It's the End of an Era

Most of you have probably already read in one place or another that I had a house fire. The good news is  Piper and I made it out safely. The bad news is my house will need to be completely gutted, sealed and rebuilt. For such a small fire that was so quickly contained, the devastation is unbelievable. 

They tell me all this will take somewhere between 10 and 15 months to complete. So, for at least the next year, I have no way to stock, pack and send out orders for Stampeaz. In any event, all the Stampeaz inventory was covered with soot and had to be removed from the house before any remediation could occur. All my personal belongings leave the premises beginning tomorrow. 

Four intrepid souls showed up at my house yesterday to empty the basement of all Stampeaz stuff, since it isn't covered by insurance and could not be included in the cleaning and restoring. I'm very glad that this part of my world isn't simply going to a landfill, which would have been the alternative and would have totally broken my heart. I hope they find a way to share the wealth with other lovers of printmaking in all its forms. 

There are still 60 sheets of Tan-Z Kut (54 x 12 x 1/4 inch) in the garage. They have escaped most of the soot and smoke damage. If you are in the area and have a truck, come and get them. They, like all the rest of the Stampeaz stuff is free for any who dare come to the site of devastation. (The garage isn't bad at all, compared to the rest of the house...) 

(Baloo welcoming the first shipment of Tan-Z Kut!)

The story? So many things went right, for all that went wrong. My alarm clock went off, as usual, but instead of getting up immediately and heading out of the house with Piper, we lazed around for an extra ten minutes and I was just wondering what I'd made for dinner the night before, since I smelled something funny. Mere seconds later, every smoke alarm in the house started screaming. I opened the bedroom door and followed the smell down the hall, through the laundry room and to the basement door and when I looked down the stairs I could only see smoke. 

I closed the basement door, closed the laundry room door and dragged Piper out the front door with me and closed that door, too. The fire chief told me that those three things kept my house from burning to rubble, so I still have a structure for them to gut and restore. 

Piper and I stood on the front lawn for about four hours, while ten fire trucks full of first responders battled the fire on, of all things, First Responders Day. I'll never forget that date again. 

I've closed down the Stampeaz website, but I will still be hanging around here. I even have a series of mushrooming pictures I had prepared for a post, before, well... before. Give me a little while to regroup. It's been a rough few days here.

Sorry about the rambling post. There are so many interruptions right now that it's hard to gather my thoughts into a single, somewhat coherent pile.  

Fingers Crossed

I think Stampeaz.com is back up and running as it should be. I think... I hope... 

The site is browsable, searchable and otherwise visible. I will only be fully confident again when a real customer out in the great wide world actually has a successful purchase experience going through PayPal. Fingers (and eyes after all the screen gazing) crossed. 

And speaking of crossed eyes, I may need to join Piper for a nap! This stuff is exhausting. 

I got to work on my very own puzzle mystery! 

:)

What's Been Happening?

As most of you know, I've been away and helping out at the family homestead while my brother was recovering from surgery. For some reason, this round was harder than the last one, but he's doing well and is back on his feet (if not quite up to his usual speed). 

There's a lot of catching up to do! I had to close down the shipping end of Stampeaz while I was away, and a few people placed orders and have been waiting patiently for their carving and printing supplies to be sent their way.  I've been slicing Tan-Z Kut, packing up orders and generally catching up on all the things that have been waiting for me here at home.  I believe that most of the backlog will be out the door tomorrow. There are a couple orders that might need a little additional attention, but they'll be on their merry way soon, too. 

So, I finally took a minute to sit down and think about the blog again. I thought a good reboot might be a few spectacular trail camera captures of bald eagles. 

There is a pair of these majestic birds hanging around the family land and I hope that means they'll be nesting nearby.

As usual, clicking on the pictures will enlarge them. 

I particularly liked this one - that wingspan is quite something and I'm just glad that intense predatory focus is not trained on me! 

Happy belated New Year! I hope it brings you health, happiness, peace and prosperity.  

A Whole New Thing

I've been busy trying to do some good things for Stampeaz.  I will tell you about the second one when I know that it's actually going to happen as planned, but the first I can tell you about now. 

I had attempted (unsuccessfully) to set up gift certificates in the store in the past, but recently a customer asked if they were available yet, and I figured it was about time to revisit that problem and conquer it. So, I set about trying again and I do believe I have emerged from the fray victorious!  

Gift Certificates went live a couple days ago and, of course, I couldn't leave the listing naked, so a new icon was carved for the occasion.

The image was finished this afternoon, and I did a couple of test prints of it. I think it will work (at least until a better idea comes along).

While the teal ink is a better match for the Stampeaz logo, I think the darker blue one wins the contrast and readability award.

So, here's the final image for the gift certificate category in the shop. 

If you get one of the gift certificates and notice anything wonky anywhere in the process, please be sure to let me know. Otherwise, with fingers crossed, I release it out into the Stampeaz multiverse (whatever that might be). ;-)

Well, Poo...!

