Shopping cart - check! Glass - check!

I have perfected the set up of my paypal shopping cart and checkout, and things are glorious. After figuring out a couple of the quirks, I can set up new listings quickly and without hassle. For that, I must hurray!

As promised a few weeks ago, I thought I'd go ahead and share the magic machine that helps me create some of the fun new planters I have listed in my shop.

I am such a powertool junkie, and this makes me kick my foot with happiness! Love, love, love it. Up until now, I've been cutting my bottles old school, using tons of electricity to heat water or to run a small cutter, and possibly compromising my health a little.

With this machine, I'm able to cut a bazillion times more bottles in one sitting and use a LOT (I can't emphasize that one enough!) less energy to produce them. It's invigorating, and the interesting bottles and containers that have been sitting in the garage are finally being chopped up and used. (That's a good thing, because anyone who went out into the garage before would think we were total drunkards!)

I waste a lot less glass with this guy, and rarely have to touch up the edges so that they're safe to handle. Another benefit that also lops off a ton of energy expenditure!

I've only got two 'boat' listings currently in my shop, but will be introducing more of them, along with more traditional cuts, over the next couple of weeks.

I think summer's almost over!

Not a hurray for most people, but I'm glad things are cooling off. We've had a lot more rain than we have the past two years (thank goodness!), but we've started getting afternoon thunderstorms. I dearly love them, but the cat runs under the nearest couch or bed and the dog sticks to me like glue during them.

In preparation for the fall garden adventure, I've cleared a nice spot in the garden, and have started spreading guinea pig bedding. My fall seeds are in order, and I'll probably get those out in the next few days...if I manage to get my butt in gear and overcome the sapping exhaustion and aches and pains.

I also order 16 cu ft of perlite, joy of joys, and am mixing potting mix like crazy. We invested in a lovely machine for redoing the flooring in a few locations, and this magical machine cuts glass like a knife through butter. I'll post some pictures of the new, green planters I'll be posting in my shop soon.

I've got a couple new varieties of tomatoes that just went off for germ testing, so keep your eyes peeled for those!

x-posted to fluffnflowers' website blog.

Pinch Gardens

I started listing pinch gardens in my shop a few months ago and realized that I've never shown any of mine. During my last illness, a handful of established ones wasted away, but I've started over and now have a small collection growing at the windowsill in front of my crafting table.

These three are salvages. I was cleaning off my plant table outside and found a handful of dessicated bulbs. Three of them having started showing signs of life, and I'm still waiting on the other two.

As you can see, two of these are simple, amber bottles. In fact, I appear to have completely neglected to take the label off of one! The taller one is a wine bottle that I cut off and etched in an uneven, cloudy pattern.

See more of my pinch gardens and pinch garden collections here.

New things!

I decided to change my avatar. I may change it back to the one I've had since I joined (over a year now!), but I figured I'd give this one a try for a little while and see if I adjust. Talk about living on the wild side, eh?

I've decided to do a fluffnflowers sale from 28 Nov.-1 Dec. in honor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you haven't already checked out my shop, you might want to take advantage of this sale before the spring rush!

Buy 3 packs of seeds or $9 equivalent (not including S&H) and get a free pack of seeds! AND 15% off of any CUT GLASS growing kit.

I made it out alive!

I'm back home and comfy after my heart surgery. Sadly, the procedure wasn't as successful as we'd have liked, but we'll know better what the course of action will be in a month or so.

For now, I'm thrilled to be home, and I've been pretty busy. I've redone a couple of listings, added a few new listings, and have been getting together more promos to send out for the next big rush.

I spent some time before I went into the hospital cutting and finishing a bunch of glass bottles, so I've been taking pictures and introducing these 'pinch' garden kits. The containers are small, so I've chosen seeds that do well in tight quarters for several months. Spicy Globe Basil, Fern Leaf Bleeding Heart, and Jewels of Opar are some of the selections I've made.

alysonscure

A great etsy seller, MeridianStudio, has organized a shop to help the family of Alyson, a young girl with lymphoblastic leukemia.

Please check out the beautiful contributions of other etsy members in the shop alysonscure.

I have donated a new project, an etched glass, upcycled herb garden.