The etsy gods have spoken! Feedback has been corrected and I couldn't be happier!

I'm knee deep in show and therefore I'm knee deep in sculpting! Wish me luck as I bash my way through more attempts at sculpting the human face (I swear I'll get the hang of it one of these days!!!!)

Everyone stay safe in the snow, and have a happy valentine's day whether you're basking in the love of a significant other or just the love of your friends

Well, like many of my favorite etsians, I've finally fallen victim to the crazy customer. Crazy customer is fine, but this one broke my perfect 100% feedback rating. Don't worry I've filed with the proper etsy channels to have the feedback removed, but the good people at Etsy are currently swimming in emails and it'll be a few days before I get a response.

For those who are curious, the story goes like this: An etsy customer ordered my pink rose pendant, a lovely choice. They however did not pay at checkout. After a day I sent them a friendly reminder that the item wont ship until payment clears, and that I haven't received any payment yet.

This happens sometimes, people forget, they get distracted, real life gets in the way, so I wasn't expecting anything to be different about this case. I said I'd wait a week for a response, if I didn't get any word I'd cancel the sale and leave negative feedback stating that the person is a non-paying customer.

Yet again standard etsy fare, by posting that they are a non-payer in their feedback page, it alerts other etsians (those who might be newer and very, very excited about an order) not to get their hopes up if the payment is not included at the time of purchase. I know my heart goes all a flutter when a sale comes in, especially when it's for my roses, which I am very proud about developing.

Well another day or so goes by, and I get a convo from the customer stating that they changed their mind. I was more than a little peeved about this, as all of my pieces are one of a kind, it's not a simple case of renewing an item if one sells. I have to clear off the workspace of what I'm doing, and make another one or there's a big gaping hole in my storefront. They also remove all of the hearts and veiws that the item had, and get my hopes up about selling another rose.

For those who haven't shopped at etsy, when you purchase an item, there is a big "Commit to Buy" button that you must click. That means you are committing to pay for the item, as by clicking that button, it gets removed from the store, the seller gets an email, and a little happy dance ensues at the sellers home.

This seller clicked that big magically button, then ignored payment, taking up my time, and the time of some poor etsy support staffer who has to go through the case and remove the item from our transactions, credit me back the amount, and delete the history of the item.

So I send a quick response, that the commit to buy button is purchasing the item, and that it is considered nonpaying to ignore the sale, and that it is frowned upon on etsy to be a nonpayer. I explained all of this because ther person seemed to be very new to etsy, with only a few purchases under her belt.

The customer must've been looking for a fight because she responded that I needed to check my emotions before repsonding to convos. I have written several emotional papers in my day, but this is my business. I don't let emotions in when dealing with a case like this. I apologise and say that I was not emotional when I wrote the convo. She replies that I should not contact her again. So I don't.

I delete the convo and go about the business of filing the "cancel a sale" form on etsy, relisting the item, and leave the customer feedback stating that she is a nonpaying customer.

She responds by leaving negative feedback about the quality of my item being lacking and named another seller to go to for better pieces. Not only is it impossible for her to know the quality of my items since it never shipped, it is also strictly prohibited to advertise other shops in feedback.

(I've checked out the store, it's a lovely new store, with lovely items, and the roses are sculpted in a more realistic fashion than mine are, but mine are meant to be simplier and more fantastical, they're mine! So if you are the shop owner of that store know that I hold no hard feelings and wish you many, many sales!:)

So there is a non customer who is criticizing my craftsmanship, advertising another shop in my feeback, and ruining my perfect 100% feedback score. You can guess that I'm not too happy about that, here's hoping the etsy gods move swiftly to restore my name.

In the mean time, the pink rose is back on the market, as are rose pendants that are all the colors of the rainbow!

Behold the new face of my shop! Take a look at the new rainbow of colors available as rose pendants, also notie the destash and clearance categories, both of these are at ridiculous prices to get them gone! I hate waste, if I didn't I've probably chuck them outright since I have no more room for the fabric, bottle caps, old projects and rikrak piling up. (Not actual rikrak for those crafters waiting in baited breath, I just love the term.)