Last night, while doing a test packing and postage estimate for a customer, I discovered that the post office has pulled the rug out from under us.  Regional flat rate priority mail is no longer available. This means that I won't be able to pass along postage savings because there won't be any.

I'm not charging the full retail rate on the stampeaz.com site, because I get a little commercial discount and I'm continuing to pass that along, but it's not as good as the regional rates. I'm really disappointed (and I'm sure you are, too)! 

The good news for the day is that I still have a box of bits and bobs to share with anyone who tells me they want some included with their package. 

Always look on the bright side of life.... Ti doo ti doo ti doo ti doo... (Yes, that's right,  I'm singing that as I type. And all my slightly twisted friends out there probably get the reference.) ;-)

What Day is It?

So, do you know what day it is? It's an anniversary day. I like to celebrate anniversary days. I'll let you think about it for a minute while I tell you the other news.

In keeping with my resolution to post tutorials on the Stampeaz site, I put up another one today. I had enough questions about what to do if you had already carved your block and still needed to sand it to get better ink adherence. It's called, But I Already Carved. 

Okay, back to the original question.... Seventeen years ago, I purchased Stampeaz and opened it up for business again on this day that year. There have been some rocky times (like the big site crash), but it's been great to be a part of this wonderful carving community. In honor of the anniversary and to celebrate seventeen amazing years, Tan-Z Kut is on sale today. And, if you order, don't forget to ask for some of the bits and bobs that I still have hanging around on the packing table.

Carving Stuff

Procrastination has ended (at least for one specific goal). I have finally started working on possible designs and carves for my Christmas card this year - and also invoice images! I'm not sure this is going to be the winner, but it's what I've been chipping away at for the last couple of days.

I know, I know! I carved a deer in the snow a couple years ago, but this image called out to me. I'm going to have to put it aside for a day or two to see if my opinion of it will improve with a little distance. 

Also, remember way back in August when I told you that I had scraps and bits of odds and ends that I would include in your package if you asked? Well, I still have some, have found more experiments and have created some new ones. This is what the pile looks like at the moment, as it sits on the packing table awaiting requests.

There is quite a variety of bits and pieces including PZ Kut (yes, really), Firm Kut, OZ Kut, Tan-Z Kut and a number of things that were experiments that I never had full runs made of.  As you can see, some of these have images already on them that I decided I was never going to carve, but a quick acetone scrub would fix that (or flipping the block over and using the other side). These are great for inchies, hitchhikers, fleas, bits of text and other small carvings. So, if I'm sending something your way anyway, just let me know you want a handful of extra odds and ends and I will make it so. 

Gone Fishing

This will be another one of the Pond Life series. Remember, about a week ago, I said I'd had a good photo night at Pyatt Lake (which is really a sort of large, shallow marshy area with deeper sections)? That was the night I hatched the idea about putting extra carving block bits into customer packages - and if you missed that post, I still have some (https://stampeaz.blogspot.com/2022/08/an-odd-notion.html). Just let me know if you'd like to have a little extra included with your order. 

Anyway, back to my story.  As I approached the observation deck, I noticed a couple of sandhill cranes out hunting for fish or frogs out in the lake. 

I tiptoed partway onto the deck very stealthily and got a picture.

Then, I carefully edged my way out a little farther for a better view. They continued their fishing expedition undisturbed by my presence.

I'm not entirely sure what gave me away, but they got a bit agitated and started bugling and clacking their very distinctive call.

I didn't want to disturb their dinner hour, so I quietly backed away, as one of them did a marvelous rendition of the dance of the ruffled feathers. As soon as I was at what they considered a safe distance, they resumed their search for dining delicacies and I continued on my walk to the other observation deck about a half mile away.

When I got out to the second platform, I noticed this great blue heron perched on a dead tree in the middle of the lake, not too far from where I stood. It looked me over, but didn't seem too fussed about my presence.

After a while, a golden eagle swooped in and perched near where the cranes had been snacking and the uproar was something to hear! They both took off and flew from the threat and I managed to catch a picture of one as it rose above the undergrowth and then looped back toward me.

It settled in a tree right in front of me and just a little to the left of the heron, who observed the proceedings with interest.

It was fun to watch the crane gracefully fold its huge self into a neat, compact package to and wait for the danger to pass.

It stayed for a while, allowing me to enjoy its company, before flying into the twilight to join its mate, which had perched much farther away from where the eagle landed. (I could see the eagle, but couldn't get a good picture because it landed in a very well camouflaged area to watch for its own dining opportunities. It would have looked like a dark blob amongst the leaves.)

After the crane flew off, I watched the heron for a while longer, before heading down the trail for home. 

All in all, a very nice sunset walk. It could only have been made more perfect by the presence of a large black dog quietly watching by my side. But, you all know that's true!

