The Ice Storm Cometh. And Proof That Parents Have A 6th Sense.

It all began in the wee hours of Monday. Freezing rain that built a half inch of ice on my car. No school for the kids, naturally, but it also knocked out power. And cell phone service for most of the state of Kentucky. Yuck.

Now I'm no stranger to power outages, having lived 10 years on Guam in the 90's I've had my fair share of typhoons, typhoon aftermath, and what the local Guam Power Authority termed "load sharing" (scheduled power outages throughout the day by village). After typhoon Omar we were without power for about 6 weeks. But that was the tropics. I can take a cold shower in the tropics. I'm not so thrilled about that in the middle of a Kentucky winter.

So what's this about parents having a 6th sense? I have that one covered. Maybe it's just my parents left Monday morning for Cancun, Mexico. They live only 3.5 hours north (maybe 4 hours now that I have a speeding ticket under my seatbelt) just outside of Indianapolis so they probably had a bit of winter weather. Instead, they're calling me with daily updates about drinking champagne in a hot tub with new friends from Argentina. And swimming with dolphins. Not to mention hot meals. I can't even serve up a toasty cup of java without driving the 20 minutes to McDonald's, or better yet, the Cafe Bonin, where I am right now using their WIFI and having a lovely hot cajun sandwich. So this is proof positive that my parents have a 6th sense.

The studio update is this: No power, it's 34 degrees and falling in there, and while I plan to build a fire to heat the space, I can only work until the sun begins to set because I have no light in there. I also don't have internet, so unless I can type a reply with my iPhone, I'll be unable to answer any questions until I make my daily trip to Cafe Bonin. However, I will answer any messages or emails as best as I can. I will also update here and in my Etsy shop when power is restored because I look forward to getting back to business as usual.

*** If you ordered a kit and need the tutorial please send me an email: annie {at sign} anniehowes dot com and I will forward it as soon as I am able. Thank you so much for your patience. I deeply appreciate it.

*** UPDATE: We're still without power, however we have the generator hooked up and we have internet, so it's back to business as usual as long as it all keeps running :o)

A Sweet Kit. An Annie Howes Exclusive Glass Pendant Kit.

If you haven't visited my Etsy shop recently then you probably haven't seen this cute glass pendant DIY kit just in time for Valentine's Day.



I've assembled a sweet collection of both Chiyogami and scrapbook papers in red and pink in this limited edition kit. I've only made 8 available and when they're gone, they're gone! And all to good homes. Each kit includes enough supplies to make 6 beautiful square glass pendants. Tutorial included. Make them yourself, or give to your sweetie.

Hugh Hefner and I Have A Lot in Common.

Hugh and I both go to work in our PJ's, and to me that's a lot. It's a Big Deal. Not that I actually wear my PJ's to work, and I've never owned a silky lounging robe but I do wear incredibly comfy clothes that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing in Walmart. Sometimes I even take my home brewed coffee with me.

That's about where the similarities end. Or do they?

Because I work for myself in a studio located 100 feet from the back door of my residence, wear comfy clothes (minus the smoking jacket), slippers, make enticing handmade DIY crafting kits, talk to fabulous and friendly people on the phone, exchange informative and funny emails with customers, and have brainstorming sessions on the next product doesn't mean I don't have a "real job". I still have to maintain a structured, sometimes grueling studio schedule requiring all kinds of personal and professional commitment to meet my daily, weekly, and monthly goals. I'm sure Hugh has had to do the same over the years. There aren't any sick days, and holidays are bonus days to catch up on paperwork.

I love what I do not because I can wear my PJ's to work, I love what I do because it's a great deal of fun, and I bet dollars to doughnuts Hugh has fun, too!

Product Recall...Does your Diamond Glaze Crack?

Say it ain't so.

JudiKins, the name behind Diamond Glaze has issued a recall of sorts on their 2 oz. and 10 oz bottles of Diamond Glaze that were produced on November 13, 2008. The affected batch is GP005 and GP008 with the silkscreened label.

Here is the text from their website:

Notice: Diamond Glaze Cracking
Thanks to some very astute Diamond Glaze artists, we have tracked a batch of Diamond Glaze that did not meet specifications. While there is no health hazard associated with this batch, it does develop cracks if applied thicker than 1/8 inch and allowed to dry below room temperature (less than 70 degrees F).

