Loren's Posts - Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate2024-03-28T12:30:14ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Lorenhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3138704308?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://oozinggoo.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=1nknjw6mffv9q&xn_auth=noA Glitter Odyssey: Pt. V, The Home Stretchtag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2013-06-04:1566398:BlogPost:4635852013-06-04T19:30:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>Whew! this post has been a loooooooooooong time coming.</p>
<p>Well, as many of you know, I've been working on making custom punched glitter, ever since I first saw that WaMu lamp and bought it on ebay...the one with the house-shaped glitter flakes. That lamp infected me with an idea!</p>
<p>It's taken me a lot of time, effort, and money, but I'm finally close to being able to take custom cut glitter orders...but with a disclaimer.</p>
<p>So ok, first things first...</p>
<p>After trying all…</p>
<p>Whew! this post has been a loooooooooooong time coming.</p>
<p>Well, as many of you know, I've been working on making custom punched glitter, ever since I first saw that WaMu lamp and bought it on ebay...the one with the house-shaped glitter flakes. That lamp infected me with an idea!</p>
<p>It's taken me a lot of time, effort, and money, but I'm finally close to being able to take custom cut glitter orders...but with a disclaimer.</p>
<p>So ok, first things first...</p>
<p>After trying all kinds of mylar for substitute glitter, in all kinds of thicknesses with no luck, I was about to give up. However, the unusual shape of the default glitter in these lamps clued me into something...</p>
<p>I did a lot of searching, THEN I found out what the glitter is made out of. Then I found a place to try out that material from, and got them to send me a sample.</p>
<p>That sample pack finally arrived... And...</p>
<p>I was disappointed. :(</p>
<p>First off, they were supposed to send me red, green, blue, and gold films. They sent pink, mint green matte, silver matte, and white iridescent. :-/ When I asked for metalized film, I didn't realize that there was a matte version of that. Sigh...</p>
<p>Not only that, but the material totally pulls and stretches in the punch, rather than cutting cleanly like I had hoped it would. I had had similar experiences with mylar, so I resorted to some of my old tricks...wrapping the film in paper on both sides before punching. That worked with some patterns, but not others.</p>
<p>So I tried using post-it notes, which have adhesive, but nothing too strong. That was a success...mostly! There still were some patterns that did not want to punch without tearing, pulling, and jamming up the punches. :( Not only that, but even when it DID work, I suddenly had glitter that had paper stuck to both sides of it. It is VERY hard to get that paper off of every piece of glitter, but it's possible if you're patient.</p>
<p>THEN, in order to get the glitter to flow, you have to hand wash each and every individual piece of glitter to get the leftover adhesive off, then wash in a bottle of warm soapy water and rinse. Once the glitter comes out of that soapy solution, YOU CANNOT TOUCH THE GLITTER with your hands...at all. If you do, it won't flow. It'll just float on the surface. You have to wear rubber gloves, or use tweezers to move the glitter around piece by piece.</p>
<p>If I start doing these custom glitters, there are some things that I would like to announce...</p>
<p>1) These lamps will likely be over the $50 price I originally quoted...how much over, I haven't determined yet, but that lamp took me many, many hours of toil, and the film is not as cheap as it should be.</p>
<p>2) People will have to allow me ample time to make these lamps for them. I will go as fast as I can, but this process is slow and laborious, to say the least.</p>
<p>3) I cannot guarantee that I can produce all of the punch shapes that you want, and I don't have to time or material to test out all 200+ punch patterns that I currently have. I will have to test them as people require them, and let them know how that goes. I am so sorry for this inconvenience... :(</p>
<p>4) I STILL don't have the colors I need, and some of the ones I was sent were not colorfast, like the pink. After one day in the glitter solution, the pink film went totally silver. This will not do!</p>
<p>So in other words...I guess I'm not really ready to take custom glitter orders yet. :(</p>
<p>But how do people feel about those limitations? Is $60-$75 just WAY too much to have to pay? I'm currently trying desperately to refine the process to make it quicker, cheaper, and easier...but it's very hard.</p>A Glitter in Timetag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2013-05-07:1566398:BlogPost:4581502013-05-07T01:17:46.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>I know it's been forever, but it's been a long journey for me. I finally found a glitter that works in the lamps I sell, found out what it's made of, found out how thick it is, found out where to buy some, and now I'm waiting to hear back from a ton of wholesale distributors. At first all I could find were manufacturers with minimum order requirements of 1-10 tons, but I finally found the distributors. Hopefully soon I can order some, but in the meantime I've ordered 12 different colors of…</p>
