I found this tip a long time ago, I think on the glass section of Wet Canvas. I’m sorry that I can’t credit the owner of this idea, but it’s neat one.

• Get an empty aluminium (aluminum) soft drink can (soda can)
• Wash and let dry
• Using a sharp knife, scissors, or can-opener, cut off the top and bottom of the can.
• Cut the resulting cylinder into a flat sheet
• Place the aluminium/aluminum sheet under weights (books, bricks, anything heavy) to straighten it. Leave for a some time (hours? days? weeks?)
• From your mostly-flattened-out-sheet cut out a piece approx 12 x 15 cm. Make it as square as possible. (This sort of aluminium is thin enough to be cut with a a rotary paper cutter or guillotine.)
• Using a ruler and a sharp knife measure out sections (a set of two marks) on your aluminium rectangle varying in length between 7mm to 20 mm (or whatever sizes you mostly work with). Leave 5 mm-1/4 inch between each section.
• Using a permanent marker (Sharpie) place a small cross on the sections that will be cut out (ie the lengths varying between 7-20 mm). Don’t mark the space in between the sections.
• Use sharp scissors and/or a sharp knife to cut out the sections marked with a cross.
• Measure your sections, preferably with a set of calipers. Use your permanent marker/sharpie to write down the precise lengths of each section of your measuring stick. It doesn’t matter if a section is not exactly, eg 12 mm, but make sure you know exactly how long it is (eg, 12.2 mm)

You can make several glass measuring sticks from one flattened aluminium/aluminum can.

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Okay here we are another 2 months down the track, and we have another spasmodic post.

I don’t seem to be very good at this blogging thing.

But, I gotta say, that I do have some (reasonable?) excuses. I had several orders after the Big Opening (November 8). I don’t seem to be quite at that stage where I can just splat out the order and only what was asked for. No, I gotta try out several different versions, and then another several more. Efficient I’m not.

Anyway, I digress.

After The Opening, there were, in quick succession, the celebrations of: Sint/Saint Maarten (November 11), my oldest son’s birthday (end of October), Sinterklaas (aka Sint/Saint Nikolaas/Nicholas, the forerunner to Santa Claus, on December 5), and then Christmas (Dec 25).

November/December is a busy month here in Holland. And those varied (mostly Catholic) saints seem to demand their own form of mayhem in the guise of worship/celebration (and I haven’t really understood the reason why *I* have to celebrate these mostly pagan-originated celebrations).

After Christmas comes the New Year’s celebrations, with its own special rituals to see the passing of one year to the next. (Why is that so important, I often wonder?)

Then there was January.

In retrospect January was a very weird month. I started off the month feeling very motivated. I thought, “I’ve got a website, I’ve more or less got my online shop (etsy) organised, I’ve got business cards, postcards, a business manager. I got it all. It’s a start of a Brand New Year. So let’s go Out There!”

And probably around about the same time, the Whole World decided to collapse (bank lending crises [banks don't want to lend to each other], credit crisis [no one wants to lend you money, and I mean No One], Icelandic banks default crises [ huh? a country can go bankrupt?]).

A few weeks later we seem to be sitting at the beginnings of the worse financial crises since the Great Depression (just BTW I NEVER, EVER, wanted to take part in a depression. Recessions we can cope with. Depression? Dunno know.)

Coincidentally (really), about a week later I felt the cold wet fingers of a Big Blue Funk (BBF).

A BBF seems to manifest itself (in my glassy makeover) as feelings of, “Oh no. I don’t want to melt glass. Oh dear. What does that mean? If I don’t want to melt glass then what am I doing?? Panic! No, no don’t Panic. But, if I don’t want to melt glass then who am I. Shit! If I don’t want to melt glass then, shit, what am I?? Okay, then you cant panic a bit. No don’t. Don’t panic. There’s no need to panic. Well, maybe you’re allowed to panic just a tiny bit. Ohhhhh, woe is me.”

But this time around, I’m “experienced” enough (in the BBFs) to realise that it will fix itself up. I know that it will blow over. Well, better said, maybe I am learning to trust that it will. But I gotta admit that this little version of the BBFs (3-4 weeks in total) got me a little worried.

About a week ago I finally had some time to go and play with melting glass. Sure I could make some excuses but I was actually totally and utterly free.

I had thoughts like, “What will I do there? Sitting in front of a torch, with lots of rods of glass waiting to be melted. What will I do?? What colours should I combine? What should I try? Can I think of anything to try???”

Then, thank god, I thought, “Well, there are several techniques that I’m sorta okay at, but well, let’s face it, I’m still a little scared of. Yeah, yeah. Like encasing. Encasing? Yeah, you know those crappy encased stripes. Encased stripes? Yeah, you’re right, you’re pretty crappy at them.”

And suddenly I had A Goal.

Big sigh of relief. I have A Goal!

I even became more ambitious than the encased stripes, and discovered the addiction of “pleated beads” (a la Tomba Dama).

I will take photos. I promise. But I’d just like to spill out some words right now. I’m just *so* happy to feel happy/motivated/enthused about melting glass again.

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