Woot! I <3 my new kiln!! It's awesome and I'm so glad I spent the extra $$ to get digital control and the viewing window! I have some terrible first pieces of enameled copper (lol) but I'm going to learn quickly. I have a random assortment of enamels that are not labeled transparent/opaque so I had to do some trial and error. These are some of the better results! Off to make some red and black pendants now, wheee!
Christmas is coming! Ack! Ok - I know it's still 5 months off, but in the crafting business it's time to get cracking! Last year I had too little inventory. I can't rely on custom items like made-to-order rings for the gift-buying season. As you might have noticed by my blogger absence, I've been in a bit of a creative slump. Sales have gone back to their summer slow, though the few that I have been getting have been higher-ticket sales so I'm managing to get by. Plus, a wonderful thing happened. My amazingly awesome Grandmother decided to gift me a large (to me) amount of money to invest in my business! So... with cash in hand and a slight air of panic about the upcoming holiday season, I decided to order enamelling equipment. *happy dance*
OoooOOOOhh :D A few hundred dollars later and a brand new Paragon SG2 Digital Kiln with Viewport is on its way to me! I went through my catalogs and ordered accessories and safety equipment along with a bunch of pre-made copper stampings so I can start offering very affordable pendants and earrings right away. I also bought some books on Amazon since I have NO idea what I'm doing (lol). I'm sitting here heart all a-flutter waiting for the UPS man to knock on my door. I can barely stand the wait!
On a side note, the sun is out so I'm going to be adding more of my old stash of supplies for sale at SoloSupplies.etsy.com!