<p>I know it's been forever, but it's been a long journey for me. I finally found a glitter that works in the lamps I sell, found out what it's made of, found out how thick it is, found out where to buy some, and now I'm waiting to hear back from a ton of wholesale distributors. At first all I could find were manufacturers with minimum order requirements of 1-10 tons, but I finally found the distributors. Hopefully soon I can order some, but in the meantime I've ordered 12 different colors of the precut glitter that I know works in these lamps. :)</p>
<p>Just as a teaser though...here's a preview of some of the shapes I've been able to track down so far, over the years!</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/allmypunches3.jpg"><img class="align-full" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/allmypunches3.jpg"/></a>SO. EXCITED.</p>
<p>...And a bit premature, I know...I can't help it though...I'm so close!</p>EUREKA!!tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-09-28:1566398:BlogPost:4161042012-09-28T05:30:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>On a hunch, I decided to try and spray some stripper onto an UNpainted lamp. I just couldn't figure out why in the world only the inside of the cap anodised! I knew why the base didn't, and that's because I didn't connect the power correctly, but the cap? My friend who is helping me said something about aluminum being pre-anodised sometimes in order to seal it to keep it from oxidizing...but how did they anodise it without getting ALL of it? There must be something sprayed on…</p>
<p>On a hunch, I decided to try and spray some stripper onto an UNpainted lamp. I just couldn't figure out why in the world only the inside of the cap anodised! I knew why the base didn't, and that's because I didn't connect the power correctly, but the cap? My friend who is helping me said something about aluminum being pre-anodised sometimes in order to seal it to keep it from oxidizing...but how did they anodise it without getting ALL of it? There must be something sprayed on there...</p>
<p>...And there WAS!</p>
<p>After letting the stripper sit upon the lamp parts for a few minutes I wiped it off to find that it removed a layer of...something...from the aluminum! THAT is what was keeping the parts from anodising!</p>
<p>And I can get that crap OFF!</p>
<p>YAY! I am SO going to try again to anodise tomorrow...</p>Misadventures in Modding Pt. IIItag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-09-19:1566398:BlogPost:4151042012-09-19T04:30:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>Sigh...</p>
<p>Throughout this entire venture, there have definitely been ups and downs. Here lately though, it seems like there have been way more downs than ups! First I hear that the mail ruined Bridget's lamp. :( She did all she could to try and salvage it, but it just got worse. I'm in the process of fixing that for her, but in the meantime I was trying to anodise, and finishing up Drew's third lamp. First off, it would NOT stop raining long enough for me to paint! I FINALLY got a brief…</p>
<p>Sigh...</p>
<p>Throughout this entire venture, there have definitely been ups and downs. Here lately though, it seems like there have been way more downs than ups! First I hear that the mail ruined Bridget's lamp. :( She did all she could to try and salvage it, but it just got worse. I'm in the process of fixing that for her, but in the meantime I was trying to anodise, and finishing up Drew's third lamp. First off, it would NOT stop raining long enough for me to paint! I FINALLY got a brief window today, and I jumped on it. It had rained earlier, but it was cool...not hot enough to make the air really humid. Anyway, I got to paint Drew's new lamp. And, um...all I can say is...WTF ARE YOU PLAYING AT, KRYLON?? This isn't the same orange...this isn't the same orange at all. :(</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_4438_zps87e20e46.jpg"><img class="align-left" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_4438_zps87e20e46.jpg?width=750" width="750"/></a></p>
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<p>It actually looks less orange in person...more like tan, or brown. I was a little upset, to say the least. I don't want to ever have to ask Drew, or anybody to have to settle for less than exactly what they wanted. Drew has been very flexible, and seems to be happy in spite of the little surprises, but I'm trying to make sure that this lamp is as perfect as it can be. So I went to a couple more shops to try and track down some matte orange paint. I finally found some that at least wasn't gloss..it's satin finish, but I'll hit it with a matte clear coat, and I think it will look fine. :) It will be a bit on the terra-cotta side, but hopefully it will be a good color.</p>