The batch was bottled on the 13th of November 2008. Any bottles purchased before that date are not affected. We have tested later batches (after the 15th of December 2008) and they do not have this problem. Only 2 fluid ounces (GP005) in silkscreened bottles and 10 fluid ounces (GP008) in labeled bottles are affected. The batch was small, only 3 barrels of 50 gallons each.

If you purchased a bottle from this batch, U.S. customers can return it for a replacement bottle. Don't forget to include your name and address. Please send it to:

JudiKins Inc.
17803 South Harvard Blvd.
Gardena, California 90248

Please feel free to visit JudiKins.com directly for more information, or contact me directly and I will be happy to help you.

Come On Baby, Light My Fire. And I Never Said I was A Boy Scout.

If my family's survival depended on my skills at fire starting, we would surely experience a slow, miserable, and very cold departure to "The Other Side".

Seriously.

The irony here is that I use wood to heat my studio. That's right, a wood stove. It takes me an hour to get it going because apparently that survival gene skips a generation every once in awhile. Or perhaps it's one of those skills taught in boys clubs, such as The Boy Scouts of America, because the Girl Scouts only taught me how to sell things, not set fire to them.

Luckily for me, I can compensate for my shortcomings as a cave woman by being a skilled armchair shopper. I found these scented soy wax fire starters on Etsy, my favorite handmade shopping mall. Berry Creek Candles has a wonderful selection of candles, too, and her scents are authentic and inviting. I love how simple starting a fire has become since I started using her fire starters. And what's better is I have heat in a fraction of the time, it's all natural, and I don't have to worry about handling harsh chemicals. It's all good!

Hoosier Orchid Co. and a Moment of Silence.

My parents, bless their hearts, are notorious in our family for finding the best darned restaurants in town (their town) only to subsequently find the place boarded up and out of business. And I'm not just talking buffets. They find the neatest out-of-the-way, and some not-so-out-of-the-way places.

Take The New Orleans House as an example. My goodness, it was the best place in Indianapolis to get butter with a little seafood on the side. Huge crab legs, shrimp prepared in more ways than Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue ever imagined, and the most decadent dessert selection one could imagine. I think the local hospitals closed it down because too many patrons were needing their stomachs pumped, but seriously, where else could we go to indulge our seafood fantasies? It was a once in a lifetime treat. Literally.

So, it was with much sadness that I learned of the innate talent of restaurant closings having transgressed from mere restaurant closings (my health may or may not have improved) to Closing of All Favorite Haunts, and the latest victim appears to have been The Hoosier Orchid Company. My parents were beside themselves and very apologetic.

Oh for crying out loud, Indianapolis. Where else could one go to indulge in a little tropical foliage fantasy and inspire whimsical dreams of successful Exotic Orchid Care? Where else can one visit to find something other than a phalaenopsis regularis (I may have just made that up) found in every grocery store and Walmart all over the nation? Who else is to bolster my confidence that, yes, I too can nurture and responsibly care for an orchid? Who else would bestow a young orchid to a child almost as young? (Thank you, Leon, my daughter still cherishes and nurtures it :o)

*sigh*

For all of these places that close, of one thing I am sure...my parents will move on to the next discovery and if I move quickly enough, I too, can enjoy the discovery.

My Daddy Didn't Raise No Fool. Using the Right Tool.

I cut glass. I cut a lot of glass. It's gorgeous glass and I'm always cutting it and firing it in my little kiln. I've got this glass cutting and firing thing down as a routine. Especially now that I've purchased The Right Tool for the Job. That's right, the Mercedes of the glass breaking industry with a name I can't even begin to pronounce. A bit of that fine German engineering right here in my studio.

I'm thrilled. Over the moon jubilant at the ease of use and minimal force used to break even the tiniest of strips with this fabulous Lieber Scnitzel (or something like that) glass cutter. I don't have to speak the language to understand and master the tool. Well, master, not exactly, but looking at the beautiful clean break in the glass pictured above, a nice thick piece of glass, you can say it makes a master out of me.

This sort of trumps my brand new phone line that's now hooked up in my studio. Yeah, that's right, I have my own phone line in here. That's another Right Tool for the Job. No more crackling sounds, breaking up, lost connections out here. No more standing out in the parking lot to get better reception. I now have phone access at my computer in my studio.

Wow.

According to Mr. Howes, all this studio is lacking is a bunk and a pillow. I'm sure he's joking since I don't have indoor plumbing in here yet :o)