#but every item was still cheaper on their own website than they were on the grubhub app

[agothinhiding]

this may be something people already know, but if you want to get food delivered and you're using a third party app (like doordash or grubhub) you should check if the restaurant you're ordering from has its own website you can order from. Usually the prices on third party apps are upped by a couple dollars to make up for the fees the app takes from the restaurant, not to mention the added fees the customer pays directly, so when you go to their website you can get cheaper prices.

[calm-with-anxiety]

If I see or hear people defending their votes for Trump with “well I didn’t really know her policies and plans for her presidency” I will burst into flames. We live in a time where almost every piece of information is in your hand, you could’ve Googled her plans, it was on her fucking website for weeks, it was 80 pages of policy and how they planned to pay for it. Like you chose to be an uneducated voter that got information from commercials and short form video.

The economy line is bullshit because his plans will make everything more expensive, tariffs are payed for by you, you think the multibillion dollar company will take on the extra cost to buy and ship goods by lowering the CEO salary, no, they will make the item more expensive because they never promised you a $200 tv, but they did promise stockholders a dividend of $10/share. His mass deportation policy will cause the economy to collapse because immigrants, legal or illegal, do the jobs that others look down on. You never see a line of white guys in overalls hoping to be hired for below minimum wage to pick fruit for hours in the sun, you don’t see young white men showing up to construction jobs that the builder has subcontracted so it’s cheaper to build. The bedrock of the U.S. economy is cheap labor and a majority of that is immigrants who are looking for jobs that don’t require knowing perfect English and have employers that look the other way when you don’t have documents because they know you will work for anything.

Don’t even get me started on healthcare, outside of women’s healthcare which will get worse, if he finally gets rid of the affordable care act, aka Obamacare, they will replace it with nothing. The man was president before and after John McCain put his thumb down they never tried to make a new policy that wasn’t throwing the whole program into the trash. Also the affordable care act is more than just low cost healthcare, it put in place pre-existing conditions, for those too young to remember, the insurance companies could deny you coverage all because you might get cancer one day because your mother had it, you would have to pay out of pocket for an inhaler because asthma was a pre-existing condition, even if you were diagnosed with it later in life. Don’t forget what the vaccine situation will be, especially if he puts RFK jr. anywhere near it, like there is actual fear that Polio will come back because guess what? Most people under the age of 40 are not vaccinated for it because it was considered eradicated due to the mass vaccination of children in the 50s and 60s. When you complain about feeling like shit after getting the flu shot or a Covid booster, that is the vaccine working in your body, your body is doing an internal workout so if and when you come in contact with those viruses you won’t be getting extremely sick or die because someone doesn’t know how to cover their cough.

I think this election was proof that you can have all the information and still know nothing because you chose to know nothing. People vote with their eyes, not their mind. Gas where I live has been under $3.00 for months, it’s been under $2.50 at the warehouse stores for weeks, but because an ad on tv said prices are rising people believed the tv over their own experience. People saw grocery prices increase and blamed the administration when in reality corporations took advantage of Covid shortages, raised prices, recorded historic profits, and didn’t start bring prices down until this summer after people realized what was happening to some extent and even then they didn’t return to pre-2020 prices because the profit still needed to be high, they looked at the $2 increase in a bag of chips over 4 years and blamed democrats and not Lays.

This is going to be a painful 4 years, for many people here and abroad, Ukraine will have to depend on Europe which is starting to lean conservative as well and the war in Gaza will take an extreme shift that will make the last year look like a paper cut in terms of humanitarian assistance and a possible end. It’s already getting on my nerves as people tweet “we keep fighting” and “we need to be strong so they can’t do all they plan to do like the first time”, it’s not going to be like the first time, the adults in the room he had with him, many who came out and supported Harris, are gone and now it will be yes men that he was told to put there by the extreme right like the supporters of project 2025 and billionaires. And for those saying “well maybe he will die in office”, you think JD Vance is better? He allegedly picked him because DT jr. suggested him and if you have ever seen jr. and his takes you would know Vance can be worse.

This is gonna hurt for many people that will now be seen as lower than second class citizens and you won’t even have lower prices to show for it as that seemed to be the reason you voted for him, enjoy your expensive goods as people lost rights.