Please buy all the clearance and destash, deals offered for anyone who emails/convos me about buying in bulk!

Life is busy right now, I picked up my first wholesale customer, I just got home from an anime convention with some of my favorite people in the world, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and the day after that I will face my first Black Friday as a retail associate. WOW.

The convention was an amazing time but I missed most if the formal events, staying with friends from 3 states away will sap away the weekend quickly. Luckily I'll see most of them in a month at my favorite convention of all time, MAGfest! MAGfest is a small nerdy music and game festival that is like a giant room party. Concerts 24/7, friends as far as the eye can see, and a very understanding welcoming hotel staff. If you are on the east coast and are a fan of video game music then you should definately check it out. It's Jan 1-4th, in Northern VA.

Must go back to family for the Holiday, I will be out of town until Friday but considering that it is a post office holiday anyway I have left the shop open for business.


Remember! The Rose Pendants are selling out as fast as I post them! The oly way to secure one in the color you want is to email me at Dragonkuh@aol.com or to convo me as user Magnoliafern on etsy.com, about a custom listing. I am more than happy to reserve a pendant for you, and you will have a say in it's general size and a specific color.

There is no extra cost for this, and I will create the rose so you can approve it before you purchase the listing. Email today!

Oh the Horror of Bad Movies

A favorite past time of mine is to watch absolutely awful movies. I blame this nasty habit on my childhood veiwings of Mystery Science Theater 3000. My good friend and I have braved many terrible movies, often with a couple of drinks for courage in the face of poor storytelling and terrible acting.

Before he and I sat down to absorb and relish in the utter failure of these movies I was certain I had seen the worst movie ever. It was in the DVD collection released by good old MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 300) "Manos the Hands of Fate." Those of you will notice that "manos" is Spanish for "hands", so it translates to "Hands the Hands of Fate". This movie is awful, it was written directed and starred a fertilizer salesman from the Southwest, the story vaguely focuses on a family getting trapped at a strange lodge, with a strange bellman (who has the best theme music of all time), and fighting off the demonic Manos and his horde of barely dressed wives.

This movie is watchable only because of the jokes the beloved MST3K robots and human make throughout the duration. The plot is so senseless and bizarre that it will leave you laughing.

I was so certain that this was the worst movie ever. Oh how I wish I had been right!

More bad movie stories tmw

A few weeks ago I was asked how I cure my polymer clay things without burning them, since this was a big problem for me in the beginning I wrote the person all of my tips, and I decided to post them for you here.

"A lot of polymer sellers would tell you to get an independant oven thermometor so that you can make sure your oven isn't lying to you. I just experimented and found that if I cooked items at 265 F in my oven they would cure just fine without the risk of scorching. I also cook them for small periods of time, if I think it'll take 10 minutes in the oven, I cook it for 5, then let it cool and test it and then send it back in the oven.

For the roses and tiny minis I use a handheld heat gun, they're too small to justify turning on an oven anyway!"

How do my fellow polymer artists cure their projects?

Lentil Focal Beads are all on sale in my shop, these are closeout prices, get them out of my store!


Currently I'm sculpting away rose earrings, building up inventory in the hopes that I will make it into Chop Suey Bookstore's Bizarre Market. Any richmond locals know Chop Suey Bookstore, they are a nifty second hand and new bookstore in a very fun corner of the city, right across from an ancient opera house that shows movies now, the famous Byrd Theater.

Anyway, the bookstore opens up a room for local artisans to get an amazing amount of foot traffic from clientele you readily pay more for quality and local ownership. This is a juried show and I hope my roses will get in, as I feel that Richmond would love them!

They announce who made it into the show in November so be sure to snatch up any roses that you'd been saving before then, as they may get put in the market.


Also I've ordered some supplies for new projects, stay tuned to see what crafty mischief will come about!