Glow in the Dark Eye Earrings

 When I found glow in dark polymer clay I knew I had to make
these. I call the ones on the left Spooky Eyes and the ones on the right Cyclops Eyes. They were a great excuse to try out the rolling pin my mom found for me at the dollar store.

  There are two inspirations for these earrings. One is this great spooky eye Halloween t-shirt my mom has. Some of the eyes glow in the dark.  The other are these old strings of 'Spooky eye' Halloween lights we put up every year. The oldest strand looks like the "Spooky eyes" and glow green, orange, and red; the newer ones look like a single blood shot eye that glows yellow. But I didn't really like the blood shot look.
If you can't make out the dark pictures try tilting your screen.

   
 The Cyclops eyes measures 13/16" diagonally. Here is the listing:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/158113605/glow-in-the-dark-cyclops-eyes
   The Spooky Eyes measure 1 1/8" long from longest part to longest part, 5/8" tall from the bottom to the peak. Here is the listing: 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/158221996/glow-in-the-dark-spooky-eyes
Each earring is 3/16" thick, weights about .1 oz. (I say 'about' because my scale only has marks for ounces and half ounces), has surgical steel studs and earring backs, and a small 'J' carved into the
back.

           Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day.

Wasp Invasion

   There are wasps building nests everywhere this year. It's not unusual to find three nests in one day. Mostly they've been building in the barn which is awful because Mom and I go in there so often.

  They have nests in the worst places. I found a Yellow jacket's home in Mom's Rosemary plant when I was watering. That could have been bad; mom loves to walk up to the Rosemary plant and rub it to get the fragrance on her hands. I drowned them.
A couple of days ago Mom was waking along the fence line and found three different nests right next to each other.
  She got stung weeks ago when we were digging for metal pipes to use in the new chicken run and disturbed a large nest. It got her on the neck near her jugular while another went for her face. It's almost as if they know where to sting to cause the most pain. The one on her neck swelled up painfully. It took an application of Baking Soda mixed into a paste with water for it to go away.

I don't know how, but somehow my record of never being stung by a wasp still holds. Probably because I run away so fast. I don't know what's up, we've never had wasps around here this bad.

This is the last day for Bats Bizarre's Christmas In July sale. Use coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY for 15% off your entire purchase. Shipping cost is not included in discount.

                 Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!

Fire Storm Earrings

   I like to think of these as the Summer version of my Rain drop and Snow Flurries Earrings. The gold wires remind me of searing Summer rays and the red beads of embers from the wildfires that all too often accompany them.  I know Summer's almost over but considering the heat, listing this item now seemed fitting. This style is elegant yet Bohemian, classic yet modern and look great dressed up or down.

  
Lately, I've been trying to add more gold jewelry to my product line and these earrings fit the bill. They are made up of four small (6mm) sparkly, ruby red glass beads on four separate strands of curving gold plated copper wire. The ear wires are also gold plated copper. The entire piece measures 2 1/16" from the top of ear wire to the bottom of the longest bead line.
  
I had a 'helper' when I took these photos.


They cost $13 plus $2.50 shipping and are a great gift for yourself or some one who loves Summer or red and gold jewelry. See the listing here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/157564416/fire-storm-earrings

Bats Bizarre is taking part in Etsy's Christmas In July Sale. Use coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY for 15% off your entire purchase from 7/14/13-7/25/13. Shipping cost is not included in discount.

  Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!

My Shipping Process

Today, I thought I'd explain what happens when I get an order.

  First off I get really excited, dance around the room excited; then I go back to work. Once I'm done with my marketing work (Pintrest, Twitter, blogging, Facebook, stuff like that.) I put up my laptop and get to work on filling the order. I have to wait before I start an order, because when I don't (especial with a knitted piece) I make mistakes and have to start all over again.
  Once I've either finished making it or retrieved it from wherever I store it. I wrap it in tissue paper and write a thank you note. I stamp a purple bat under my signature on the note and slip it in a bubble mailer. Unless it's a Roxi Rabbit or a chick. Not that I've sold any chicks; which might be for the best, I've got a new style of feet I'm going to debut soon. I have one more chick to make for the photo. They actually have toes with this new design!
  But I digress, If it's one of the stuffed animals I wrap it in tissue paper and put it and the thank you note in a box.
  Whether it's in a box or an envelope I address it and stamp it with the purple bat stamp several times. (I really like that stamp.) I'll usually have some reason to go into town within the next couple of days of a sale, but if not I make a special trip to Post Office in Needville or Beasley.

Bats Bizarre is taking part in Etsy's Christmas In July sale. Use coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY for 15% off your entire purchase from 7/14/13-7/25/13. Shipping cost is not included in discount. 

                   Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!         

Update: chicks, plumeria, and a sale

   I told you I'd tell you more about Amy and her four babies today and show you more pictures. It's been seven days and the chicks have started to get their wing feathers. We haven't named them yet.
  Amy is very over protective of her babies and a bit feather-brained. She almost killed one of the little black and yellow/white chicks I think she smashed it with the nest we gave her. I didn't see what happed; I just noticed Amy was looking agitated and there was a lot of noise coming out of the pen. And found the youngest black chick pined between the back wall and the nest looking dazed. I picked up the chick so it would get stumped and after a few minutes it perked up. AKA, started being able to hold it's head up. Periodically, the chick would peep and Amy would try to attack me, again. As I had been the one to hurt it. She pecked me pretty good as I reached in to grab the chick. And that's why she no long has a nest.
For some reason chickens hate cameras.