<p>So that's the base and cap for the order I'm working on. I still need to finish the globe which I had started, but first I went ahead and tried to anodise. I set everything up, and got everything ready to go. Here's my setup, as it was when it was running:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/pano_zpscd357a9f.jpg"><img class="align-left" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/pano_zpscd357a9f.jpg?width=750" width="750"/></a></p>
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<p>That electric griddle thing is what I melt my goo kits on, and what I use to heat the anodising dye bath, which is the blue pot. The anodising tank is in the corner, and the 30 amp power source is to the right. Here's a closeup of the anodising tank, with a lamp in it:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/edfgeeih_zps5b8c2b9e.png"><img class="align-left" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/edfgeeih_zps5b8c2b9e.png?width=750" width="750"/></a></p>
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<p>As it turns out, I had that connected incorrectly. I actually WAS able to anodise...but...</p>
<p>THIS was the result. :-./</p>
<p><img src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/hehbcici.png?width=750" width="750"/></p>
<p>Some might think me a bit silly for being happy about that...almost total failure...but I'm more thrilled at my partial success! I WILL fix these problems, and anodise these lamps properly...because look at that color! That is just what I was going for with the orange. I'm not sure why it ONLY anodised inside of the cap, and nowhere else, but I think it's because of the way I connected the whole thing up. 1) I MIGHT need to order professional titanium clips to hold the cap and base, and 2) I MIGHT have to strip the parts in lye to strip the coating off, if that is what's preventing the outside from anodising. Only thing about that, is that lye will dull the finish of the aluminum. I'll then have to re-polish it myself. JEEZ this has been such a nightmare...I want my anodiser to be up and running dammit!! I don't care what it takes, I WILL do this. If I can. :p</p>
<p>So anodising is off yet again for a while, until I figure this out. I need to order some lye online (and hope that I don't get tagged yet again for illegal activity...apparently people make meth out of lye @_@). I need to order those titanium clips, also...and then these things need to be shipped. :( Sigh...I know I already sighed, but I'm doing it again.</p>
<p>SO THEN, I say to heck with the anodiser for a while, and went back to work on Drew's new order. I had already mixed up the goo an poured it, I was just waiting for it to cool so that I could add the liquid and run it for the first time. Well I did run it for the first time, and this happened:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_4427_zpse1c05cdd.jpg"><img class="align-left" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_4427_zpse1c05cdd.jpg?width=200" width="200"/></a></p>
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<p><br/> The goo totally came away from the coil, floated to the top, and wouldn't come down. So I had to dump that, and try again...the same thing happened. I then try a THIRD time, and again...the damn lava floats straight up to the top. I have now made over 30 goo kit lamps...this has only happened twice before...both times were due to faulty coils. But these coils that I used were brand new!! Actually...later on I remembered...the pack had been opened, and taped back shut again. :-/ It was the last pack left, and I needed them for an order. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but there's no telling what might have gotten on these coils while the pack was sitting open (probably moisture, among other things). SO...I got a new pack of coils today. I'm about to try this one more time with one of these (sealed) coils. If this doesn't work, then I don't know what I'm going to do. :( I have no idea why this is happening!!</p>
<p>At LEAST Drew's base and cap look much better... :(</p>
<p>I'm having a bad day over here!</p>Let the anodizing commence!tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-09-15:1566398:BlogPost:4141452012-09-15T03:59:43.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>Yay! My power supply finally came! It was the fourth one, and hopefully the last. As soon as I opened it, though...my heart sank. The bottom of the unit was so bowed out that it wouldn't sit flat on the table. The face place sits very loosely on the front, and the metal cover is warped! Worst thing about it is, the box was completely un-dented. Whomever packed my power supply saw it in that state, and packed it anyway. I could have screamed.</p>
<p>But instead I mashed the bowed bottom back…</p>
