to figure out how to make it), so this was right up my alley, but it was always meant to be temporary until I could figure out how to get a banner that incorporated quilting, fused glass, and lots of color. You know: live a colorful life....


To complicate my lack of banner expertise, our etsy shop (which you can visit if you like but all you will find at this point is empty shelves) also needed a banner. It had the same style as the blog, cool but really not indicative of what we plan on selling.


I have to give etsy a lot of credit. It has many great resources for sellers. Tutorials, very informative articles, lots of helpful stuff. Last week there was a really good article on how to make your own banner in Photoshop, how to size it properly, etc. I probably worked on that baby a good two to three hours, followed the directions explicitly, and never could (a) get it sized properly or (b) get the images that I really wanted.


I should have been suspicious when the writer said something like, "It's really easy. All you do is...." That should have been my first clue that what she really meant was "do not attempt this on your own."


So I finally did what I should have done in the first place: I hired someone else to do it! After going through etsy's version of google, "banner designers," I finally settled on one called whimsy graphic designs. The designer had a lot of examples of her work. Plus she was from the United States. While I'm sure the graphic designers from Kuwait and Singapore were highly qualified, and were just as accessible via email, I wanted to have someone closer to home, and Maryland was close enough for me.


I went for her high-dollar package: the "professional customized full etsy shop package, business card, 2 shop banners, 2 avatars and 1 reserved listing image." I didn't need the business cards, but I did want two separately designed banners--one for the blog and one for the etsy shop. Rebecca Allen did exactly what I wanted. She was easy to work with. We emailed back and forth quite a few times in the course of about five days. You can see the great job she did for the blog. And here is her design for our etsy shop:


And in case you are familiar with our business name and are wondering if she made a mistake and left the "s" off the end of "design," well, etsy has this very inconvenient rule (at least for us ) of absolutely no more than twenty characters. And that little "s" put us over the limit. Ugh.

And what did I pay for all this work? A whopping (drum roll, please) $20!!!! Seriously. $20. I should have done this weeks ago. Thanks, Rebecca. You're in my rolodex the next time I need some graphic design work done or cool stationery. And I won't forget what you do for your real job. It'll just take me a little longer to save up my money than it did for your design work...

Kinda like Oprah

Yesterday I stopped by Aaron and Christa's to spend a bit of time with Charlotte and Levi. Christa's mom, Debbie, stopped by too, and after a bit of chatting I said, "Well, gotta go. We're doing an Oprah giveaway and I have to get it ready for shipping." They both stopped and looked at me kind of incredulously and said, "Really?? Oprah is giving your stuff away on her show??" Oh. Ahem. "The Quilt Show is giving away our pendants to their studio audience during taping. You know, like they do on the Oprah Show. That's what I meant." But I'm thinking to myself: Hey, it could happen. Maybe. In an alternate universe.

So 55 dichroic pendants on cords, assembled and packed, ready for shipping.

The show also has a segment called the Treasure Chest, where Alex Anderson pulls something out of a box and says, "Hey look what I found!" She requested three Glassy Quilts, a set of coasters and a dichroic bracelet.

So who knows? Hopefully the studio audience will find their way to our blog, website, or (hopefully by that time) our etsy shop.

And besides, one of The Quilt Show's producers used to be a producer for the Oprah Show. So it's kinda like Oprah....right?

Creativity...

So says Scott Adams of Dilbert fame. And yes, I do write on my walls, but that is a post for another day.

About a year ago, Mark had the great idea of draping glass on unusual "found" items just to see what happened. Having grown up on a farm, he has always been intrigued with parts from implements, cogs, anything rusty, etc. While we were vending a quilt show last April, at the same time there was an antique tractor show and the vendors had some very interesting things. He made the rounds and came home with some intriguing possibilities.

So he fused glass in some interesting designs, then experimented with draping it over some rusty parts. Even under the best of conditions, fusing glass is always an experiment. There are so many factors that change how things turn out--just a few degrees in temperature can make the difference between something that turns out exactly like you were hoping and, well, something you weren't counting on at all.

Case in point:

First Mark fused the glass layers together in a flat square shape, with a green cross on the black background. Looked great. His idea then was to make an abstract bowl where he would just set the glass on the three little feet, fire the kiln hot enough to kind of sag it down somewhat, and voila! A very artsy bowl.

What happened instead was that the glass fused TO the form. Solid. There was no separating these two. Mark had to chip the glass off in little pieces. For some reason, once he got all the glass off the feet, the center kind of popped off in a big chunk.

Next dilemma: Toss it? Start over and turn down the heat?

Or....make a new base, use all the broken pieces to make something new and different. Not what he had originally visualized, but I love this new piece. It's name:

Broken at the cross: going green--be careful what you worship.

I think a lot about the things that are really important, especially with the economy the way it is. Cutting back. Making do. Sometimes what seems like a failure at the time can turn out being even better in the long run.

Boo!

I have to admit that Halloween is not my favorite holiday of the year. Don't get me wrong. I really love pumpkins, and you gotta admit, they have a lot of orangey goodness going for them. And then there are these sad pumpkins who started partying a little too soon....

And costumes? Well, Caspar the Ghost doesn't scare the heck out of me and what little princess doesn't make you want to say, "You are tooo cute!", and this year I have a suspicion that I will be particularly fond of monkeys and hot chili peppers (can anyone say "grandchildren"?).

However, to celebrate the holiday that is loved by so many, ATBD got into the "spirit" of things and came up with these items for your decorating pleasure:

Hey, who blew that candle out when I wasn't looking??

BOO!