[mint-moon25]

AI Overview

Yes, you can change the authenticator app you use for two-factor authentication (2FA)

SHOPIFY - CANADA - SET - UP - SHOPIFY

2 - ROB - AMERICANS - WHEN - YOUR US

FATHER - OR - MOM - DIES - U - NEED AN

AUTHENTICATOR - APP - 2 - END - THEIR

ACCOUNT - WILL - CONTINUE - 2 CHARGE

YOU - $49 - BECAUSE - AMAZON - WILL BE

ROBBING - ME - $1.34 - AS - THEY - DROP

ME - AS - ASSOCIATE - SO - I'M - DELETING

SHOPIFY - ONLINE - STORE

I - GOT - FR - NAME - CHEAP - MY DOMAIN

shopkorea.co

CHEAPER - 2 - JUST - DELETE - ACCOUNT

AFTER - I - DISCONTINUE - AMAZON - YES

RELOADER - $10 - EACH - MONTH

JUST - DELETING - MY - ACCOUNT

FACEBOOK - ADS - JUST - WASTING - OUR

MONEY - ROBBING - US - SURE - GOT MORE

FOLLOWERS - BUT - FLAKES - UNFOLLOWED

MAJORITY - OF - FOLLOWERS - IN FACEBOOK

SOLITATION

LIKE - CLAWS - 2 - GET - YOUR - MONEY - TO

BE - BETTER - THAN - FACEBOOK - ADS - TO

ADVERTISE - YOU

JUST - DELETING - SHOPIFY - ACCOUNT

CONCENTRATING - ON - MEMBERSHIP

DAILY - FLIGHT - CLUB

LAS VEGAS - ROUNDTRIP

LAS - VEGAS - APP

6,500 - FREE - SUITE - AT - MGM - GRAND

CBS TV

SURVEYS

$50 - $250

15 MIN - TO - 45 MIN

RESEARCHING - SHOWS - ON - CBS - TV

A - LOT - AT - LAS VEGAS - NEVADA

2 - GET - ME - ALL - THE - CASH I - NEED

GOING - 2 C - IF - I - CAN - MOVE - TODAY

FRIDAY - THE - 13TH - OF - SEPT - 2024

3P - OR - 4P - VISITING - JESSICA - BLK

FEMALE

LABRE PLACE - APARTMENTS

LOW - INCOME - APT - BUILDING

3P - 5P - MON - FRIDAY

SO - MAYBE - MOVING - TODAY

SHE - SAID - 'WITHIN - 7 DAYS'