<p>Yay! My power supply finally came! It was the fourth one, and hopefully the last. As soon as I opened it, though...my heart sank. The bottom of the unit was so bowed out that it wouldn't sit flat on the table. The face place sits very loosely on the front, and the metal cover is warped! Worst thing about it is, the box was completely un-dented. Whomever packed my power supply saw it in that state, and packed it anyway. I could have screamed.</p>
<p>But instead I mashed the bowed bottom back in, plugged it in, and turned it on. It at least seems to work. ...Yay...?</p>
<p>I guess that's a yay...but I can't help but wonder how long it will work...and I can't return it.</p>
<p>Sigh...maybe it will not break for a long time.</p>
<p>But anyway, I'm waiting for one last message from my friend that's helping me. Once I have that, I could theoretically be anodizing by tomorrow!</p>
<p>Wish me luck, everybody!</p>Just ordered the anodizing dyes!tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-08-11:1566398:BlogPost:4080122012-08-11T05:00:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>Finally!</p>
<p>And now I can offer a much more definitive list of colors that will be available. :) All of these can be varied from light to dark, but here is the list of default colors:</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;">Red</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff6600;">Orange</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff9900;">Tangerine</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffcc00;">Yellow</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #00ff00;">Green</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #003300;">Forest…</span></p>
<p>Finally!</p>
<p>And now I can offer a much more definitive list of colors that will be available. :) All of these can be varied from light to dark, but here is the list of default colors:</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;">Red</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff6600;">Orange</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff9900;">Tangerine</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffcc00;">Yellow</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #00ff00;">Green</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #003300;">Forest Green</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #008080;">Teal</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #33cccc;">Turquoise</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">Blue</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #800080;">Purple</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #993366;">Violet</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333300;">Bronze</span></p>
<p>Black</p>
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<p>Whooo! :) I've been having a friend help me when he can. I have the power source, the anodizing tank is complete, I've bought a hot plate for the dye bath, and now I have the dyes ordered. I still have to wait until my voltage meter arrives, and I have to find an ammeter (and a resistance coil to limit the power), but I'm getting a little closer every day!</p>Look what I picked up today!!!tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-07-17:1566398:BlogPost:4025662012-07-17T22:30:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>Behold...</p>
<p><a href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3477.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3477.jpg?width=750" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>Yay! We got back from Atlanta with them a little while ago. :)</p>
<p>Damn things wound up costing an extra SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS.</p>
<p>I think we got fleeced on that...it was like having to buy them twice...once in China, and once in the US.</p>
<p>But I'm still not going to charge more than I said I was, I'm just not going to be able to do this again probably. The…</p>
<p>Behold...</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3477.jpg"><img class="align-left" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3477.jpg?width=750" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>Yay! We got back from Atlanta with them a little while ago. :)</p>
<p>Damn things wound up costing an extra SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS.</p>
<p>I think we got fleeced on that...it was like having to buy them twice...once in China, and once in the US.</p>
<p>But I'm still not going to charge more than I said I was, I'm just not going to be able to do this again probably. The only thing that really annoys me is that they KNEW we were new, and that we would be facing these charges...they said nothing. If you were planning on having anything imported from China, be very careful and learn from my mistakes. It's going to cost WAY more than you think it will (or SHOULD, for that matter). I think it might be a racket...I really think they ripped us off. :(</p>
<p><br/> BUT ANYWAY...the lamps are here! I already opened one and made it a gorgeous orange. :D Yay!</p>
