Finished Stained Glass...
So, like the dummy I am, I forgot to take a picture of the last two finished stained glass panels in their frames during the day. Thus, the lovely natural light was lost. Le sigh. Instead you will have to deal with this pic under artificial light...
(That's the only way I could get them to stand up, sorry for the angle)
I brought them to Janet on Sunday and she said that her mother (the client) absolutely LOVED the first finished panel she received -to my immense relief! It made me feel better about how much I charged her for the job. Which, after taking out the cost of materials ($330), left me with an hourly rate under CA minimum wage. BUT. I'm not a pro at this, so the extra hours are something I needed to eat to gain experience. And with the leftovers from this job I can make up some of my own panels to sell without having to invest money for supplies.
And yes, stained glass is really, really expensive. Well, the good stuff. The real leaded stuff. There is a TON of cheap stained glass on the common market (think lamps and do-dads) that is assembled in China and India (and granted, they need jobs), but it's the copper-foiled stuff that doesn't hold up as well and is basically undercutting local stained glass artists. So please don't balk at $75 for a square-foot panel, the glass itself is REALLY expensive. The roughly 2' x 4' sheet of "water" glass for the large center portion of the cabinet panels was $125 by itself. So yes, custom work is expensive. But done well it is a beautifully crafted piece that may well outlive you.
Okay, enough ranting. :P
And here's Mr.Poo being cute on all the paper I cleared off of my desk to take the glass picture...
I'm still marveling at how nice a picture this camera takes under such low-light conditions. *loves*
The sun came out yesterday (after a day of heavy rain) so Ian and I spent it working outside. We dug and set the posts for the run for the larger chicken coop, and got two of the three "walls" of wire up. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with how well it's been going -I guess that's where months of planning really pay off, LOL. (totally NOT trying to justify my laziness, noooo) I don't think the girls will like it much, being cooped in there, but I'll still give them free range of the yard when I'm home -or as long as there are no predator incidents. Of course, with them and the bantams running free (the bantams for the last two weeks or so) I've noticed that LaRoo is trying to woo and "service" my Standards, which is pretty hilarious. He has to jump up to grab their neck feathers, and then if they don't run off (99% of the time) and actually let him hop up, he's too small to successfully maneuver himself so he just looks like he's riding piggy-back! I wish I could get a pic because it really is just too funny -poor LaRoo's pride! XD
(That's the only way I could get them to stand up, sorry for the angle)
I brought them to Janet on Sunday and she said that her mother (the client) absolutely LOVED the first finished panel she received -to my immense relief! It made me feel better about how much I charged her for the job. Which, after taking out the cost of materials ($330), left me with an hourly rate under CA minimum wage. BUT. I'm not a pro at this, so the extra hours are something I needed to eat to gain experience. And with the leftovers from this job I can make up some of my own panels to sell without having to invest money for supplies.
And yes, stained glass is really, really expensive. Well, the good stuff. The real leaded stuff. There is a TON of cheap stained glass on the common market (think lamps and do-dads) that is assembled in China and India (and granted, they need jobs), but it's the copper-foiled stuff that doesn't hold up as well and is basically undercutting local stained glass artists. So please don't balk at $75 for a square-foot panel, the glass itself is REALLY expensive. The roughly 2' x 4' sheet of "water" glass for the large center portion of the cabinet panels was $125 by itself. So yes, custom work is expensive. But done well it is a beautifully crafted piece that may well outlive you.
Okay, enough ranting. :P
And here's Mr.Poo being cute on all the paper I cleared off of my desk to take the glass picture...
I'm still marveling at how nice a picture this camera takes under such low-light conditions. *loves*
The sun came out yesterday (after a day of heavy rain) so Ian and I spent it working outside. We dug and set the posts for the run for the larger chicken coop, and got two of the three "walls" of wire up. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with how well it's been going -I guess that's where months of planning really pay off, LOL. (totally NOT trying to justify my laziness, noooo) I don't think the girls will like it much, being cooped in there, but I'll still give them free range of the yard when I'm home -or as long as there are no predator incidents. Of course, with them and the bantams running free (the bantams for the last two weeks or so) I've noticed that LaRoo is trying to woo and "service" my Standards, which is pretty hilarious. He has to jump up to grab their neck feathers, and then if they don't run off (99% of the time) and actually let him hop up, he's too small to successfully maneuver himself so he just looks like he's riding piggy-back! I wish I could get a pic because it really is just too funny -poor LaRoo's pride! XD