WENT - 2 - HOSPITAL - 6 DAYS - JESSICA

DELAYED - MOVING - IN

SO - MAYBE - TODAY

FRIDAY - THE - 13TH - MY - MOVING - DAY

MY - VISA - CARD - HASN'T - ARRIVED THEN

SO - WILL - JUST - GET - NEW - AUTHENTICATOR

CODE - WITH - APP - THEN - ENTER - IF - NOT - SO

WILL - JUST - END - MY - MASTERCARD - CAPITAL

ONE - SO - THEY - CAN'T - KEEP - CHARGING - FOR

TAX - FREE - HONG KONG - ISLAND

MAKING - ME - MY - OWN - WEBSITE

ITEMS - FR - HONG KONG - ISLAND

PEOPLE's - REPUBLIC - OF - CHINA

I'M - JUST - SELLING - AT - KOREA - TOKYO

NOT - INTERESTED - IN - SELLING - IN - USA

CLOSING - ALL - MY - ACCOUNTS

FACEBOOK - MEMBERS - JUST - HARRASSING

ME - THAT - MY - WEBSITE - LACKING - $$$$$$

INSTAGRAM - AGAIN - HARRASSING - ME

SO - TAX - FREE - HONG - KONG - ISLAND

BETTER - THAN - STAY 22 - 30% - COMMISSION

BETTER - THAN - DAILY - FLIGHT - CLUB

SO - I'LL - HAVE - MY - PLASTIC - SURGERY

THEN - YOUTUBE - CHANNEL

BUT - FUTURE - OUR - OWN - YOUTUBE

CHANNEL - NEW - GBC - TV - STUDIOS

SO - ENDING - SHOPIFY - ONLINE - STORE

CAN'T - ENTER - BY - AUTHENTICATOR - CODE

THEN - CLOSING - THAT - MASTERCARD - SO

SHOPIFY - CAN - JUST - TRY - 2 - CHARGE $49

NO - USA - BANK - CAN - BLOCK - ANY

MERCHANT - REAL - BOGUS - BANKS

SO - CANADA - CREATED - SHOPIFY - 2 - ROB

AMERICANS - MONTHLY - EVEN - AFTER THEY

DIE - 4 - KOREA - AND - CANADA

NO - CIVILIANS - ARE - ALLOWED - WEAPONS

STABBED - 25 TIMES

SHOT - 25 TIMES

KOREANS - AND - CANADIANS - STILL - NOT

ALLOWED - WEAPONS

USA - 2ND - AMENDMENT

RIGHT - 2 - KEEP - AND - USE - ARMS

RIGHT - 2 - KEEP - AND - USE - WEAPONS

SO - CANADA - CREATED - SHOPIFY - 2 B - LIKE

MANY - WEBSITES - 2 - TAKE - YOUR - $49 - AND

JUST - CHARGE - EVERY - MONTH

LIKE - AMAZON - PRIME

WERE - YOU - ROBBED?

SO - SORRY

WE'RE - NOT - POLICE

IRS - FUTURE - $5 MILLION - HAS - AMAZON

ALL - WERE - ROBBED - THEN - THE - TAXES

WILL - B - $5 MILLION - IS - THE - FUTURE

CENTRAL - AMERICA

PHILIPPINES

THEIR - CUSTOMER - SERVICE - BUT - AMAZON

ILLEGALLY - NOT - PAYING - THEM - MINIMUM

WAGE - ILLEGAL - BUT - TRUE - AS - THESE YES

SLIMES - ARE - SO - LOYAL - 2 - USA - BUT THEY

WERE - ILLEGALLY - PAID - LESS - THAN - MIN

WAGE - BUT - ILLEGAL - NO - 30 MIN - LUNCH

LEAVE - THEM - 2 - GARBAGE

DELETING - SHOPIFY - ONLINE - STORE

FACEBOOK - INSTAGRAM - PINTEREST - ALL

AMERICANS - ALL - JUST - ROBBING - ME OF

MY - TIME - ROBBING - OF - MY - DREAMS

SHOPIFY - BY - CANADA - DESIGNED - 2 YES

ROB - YOU - FOREVER - OF - $49 - MONTHLY

SOLUTION - REPLACE - YOUR - DEBIT CARD

SO - CARD - WAS - DECLINED

OR - NEW - AUTHENTICATOR - NEEDED

SO - ROBBED - JUST - OF - $49 - SEPTEMBER

CANADA - HAS - NO - TEARS

FOR - SEPTEMBER - 11 BOMBINGS

FRENCH - '2 - EACH - OUR - OWN' - BAD - YES

NEIGHBORS - WITH - EXTREME - FREEZE SO

I'M - JUST - IMPORTING

YOUTUBE - 'DESIGN - BY - SANAZ'

SANAZ NOURI - CANADIAN - INTERIOR

DESIGNER - SO - I'M - EXHAUSTED YES

RIGHT - NOW - BUT - DELETING - MY

SHOPIFY - ONLINE - STORE

ALL - WASTING - MY - TIME AND MONEY

SATAN - YOU - WILL - PAY - 7 FOLD - 7 TIMES

$49 - AND - GIVE - UP - THE - WEALTH - OF

YOUR - HOUSE - IN - JESUS' - NAME - AND

FOR - MY - SHAME - I - RECEIVE - A DOUBLE

PORTION - IN - THIS - LAND - MIAMI - IN THE

NAME - OF - JESUS

NO - ONE - BUT - CANADA - SHOPIFY - TRUE

BUT - TAX - FREE - HONG KONG - ISLAND

MAKING - ME - MY - OWN - WEBSITE - AND

APP - SO - SELLING - CHINESE - GOODS

CHINESE - CLOTHES - CHINESE APPLIANCE

JESUS - IS - LORD

BETTER - FUTURE

SEE - YOU - KOREAN - GIRLS - WILL - SELL

THIS - AT - KOREA - LEAVING - THE - USA 2

FOREVER - LEAVING - UNITED STATES USA

aespa ❖ armageddon countdown live (240527)

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog (709): Sat 24th Feb 2024

I got up early to see if my calf was feeling any better but I still struggled to put weight on it so I called in sick again. I hate having to call in sick but I can't deny it was nice being able to sleep in for another day instead of pulling carts from one end of the warehouse to another. I suspect with the growing emergence of AI then shortly employers will be able to access the microchips in their worker's brain and download content into their dreams so that even when they're off sick they can be forced into dreaming about doing their work.