<p>More pictures later!</p>Just checking in...tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-06-08:1566398:BlogPost:3962002012-06-08T21:20:39.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>It's been a while since I updated my progress, so I thought I should, since I have a minute to myself for a change. :p My partner and I finally got my dad all moved into his assisted living condo, and in a week, the big move into the new house can begin! I've been so tired and so busy. :(</p>
<p>But I'm taking a day off today. It WAS a good thing, but then I started working on the website again. Now I remember why I was glad to begin moving really heavy furniture, as a break from all this!…</p>
<p>It's been a while since I updated my progress, so I thought I should, since I have a minute to myself for a change. :p My partner and I finally got my dad all moved into his assisted living condo, and in a week, the big move into the new house can begin! I've been so tired and so busy. :(</p>
<p>But I'm taking a day off today. It WAS a good thing, but then I started working on the website again. Now I remember why I was glad to begin moving really heavy furniture, as a break from all this! It's seriously about to drive me crazy again. I had a person who was helping me online, but they completely gave up on me. :( I guess I can't blame them...none of this comes easily to me at ALL. I must seem so very dense to him...</p>
<p><br/>However, I DID manage to get 2 semi-working lamp builders out of the whole thing. One of them takes your 4 choices and displays them as a series of alert boxes. That one works, but I can't seem to replace "alert" with "display image" (or whatever it might be called).</p>
<p>I also have another version of the builder which uses a "swapImage" function. That one actually displays an image based on a user's selection. Only problem is, when I try to make the other 3 selections display the same way, NOTHING I try works. I know that has something to do with the variables used, but I have no idea how to fix it. :(</p>
<p>I've tried and tried and tried to combine what works from both builders, so that I can display the image for all 4 selections, but all I can do is break the FIRST selection so that it doesn't work any more either.</p>
<p>I keep trying and trying and read up and do walkthroughs and javascript tutorials, but nothing is helping me with this project and I'm so frustrated that I just want to cry. I'm SO CLOSE to getting a working lamp builder...but this last little bit is about to kill me. LOL!</p>
<p><br/>On an...ever so very slightly more positive note, the shipment of lamps from China is apparently set to depart Monday...almost 1 full month after they were supposed to. Sigh...oh well, at least that will put their arrival at well after July 4th. You DON'T want to drive to or from Atlanta during all that, let alone both in one day. And since the website is still broken, I guess a little extra time to work on that wouldn't hurt, either.</p>Website Woestag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-05-04:1566398:BlogPost:3886382012-05-04T08:39:54.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>I've given up on a website. I thought I could do it myself, but I can't. All I'm getting is frustrated.</p>
<p>I simply do not have the money to pay someone to make this website for me.</p>
<p>So all of this was for nothing.</p>
<p>And I'm a ****ing idiot.</p>
<p>I've given up on a website. I thought I could do it myself, but I can't. All I'm getting is frustrated.</p>
<p>I simply do not have the money to pay someone to make this website for me.</p>
<p>So all of this was for nothing.</p>
<p>And I'm a ****ing idiot.</p>My First Mod Jobtag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-04-20:1566398:BlogPost:3867182012-04-20T06:32:33.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>It's just for practice, you understand...and since this lamp wound up being free, I just took it apart and learned how to replace the cord easily for painting or anodizing. :)</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3099876551?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" target="_self"><img class="align-full" height="364" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3099876551?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="737"></img></a> The first image is the way it arrived, then I (finally) got the top and cap off, stored the yellow glitter, and put a fluorescent blue/blue gookit. I still…</p>
<p>It's just for practice, you understand...and since this lamp wound up being free, I just took it apart and learned how to replace the cord easily for painting or anodizing. :)</p>
<p><a width="737" height="364" target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3099876551?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"><img width="737" height="364" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3099876551?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a>The first image is the way it arrived, then I (finally) got the top and cap off, stored the yellow glitter, and put a fluorescent blue/blue gookit. I still haven't rewired it yet though, so I have the silver WaMu glitter globe on it for now, and the gookit is running on the WaMu base. I'm getting much better with that transparent kind of paint! It was really tricky at first...</p>