  We ended up putting her in the broody pen and Mohawk and her babies in the cages in one of the barn's lean-tos. Mohawk started acting anxious and attacking her kids (which was weird because she was almost more protective of them then before, like "Only I may kill my children.") We let her back out with the other girls. She seems happier, now. We left her babies are in the cages, because we don't know if they're boys or girls. I think Little Bit's a boy. But Opossum and Handful look like girls. Fingers crossed.

  Mom made a lei out of flowers from the Plumeria. It smells wonderful.

  Bats Bizarre is taking part in Etsy's Christmas In July sale. Use coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY for 15% off your entire purchase from 7/14/13-7/25/13. Shipping cost is not included in discount. After this sale I'm probably going to listen to my mom's advice raise the prices on my knitted merchandise. I'm not sure how much yet, but I know I would like to make more than about $1.80 an hour. The knitted snakes won't go up more than two dollars or so; they're almost priced right.

                Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!      

Amy's brood

This is a very quick post, because I have a lot of work to do. Amy has Four chicks now, three black and white/ yellow and one brown full blooded Ameraucana. We're not sure if the last egg will hatch, but I'll keep you posted. As you can see it's no longer in the nest, her babies kept hopping out of it and after the second time Amy dragged the egg out so she could sit on all five of them I just left it there.
 I couldn't get that good of pictures of the chicks because Amy is very protective of them, this is the best one.

 

Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jury Duty and an egg update

That's right people, I had jury duty today. I can't believe it; I only reached voting age a couple of years ago. Thankfully I was dismissed early.

 I should have, and was planning on, writing a blog post for today on the weekend, but I spent my weekend helping build a chicken coop and run for Mohawk, which has not been finished yet. Amy's eggs are due this Wednesday or Thursday and Mohawk is getting rather restless. She seems to have  gotten more protective of her children and has started laying eggs again. There have been quite a few misunderstandings as we've reached in to get the eggs, and by misunderstandings I mean attacks. She's been laying almost every day now. We have two of the 10' by 6' chain link panels made for the run.

~~Just got back from the chicken house. I walked into the house to pick eggs and found Amy on the floor under the nest boxes with a chick that appears to have hatched early last night. Two days early! There was a chick in the abandoned nest, dead. Apparently it had caught a draft. The rest of the eggs might have caught one, too. We're sick with ourselves here. Today was the day we were going to move Amy to a cage and hope she was too far into the brood to freak out and almost crush all the eggs, like the first time we tried to move her. We've moved her, her baby (who looks just like Little Bit), and the rest of the eggs into the cage and are hoping for the best.  


                    Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!

Reseeding (again)

Let me start off with Happy Fourth of July!

  For some reason I have been having a horrible time with the herbs I've been trying to grow from seeds this year. I don't understand it at all. I planted Lavender, Eucalyptus, Catnip, Thyme, Feverfew, Hyssop, and Pennyroyal; and all I have to show for it is a spindly thyme sprout and three small Pennyroyal plants. (which, by the way, smell fantastic.)

  All but the Hyssop and Catnip (I have been having a terrible time with catnip) seeds came up, and all but the two mentioned died shorty after. I think I over watered the Feverfew. I don't know what happened to the Lavender. It was looking nice, growing strong and suddenly started dying. One by one each of the four seedling turned brown and died. The Eucalyptus developed tiny purple-brown spots and promptly died.

  Mom's trying with the catnip this time. I've tried planting Feverfew, Lavender, and Eucalyptus again, but if they don't work out I'll probably wait until fall to try again. It's rather hot to be planting anything. Although, it's been in the nineties for highs and has been dropping into the seventies for lows recently which feels wonderful after all those  hundred and higher days we were having.

Bats Bizarre's fourth of July sale ends this Saturday! Be sure to use the coupon code JULY4 for 10% off your purchase before 7/6/13. Discount doesn't include shipping.
                 
                        Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!


      

Adventures in soldering

 I've recently started trying to learn to use the soldering iron Mom found in the barn. I've used it four times now and I haven't burned myself or set anything on fire so I guess it's going pretty well. For some reason when ever I start to smell the soldering iron heating up I think to myself, 'Oh crap, I'll going to burn something.' It probably doesn't help that it wants to sit with the tip touching the paper; so I have to do a lot of finagling to keep it pointing up while the iron warms. I'm going to try using a rock or a brick.
 
 This is a picture of the kitchen table after I commandeered it for soldering practice. As you can see I put newspaper in the vise (also from the barn) so it wouldn't damage the wires.

There are a few things I have to remember when doing this:
1) Solder wants to sticks to itself and to a much lesser existent the soldering iron.
2) It moves fast. Especially when it's moving to some place you don't want it to.
3) It will always try to go where you don't want it to. Twice I've had it flow into the little wire loop I've got on this project. And I really don't want that loop filled with solder.
4) Once it gets into the spot you don't want it to it's almost imposable to get it out.
5) If you try to use the iron to clean up the spot you soldered; the solder will almost always turn liquid and ooze away from where you want it to. 
6) You have to get solder on BOTH sides of the wire you're connecting. Other wise when you try to clean the spot up with a file, like the book on soldering I checked out from the library suggested, the solder will shot off towards your eye.
7) Wear safety goggles.

  Just a few things I've learned while trying to get the hang of this fairly dangerous craft.

Bats Bizarre is having a fourth of July sale! Use coupon code JULY4 from 6/28/13 to 7/6/13 for 10% off your entire Bats Bizarre purchase. Discount doesn't include cost of
 shipping.

                    Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's official blog. Have a bat-tastic day!