An Odd Notion...

I was walking around Pyatt Lake taking pictures and thinking about things, as I often do. (Good picture night tonight, by the way...) And I had an idea.

Over time, I have collected quite a pile of carving material odds and ends. There are pieces from very small to reasonably large with quite a few that would work well for people who like to do inchies, micro boxes, hitchhikers, or other small images. I will never, ever be able to work my way through all these pieces of material, given the rate that I am generating them as opposed to how often I carve that size. 

Therefore, if you want to take pot luck and ask for a fistful of miscellaneous bits and pieces to be added to your order (at no extra cost to either of us, since I'm shipping something already), or if you know a deserving soul who can't afford to buy any material, let me know. 

Some of these blocks are from many years ago and come from ideas, samples or tests that  I have put aside and will never revisit. For example, if you are someone who uses acetone and can clean off the surface of a block that has something dubious transferred to it already, there are pieces of Tan-Z Kut, PZ Kut, OZ Kut, MZ Kut (I think) and other materials that only I ever got to play with. There's no reason for me to continue to let this pile keep growing and I like the idea of getting it into the hands of people who will actually carve it into something interesting. 

What do you think?

It's Coming Together - Slowly

It was getting a little quiet on the blog front again, wasn't it? There has been a lot going on with the Stampeaz site rebuild, so it's time for another update. I can't pretend it's terribly interesting reading, but people have asked for it. You have been warned.  

The pieces are starting to create a picture that looks like it might eventually make some sense. As you can see, there are still big chunks missing, but it's beginning to look like it's really going to come together. So, what does that mean, exactly? 

All the carving materials and kits, most of the carving tools and several lines of ink pads and inkers have been entered into the new database. Today, I'm working on more of the inks, inkers and markers. I have set myself a deadline for getting it all finished and, if I manage to figure out how to deal with shipping costs, I just might come close to making that deadline. It's  possible I will have to use the same shipping refund workaround that I did in the old store, where I simply refunded any shipping overcharge. This is only an issue since I use regional flat rate mail, which varies in cost depending on how far away from me a customer is and I can't know how much postage will be until I actually create the label at the post office's web site, but we'll see if I can come up with a better methodology. I just don't like people to have to pay more than is necessary for postage. 

This data entry process has brought home to me just how many different things have been added to the store over the years, as people requested them. There is a surprising amount of stuff in the basement! So, I confess that I might cheat a little bit on the deadline thing - I am trying to get the most important and most popular inventory entered first and some things that don't get as much love from my customers may straggle into the store after it's up and running. That means that if you don't see something that you think should be there, don't panic. Let me know and I will take care of it. :)

How has Baloo been faring during all of this? He has been amazingly patient as I continue my extreme preoccupation with all things computer. His human is unusually boring these days, but he's still insisting that we get outside for several walks every day, so he's right on top of his job. When it's time for me to move (or feed him) he keeps jogging my elbow, making data entry impossible -- and I have to keep him from putting his chin on the keyboard to do his very own database manipulations. He is helping. 

More of the Pieces

No, I hadn't forgotten the puzzle I left hanging. I just had to step back for a while and decide some things. Things like whether or not I was going to try and resurrect the Stampeaz site or just let it go. 

This particular puzzle is of the type that is more difficult to do if you focus on the subject matter rather than the background. It's a fitting metaphor.

So, now that I have looked at the big picture and studied how the background might work, I'm starting to look more closely at how all the pieces are going to come together to form something that's worth looking at. 

Thanks to everyone for your patience and support while I worked through the decision of whether to start over again. Many thanks to those who offered suggestions and help of one kind or another. Now, since I have decided to try and put the pieces back together, I'll ask that you bear with the process just a little longer as I work through starting from the very beginning (again - my first try didn't work). It's a daunting task, but now that I've gotten over the angst of the crash, I'm ready to keep on sorting the bits and pieces and get this puzzle finished! 

Also, I want to apologize -- some of you have left comments for me on earlier posts and I honestly didn't know about them until just a couple minutes ago. I used to get notified when someone had made a comment, but now some of them seem to get hidden in a moderation limbo land until I release them. I didn't change any settings or intentionally ignore anyone - I just didn't know anyone had said anything. Thanks for commenting and checking in on the blog -- I appreciate it! And now I know where to go look for them! :)

Stampeaz Meltdown

Well, I got home to learn that Stampeaz is completely broken and I haven't been able to fix it, try as I might. Sadly, the help I called in hasn't been able to fix it, either.  For orders that came in while I was away, I have sent refunds and apologies. I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience!!

I suppose this could be a blessing in disguise (an incredibly good disguise), as I have been wanting to make some changes to the site, anyway, and this is just the kick in the keister that I apparently needed. 

So, watch this space as I slowly puzzle out how to rebuild the entire site. 

In the meantime, if you have a desperate need for anything, let me know and I'll see what I can do for you.