<p>I still want to get an anodizing kit though. I found one for $400 that I'm probably going to wind up getting. I just HAVE to be able to anodize these things! I had a look at the selection of colors available, and it's vast. They would just look too amazing to not do it...not to mention actually easier to get a consistent result than spray paint. I just have to sell a few non-anodized lamps first, before I can afford to do that.</p>Building up my stock 002 - More Spray Painttag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-04-14:1566398:BlogPost:3858242012-04-14T15:50:25.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>Yay. :) Slowly but surely, I'm building up the colors I need. Spray paint is expensive. @_@</p>
<p><a href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3118.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" height="403" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3118.jpg" width="611"></img></a></p>
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<p>That's crimson, orange, and yellow gloss, metallic gunmetal, and metallic bronze. :) That brings my metallic colors up to 8, and the…</p>
<p>Yay. :) Slowly but surely, I'm building up the colors I need. Spray paint is expensive. @_@</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3118.jpg"><img class="align-left" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3118.jpg" height="403" width="611"/></a></p>
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<p>That's crimson, orange, and yellow gloss, metallic gunmetal, and metallic bronze. :) That brings my metallic colors up to 8, and the gloss colors up to...well, three.</p>
<p></p>A HAPPY Post!tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-04-14:1566398:BlogPost:3856002012-04-14T05:00:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>I just sealed the deal today. :) I signed the contract, and paid for the lamps with shipping included, all at once. I've bought cars...I've bought computers...I've never dropped that much cash at once before. :-/ Wow. Surreal. Better start selling some of these soon!</p>
<p>But I'm celebrating tonight. :) It's finally paid! the ball is finally set in motion. I think it's supposed to get here in 35 days? Most of that is in transit...I think they said it would be 28 days at sea? That means…</p>
<p>I just sealed the deal today. :) I signed the contract, and paid for the lamps with shipping included, all at once. I've bought cars...I've bought computers...I've never dropped that much cash at once before. :-/ Wow. Surreal. Better start selling some of these soon!</p>
<p>But I'm celebrating tonight. :) It's finally paid! the ball is finally set in motion. I think it's supposed to get here in 35 days? Most of that is in transit...I think they said it would be 28 days at sea? That means it'll only take a week to make the lamps for me.</p>
<p>Oh, and the price on these will be $40, at the most. Maybe less...we'll see. But I didn't have to pay an extra 300-400 bucks for shipping like I thought, and didn't have to pay a bank fee that was as large as I was originally quoted, so there is no need to charge the extra $10. Man...I've learned a LOT about ordering from Asia! Buying in small lots comes with a bunch more crap than I thought...and I thought it was a lot. Apparently, a T/T payment is basically a bank transfer, or the same as wiring money via Western Union or something. It's all at once...or there's a much larger bank charge involved.</p>
<p>Eventually, I might need to invest in an aluminum anodizer. they are pretty dangerous, and a little pricey, I think...but OH SO GOOD at coloring aluminum beautifully. Maybe then I'll charge more than $40...or if I get custom glitter working, but $40 will allow me to cover my expenses + make a small profit to go toward procuring more stock.</p>
<p>I feel pretty good about charging $40 for a custom lamp, considering how much other, non-customized lamps of the same size cost. If you want the same SHAPE, that's a Mathmos jet or living jewel...and you're doing great if you find one new for $40, especially if you live in the US, and again, it's not customizable directly.</p>
<p>How do others feel about this price?</p>A Sad Post. :(tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-04-10:1566398:BlogPost:3847532012-04-10T06:30:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>I wish I didn't have to say this, but...it looks like they won't sell these to me after all.</p>
<p>They sent me an invoice, but they said that if I didn't pay it all at once, there would be a $300 bank charge which I can't afford. I agreed to pay all at once, but before I could, they realized that Atlanta was NOT a port...that they would have to dump them in Savannah, and bring them by truck the rest of the way. Once they figured this out, they had to adjust the amount for the new shipping.…</p>
<p>I wish I didn't have to say this, but...it looks like they won't sell these to me after all.</p>