Today was Mam’s birthday and my sister brought Luna over to celebrate. Mam was out shopping when they came so Luna got the idea to get her toy cash register out and get me to pretend to be a checkout clerk as she brought carts full of her toy food items to me. After I scanned all the items I told her the amount she needed to pay and gave her the card reader, telling her to enter her pin number and she comically pressed dozens of numbers even though I told her it was only four and I pretended to be infuriated with her. Mam finally arrived and Luna presented her with her cake while singing Happy Birthday (Can we be sued for saying that we sang happy birthday without written permission from the cunt who owns it?) and she even helped Mam blow out her candles. It really sucks that I don't get to see my little princess once a week for our playday any more thanks to her starting at stupid school. I suppose it's good that she's making friends her own age who are arguably much more mature than I am but I would still like to see her more often.

I saw that tickets for AC/DC we’re going for about £120 on Viagogo which are a fuck lot cheaper than they were originally going for when they were initially selling on Ticketmaster so I decided to stick one in my basket and go for it but then the bastards hit you with the £50 service charge! I don't know exactly what the service is since when I selected my ticket it was £120 and when I clicked continue it took me to another page which said I needed to pay £170 so it appears that the "service" they deem to be worth £50 is navigating from one page to another and if this is the case I owe a lot of other websites a LOT of money because I do that literally every day. As much as I hate myself for this (and in general) I took the plunge and bought one. The rational part of my brain was telling me that it was extortionate and I already have expensive stuff I need to save up for this year but luckily the fun part of my brain is much louder than the rational side and started drowning it out by playing the opening of Thunderstruck which I took as a sign to buy the ticket and I can't deny that I'm glad I did. Another legendary band to add to my expansive list of gigs and if the service charge Viagogo whacked on top of the ticket price is paying for electricity to power the freezer that’s they’re keeping Angus Young alive with then I'm fine with that

[samwisethewitch]

Keeping Consumerism out of Your Craft

Consumerism is a set of socioeconomic conditions and attitudes that encourage the continual acquisitions of goods and services. There is no “enough” in a consumerist society — members of the society are constantly pushed to buy new things, pay for new services, and keep up with the latest trends.

There are a few reasons consumerism is bad news. For one thing, it’s terrible for the environment — consumerist cultures usually have linear economies, where resources are extracted, consumed, then discarded, with no effort to replenish them. This is highly unsustainable, because at some point those limited resources are going to run out. Consumerism also has a human cost, as it often leads to the use of sweatshops, which violate basic labor laws. In many sweatshops, workers are not paid a livable wage, children are employed as workers, and working conditions are unsafe. Companies in countries like the United States get around labor laws by outsourcing labor to other (poorer) places. Consumerism also contributes to classism, as the acquisition of expensive items is often treated as a status symbol.

Consumerism is present in nearly every aspect of Western culture, and this includes spirituality and witchcraft. There are multiple “Beginner Witch Kits” for sale from Amazon and other online retailers which include candles, crystals, and incense — which is great, as long as that’s all stuff you’ll actually use in your practice. (I mean, do you really need twelve different varieties of incense?) Witchy authors and bloggers often treat magic like a matching game, where every problem requires a very specific herb or crystal. YouTube is full of “witch hauls,” videos solely dedicated to showing off new purchases. All of this contributes to a commercialized witchy aesthetic, which can only be achieved by buying the tools of the trade.

I get it. Shopping is fun, especially when you’re still learning about magic and magical items. It’s exciting to search for the perfect crystal or incense blend, especially if you have a local metaphysical store where you can shop in person. But owning the right stuff doesn’t make you a witch. All you need to practice magic is your will — everything else is optional.

I’m not saying every witch should be a hardcore minimalist, or that you can never buy new things. What I am saying is that all of us, witches or not, need to be more mindful of how we spend our money and the impact of our purchases on the world around us.