<p>They sent me an invoice, but they said that if I didn't pay it all at once, there would be a $300 bank charge which I can't afford. I agreed to pay all at once, but before I could, they realized that Atlanta was NOT a port...that they would have to dump them in Savannah, and bring them by truck the rest of the way. Once they figured this out, they had to adjust the amount for the new shipping. About a week went by, and I sent a message. They said they were still waiting for their shipping company to send them a quote. That was 3 weeks ago. :( I've sent three messages...no response.</p>
<p>And their website is down.</p>
<p>DAMMIT.</p>
<p>[EDIT] They finally wrote me back!! I can't believe it. (@_@) They still didn't provide a new shipping total, but they said that they would tomorrow. Yay! Hopefully it won't be way too expensive, and I can just pay it all at once finally and be done with it until the lamps arrive. Until that I have to keep saying "IF". :(</p>Building up my stock 001 - Spray Painttag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-04-09:1566398:BlogPost:3847102012-04-09T07:22:33.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find spray paint around here. Seriously. A lot of places don't even carry it any more because of all the kids huffing it. :( Sad.</p>
<p>...And rather frustrating for me! I need that crap for like...you know...what it was INTENDED for? Anyway, here's what I've managed to find so far! That's red, blue, royal blue, purple, gold, and black...all metallic. :) The Krylon says it's safe up to 600 degrees F, but the other one says only 200. I think that kind…</p>
<p>You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find spray paint around here. Seriously. A lot of places don't even carry it any more because of all the kids huffing it. :( Sad.</p>
<p>...And rather frustrating for me! I need that crap for like...you know...what it was INTENDED for? Anyway, here's what I've managed to find so far! That's red, blue, royal blue, purple, gold, and black...all metallic. :) The Krylon says it's safe up to 600 degrees F, but the other one says only 200. I think that kind will still work though, on these particular lamps. They only have 30 watt bulbs (perfect for a goo kit), so they never really get that hot.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3012.jpg"><img class="align-full" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_3012.jpg" height="430" width="712"/></a></p>(Mis)Adventures in Glittertag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-04-01:1566398:BlogPost:3837342012-04-01T16:00:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>So I've been steadfastly working on making a GOOD custom, DIY glitter lamp. Hearing people who know what they're talking about on this board say things like "Nobody has ever made an acceptable home-made glitter lamp" was disheartening. :( I thought it was going to be simpler than making a lava lamp, but it's just as complicated. I actually DID get a working lamp made, but it used tiny glitter, and what I'm wanting to use is much bigger.</p>
<p>After seeing that Chinese cylinder lamp that I…</p>
<p>So I've been steadfastly working on making a GOOD custom, DIY glitter lamp. Hearing people who know what they're talking about on this board say things like "Nobody has ever made an acceptable home-made glitter lamp" was disheartening. :( I thought it was going to be simpler than making a lava lamp, but it's just as complicated. I actually DID get a working lamp made, but it used tiny glitter, and what I'm wanting to use is much bigger.</p>
<p>After seeing that Chinese cylinder lamp that I fell in love with, I realized that I could use bigger glitter cut from mylar, and that it looked awesome in a lamp. I already got the fine glitter lamp working ok, so this new one with custom cut glitter should be a snap, right?</p>
<p>Wrong.</p>
<p>I did actually get very close to neutral buoyancy, but when I turned the lamp on, half of the glitter went to the top, and the other half went to the bottom...they both stayed there. I was using just glycerine and water, but I needed a third thing to grab the glitter and make it flow.</p>
<p>If you're trying this at home...don't use soap...whatever you do. It's a good way to ruin twelve (more) dollars worrth of glycerine. :(</p>
<p>Also, salt is supposed to increase flow, but it also adds to the buoyancy of the glitter, making ALL of it float to the top and stay there.</p>
<p>That lamp (the WaMu one), has glitter that rises to the top when the globe is cold, and sinks to the bottom when it's hot (and turned off). That is a trait of a fast glitter (solvent) lamp, but there are no overpowering odors when you uncap the bottle, and the liquid is not oil-based. In fact I am almost 100% positive that it's mostly water and glycerine...just like I'm using.</p>
<p>So I try to make my own glitter...and after a few costly mistakes, I think I've arrived at the right material to use, and the right thickness. And I buy craploads of punches, to cut the glitter into different shapes. And THEN, the mylar rips and stretches in the punches, rather than cutting. I was just about to give up on the whole thing when I thought to try sandwiching the mylar between 2 sheets of paper. Worked great!</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_2930.jpg"><img class="align-full" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/localgods/Img_2930.jpg"/></a>I want to use that glitter SO BAD. :(</p>
<p>Should I be adding something like glycol, or perc? Honestly, I thought those were both thickeners, like glycerine.</p>
<p>I won't give up until I get this working. Can anybody help me get the flow working? I'd really appreciate ANY help anybody can give me!</p>
<p></p>MAD MOD BLOG 001 - WTH am I doing?tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2012-03-29:1566398:BlogPost:3832982012-03-29T04:30:00.000ZLorenhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/Loren
<p>I threatened to do it...and here it is. :p</p>
<p>Anyway, this will be a repository of things related to my ongoing modding efforts, and maybe I'll be able to update it as I go. I guess I'll go ahead and repost this:</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3036764510?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" target="_self"><img class="align-center" height="355" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3036764510?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="737"></img></a> I ordered 100 lamps to mod, and that's what they will look like...only they will be plain, silver aluminum when they…</p>
<p>I threatened to do it...and here it is. :p</p>
<p>Anyway, this will be a repository of things related to my ongoing modding efforts, and maybe I'll be able to update it as I go. I guess I'll go ahead and repost this:</p>
<p><a width="737" height="355" target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3036764510?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"><img width="737" height="355" class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3036764510?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a>I ordered 100 lamps to mod, and that's what they will look like...only they will be plain, silver aluminum when they arrive, with smaller silver glitter in them. I didn't do any non-metallic bases in that, or colored liquids. I want to have a web interface where people can pick colors for the base/cap, glitter, and liquid, and be able to see their lamp develop as they go. At any point, the user can select "Have this lamp built for $50 (or whatever)", at which point an order form is created, and sent to my email. I also want people to be able to register, so that they can save their creations, or at least have a composite jpg emailed to them.</p>
<p>I'm currently a long way from that at this point. However, several breakthroughs have been made.</p>
<p>I found one of these lamps for sale on ebay, and I was able to determine that they had very thin mylar glitter in them, and today I figured out that the globes are mostly water and glycerine! There's most likely something else in there too, but I think I'm definitely on the right track with the water/glycerine and mylar route. The third ingredient is likely perc, or glycol.</p>
<p>I also figured out that I'll likely need a thinner mylar than the wrapping thickness. I bought some cheap birthday hats and decorations at the dollar store today to experiment with, and they were made with 2 thicknesses. The thicker one was more like typing paper, the thinner one was almost tissue paper thickness. I cut some glitter from both, and put some in some 50/50 glycerine/water. The thicker stuff was really easy to punch, and the resulting punches looked great! Only problem...they sank like rocks. :-/ I went with the thinner stuff, and once I did, I realized that THAT was what the glitter in these lamps was made of...not the thicker stuff. I said otherwise earlier, but I was wrong.</p>
<p>For people wanting to cut their own glitter from this material, here's a hint; Take a strip of paper about 2 inches wide, and fold it in half. Then take about a 1-inch strip of the mylar, and sandwich it in the folded paper. NOW punch it. ;-) Now it won't stretch and rip when you try to punch it, and so you can now make perfect punches. :) I was SO relieved when I thought of that one...that was almost a game-breaker.</p>
<p>One small hiccup though...</p>
<p>I cut some of this thin mylar, using the above method, and put some in with the regular glitter that came with this second kenart lamp...I just put it right in the bottle. It all floated to the top, and stayed there. :( That's not good. Maybe there are different "formulas" with different ratios of water:glycerine made for glitters of different sizes? I will have to get some more glycerine tomorrow to continue my tests, but I was REALLY hoping that I could just replace the default, silver glitter with my custom mylar glitter. I still may be able to, but it will require a re-working of the liquid a little bit, it looks like.</p>
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