How to Avoid Consumerism

If you’re considering buying something, ask yourself if you’ll really get use out of it. For example, I don’t use a lot of tools in my practice because I prefer to work with my hands, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to buy an expensive wand or ritual knife. Don’t feel like you have to buy something just because another witch uses it — if you don’t think you’ll use it, don’t buy it.

Don’t buy multiples of the same tool. Instead of buying multiple different colored altar cloths for different times of year, buy one white altar cloth you can use year-round. Instead of buying multiple tarot decks, find one or two you really enjoy working with. You get the idea. (Obviously, there will be some items you need more than one of, like spell candles. This rule applies more to tools that can be reused.)

Replace things as they run out instead of buying them before you need them. Buying things in bulk can lead to unnecessary waste and drawers full of unused magical supplies. Buy things you know you’ll really use, and only buy one or two at a time. Use up the items you have before you buy more.

Invest in items that have multiple uses. For example, most kitchen spices can also be used in spells — search your spice cabinet before ordering special ingredients online. There are some items that have multiple magical uses, like rosemary and salt. Buy a couple of these multitaskers instead of a large collection of herbs with very specific uses.

Use the “two week” rule. This is something I do to keep myself from making impulse purchases. If I think I want to buy something online, I wait two weeks before I order it. If I still want it after two weeks, I take that as a sign that I’ll actually get some use from it.

Go “shopping” in your backyard. Familiarize yourself with the plants, animals, and minerals that are native to your area and go foraging for spell supplies instead of buying them. Items you can probably find near your home that could be used in ritual include leaves and flowers, pine cones, seed pods, tree branches, rocks, and naturally shed feathers. Just make sure you never harvest enough of a plant to hurt it, and make sure you properly disinfect any animal products you pick up.

If you can, make it yourself. Not only does making your own magic items save money, it also creates a much stronger personal link between you and that item. You can grow your own magical herbs in a garden or in indoor pots. Many common magical tools, like brooms and wands, are easy to make at home with some basic craft skills. Making your own items also means you can customize them, tailoring them to your own craft.

If you can’t make it yourself, but it used. There are some items you can’t reasonably make yourself, like incense burners, cauldrons, and books on the craft. But you can find most of these items used, either in thrift stores or online on websites like Ebay and Depop. Buying used almost always ends up being cheaper than buying new, and because you’re buying items already in circulation you aren’t contributing to a linear economy. Thrifting is also a great way to find unique items that won’t be like what anyone else has on their altar.

If you can’t find it used, support a small business. Sometimes, you can’t make what you need or find it in a thrift store. In that case, buying from a small business is preferable to buying from a big retailer like Amazon. When you support a small business, you’re supporting an individual rather than contributing to some CEO’s massive yearly bonus. A lot of small business owners make their items themselves, which avoids sweatshop labor. Pretty much everything I buy new for my craft comes from Etsy sellers — there are a LOT of witches on Etsy, so with a little digging you can easily find exactly what you’re looking for!

Don’t buy crystals. I know, I know. Thanks to social media, large crystal collections have become synonymous with witchcraft. But the crystal trade is highly unethical, with unsustainable mining techniques, dangerous working conditions, and child labor. Because of a lack of regulations, it’s virtually impossible to find crystals that are truly ethically sourced. Most sellers don’t know where their crystals come from and can’t guarantee that no workers were harmed in their extraction. No stone is worth the health and safety of other human beings, no matter how pretty.

Avoiding consumerism in your witchcraft means being less reliant on tools and set dressing. This will allow you to rely on your own energy and will, which will lead to a deeper and more meaningful spiritual practice.

Resources:

Revolutionary Witchcraft by Sarah Lyons

Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins

“11 Facts About Sweatshops” on dosomething.org

“Child labour in the fashion supply chain” from The Guardian

“Bangladesh factory collapse toll passes 1,000” from BBC News

“Are crystals the new blood diamonds?” from The Guardian

“Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze” from The Guardian

[resinatingbeauty]

Everything You Need To Know About UV Resin

I thought I would make this post because of how much Amazon pesters me to answer questions regarding UV resin and I know many of you were able to learn and benefit from my other craft posts which focused more on epoxy. Today I'm going to cover all the things I have learned using UV resin, which is something I use almost exclusively for many of the items you see in my Etsy shop.

What is UV resin?

UV resins are photochemicals that react to different wavelengths of UV (sunlight) to cure. This allows for a much shorter cure time and longer work time than epoxy resin, as UV resin will not begin to cure / harden until it is exposed to UV light. In the photos above, you can see the two main types/brands of UV resin I typically use for the creation of my projects, Solarez and Limino, both of which can be purchased on Amazon (Solarez has its own website, but shipping is not free though Amazon only has some of their products). While Solarez is known for surfboard creation and repair, boat repair, etc. It is one of the few UV resins that can be used to create larger projects such as these Fairy Garden Jars you see below.

Normally, however, UV resin is used for smaller projects - jewelry, coating, small casts, and the like. It is practically the same chemical combo found in UV nail polish. These chemicals may be triggered to harden using the same UV lamps one would see at a nail salon, though not all UV lamps or torches cover the full spectrum of UV wavelengths as sunlight (more on this later). I rely on UV resin for the creation of my popular rune sets, as they require more detail and time to fully create than the 30-45 minute work time one typically has with epoxy. Below are some examples of items I have in the shop made primarily with UV resin.

UV resins are typically non toxic and are not harmful to the environment when cured or uncured. The resin itself shares similar properties to epoxy but can have a much lower viscosity in general, making it more ideal for casting and coating than doming. UV resin does give off an odor when curing (Solarez is the WORST even when not curing), much more so than epoxy.

Pros & Cons of UV resin

Pros:

No mixing. UV resins are ready to go from the bottle.

Longer work time, shorter cure time. Great for making multiple projects at once or highly detailed, smaller projects. UV resin fully cures in approx 5 mins in full sunlight.

Great for clear casts and adding a glossy finish to any project.

Bonds to metal, wood, plastic, etc. Making it great for quick fixes.

Most are self degassing and self leveling.

Easier to handle. No component mixing means you can't possibly ruin your project from the get go.

Accepts most Inclusions / pigments one would use with epoxy

Waterproof when cured.

Cons:

Expensive. UV resin will average $65+ (for 1000g) USD for the equivalent of a 32oz epoxy combo for $20+. Solarez is on the cheaper side, but harder to work with.

Fickle. UV resin will produce bubbles that don't want to surface, must be used in very thin layers, prone to shrinkage, and cannot cure if using opaque or dense Inclusions or pigments.

Can only be used with clear silicone molds. Plastic molds tend to adhere / melt to UV resin. Solarez may be used with an MEKP catalyst to get around this, but not foolproof.

May only be used for small projects.

Must purchase UV lamp / torch to cure, but some only cure with certain wavelengths or sunlight itself. Can over cure and become brittle or undercure and be tacky.

Even clear but detailed molds may not cure correctly.

So, you may notice there are more cons than there are pros when it comes to UV resin. This is absolutely true- for cost effectiveness alone, unless you are looking to mass produce something or need more potability / work time for your project (as I do), I recommend avoiding UV resin and going with epoxy which will usually even yield better overall results.

If you DO decide to try UV resin or have tried UV resin, you may run into a few problems initially that will cause you to trash projects and become frustrated. Never curing resin is a popular complaint, this next portion of this post is entirely dedicated to troubleshooting UV resin in order to better help you achieve the results you are looking for.

Using & Troubleshooting

There are many different brands of UV Resin available. Save for Solarez, the ones that come in the big or small tubes like the Limino resin shown (I've used brands Miraclekoo, Decoroom, DIY, Let's Resin, Solarez, SooKoo, and Limino) are pretty much the same product selling for around the same price per milligram / fluid oz. They all have about the same viscosity and will generally yield the same results and have the same average cure time.

Note: Solarez is more of a polyester based resin or can be acrylic based depending on which of their products you purchase. It has a very strong odor and is more liquid than these others. It is also fairly cheaper (Almost half the price) and can be purchased in larger quantities. Unfortunately, even though the price tag is enticing, I really don't recommend it. It is very fickle with the UV wavelengths used to cure it. If you are trying to do any indoor project using a UV torch or lamp, you are going to want to even then drop an extra $20-$60 on a multi spectrum UV lamp to cure your project. You will find that you have to intermittently expose the resin to light or it gets an orange peel/puckered texture- sometimes the light will even literally burn right through your project. It can even burn or damage your mold, as Solarez gets very hot when curing even though it is formulated to not get as hot or combust when using UV light to cure, which is something, I guess.

However, Solarez can be used with an MEKP catalyst, allowing you to dual cure it using sunlight / UV light. This allows Solarez to be used with opaque pigments and can be used for larger projects. The catalyst was not initially included with the resin, but the manufacturer began including it for some reason. The ratio is 6 drops of MEKP mixed into 1 fluid ounce of Solarez. 6:1. With the MEKP catalyst, your project will fully cure in 30 mins (using sunlight or UV light to help it along) but it is prone to becoming overheated, still requiring small layers to be cured one at a time to avoid combustion.

If you're going to try UV resin, I recommend trying any of the brands above, save for Solarez. Grab a 50-120g bottle to try and see if you like it. I recommend beginning making something simple like a pendant or earrings using a clear silicone mold or open back bezel. Mica pigments and most alcohol inks will work with UV resin the same way they work with epoxy and UV resin also creates a super clear glossy finish that may be used to gloss and spruce up cured epoxy projects.

So you took the dive and purchased your UV resin? You've got problems? Yea, tell me about it.

•My Project is Super Tacky! What do?

This is common and will vary from product to product, but usually isn't the product. So before you go flaming the foreign manufacturer who doesn't understand you anyway, ask yourself the following and try these methods to solve the inevitable tacky problem:

How long did you cure? The average cure time shown on the bottle is just that, an average. This doesn't mean that your project will cure in five minutes under your UV lamp. Not all UV lamps are made equal. For starters, check the packaging, but most UV resins require your lamp to be 36w+, so write that off immediately. If your lamp is producing less wattage, than it's not going to cure your UV resin. If you're using a lamp that is 36w+ or your UV resin claims to cure under 36w, then take a look at your lamp itself. Most nail salon UV lamps are either table shaped or dome/cave shaped. If you're using a table shaped lamp on a 3D mold / project, the light is unable to penetrate the sides and back of the mold. This style lamp will only work to cure projects in open back bezels or free hand, flat coatings. If using a dome shaped lamp then the majority of the UV light is found at the back of the lamp. If you have your project at the front or sides, it is unable to be fully penetrated by UV light at all angles.

Try turning your project,curing it for a minimum of 5 minutes on each side. Using finger cots, remove your project and let it cure free form. It shouldn't be so tacky that it sticks to your work area at this point, but if it is, then there is only one solution:

Let it cure in actual sunlight for 10-20 minutes, turning it so that every angle sees light. Typically, your UV lamp doesn't offer the same UV light wavelengths as pure sunlight, and you can buy new lamps or torches to test, but sunlight is free.

If your project is still tacky after all these measures, you've tried adding a new layer of clear resin to it and allowing it to cure in sunlight.

If this doesn't work, think about your Inclusions, your glitter, your pigments etc. If your project is nearly opaque, then you'll need to tone it down if you're going to use UV resin.

If NOTHING else, your product may indeed be a dud or became contaminated in some way. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to get in touch with the manufacturer, but if you order your product from Amazon, they'll more than likely allow you to return it.

My project is all bubbly? What do?

Bubbles are always a problem, whether you're using UV resin or epoxy. Little tiny bubbles always form, especially around the edges of the mold or embedded within details in the design. Don't forget, you have infinite work time with UV resin. This means that you have as long as you want to work out the bubbles.

Use a toothpick to pop tiny bubbles at the bottom of the mold or dislodge them to bring to the surface. Be careful though because you don't want to leave little scratches on your mold or puncture it.

Use a torch to pop bubbles on the surface. A grill lighter, regular lighter, or whatever will do the trick. Make sure you hold the flame a good inch or so away from the surface. It will catch fire and your mold possibly will too. Do so carefully! I run the torch across the top layer every time I add something to the resin to remove any bubbles it gives off. This also works for epoxy.

Blow on it. Some people claim the heat of your breath will pop surface bubbles, but I have had no success with this method.

Warm your resin. Stick your UV resin in a plastic bag or something air tight. Allow some water to heat to near boiling on the stove before pouring it over your resin bottle in a bowl or basin. Do not stick your resin in the microwave or oven or anything crazy.

Stir slowly. Stir inclusions like glitter and pigments slowly, scraping the sides and bottom. This will prevent air bubbles kicking up into your mix and oxygen being introduced into your pour.

Try pigments. For some weird reason (most likely due to changes in viscosity), resin projects with pigments, glitter, and the like have less tendency toward bubbling than clear casts.

Are your bubbles huge? This may be because your pouring super thick layers of resin and all sides have not cured properly. Your layers should only be 1mm thickness maximum when using UV resin.

My project has come out warped, not even, has divots , etc.

If you are curing your layers quickly, your project is heating. When you add more resin over top of this hot resin in a hot mold, this will not only cause more bubbles but also lend to shrinkage. Allow your project to cool to room temp and have some downtime between curing. This will also protect your molds that will become damaged from overuse / overheating and cooling.

With Solarez, this is key to having a beautiful project at the end of the day. Even though it is formulated to not overheat if exposed to sunlight, Solarez will get this orange peel like texture on the surface layer if overexposed.

Yes, there is such thing as overcuring as well, and it will make your project brittle and even flakey, but this is normally not the biggest complaint with UV resin.

So why even buy UV resin?

UV resin has its perks. In a pinch, it makes for a clear, glossy finish that will cure / harden quickly in the sun or with a UV lamp that one would be waiting 24-48 hours for with epoxy. It can be used to repair epoxy projects and fill small divots as well as the ability to bond to pretty much anything makes it useful to have around. It is convenient to use due to the fact that you don't have to mix it, it is easy to pour and compatible with most inclusions. It is also ideal for its extended work time as it will not cure until exposed to UV light. This allows you to create highly detailed clear cast jewelry and other projects you wouldn't be able to assemble and detail before epoxy would begin to cure.

I hope this helps everyone who is having trouble with UV resins or those who have considered using UV resin as an alternative to epoxy. If you have any other questions you would like answered or are someone adept with UV resin that would like to share, please do so! Good luck!

~Samantha

Owner/ Designer/Creator blursedbaubles.etsy.com

[mister-lady]

I did fic gmkfkdkfr. And it what, only took me several weeks to write a fic for Dice? Mvgkdkkf. This was still fun and I liked it :3 and sorry if ttheres a lot of typos, I only seemed to be able to write this before I went to bed or before I woke up so it might be a little sloppy fkdkdkdk this was also a lot longer than I intended so ubm,, sorry about that

AU: uhh.. I dont know if theres a proper au name? Store clerk au? Idk but you'll get it cjfms

TW: talk about food, mention of blood, mention of looking like someone got murdered, talk about sharks eating someone

----------

Matt had a party he was invited too, and for Matt this was a special occasion, so he decided to go out and get some formal wear! He had a few dresses and such at home, but he wanted something with a newer and fresher feeling. Lucky for him, there was a nearby tailor shop that he knew about. He's never been to the tailor shop because he's never really needed anything from the place, so he was a mixture of excitement and nervousness at going. Thankfully for him, the nervousness wasn't too overwhelming this time.

As Matt stepped into the tailor shop, he was quickly hit with the smell of strong perfume- or was it cologne? Either way it was powerful enough to give him a small headache the second he walked it. He couldn't help but notice the small bell that jingled as he walked in, and smiled at the noise. Matt decided to look around, and caught a glimpse of a perfume stand that had it's own counter and shelf to it. Matt could only guess that's what was causing his headache. He couldn't help but also notice how big the store was too. He expected it to be some small tailor shop like the stores you would find inside a mall, but this once mind as well be the mall. He could only imagine how much money this place was gaining to be so big, and the concerned him because that normally ment it was pricey, and Matt wasn't really in the mood to go 50 miles elsewhere because he was a broke sucker. The interior had bright white walls and white floor tiles too, and the lights made the whole place seem to glow, only contributing to his minor headache. Though, it did make sense that they would need good lighting if it was a tailor shop, which seemed to have mini stands inside that sold other stuff, like the perfume one he had spotted earlier. Matt walked further in to get a better look and saw some other people that were presumably with store clerks that were taking their measurements or picking out clothing that would work with them. Matt also noticed that the majority of customers were females, which made him grow a little self conscious and contrary to what the website said, he almost started to doubt if this place had items for more masculine customers like himself. Matt hadn't gotten too far into the store before being abruptly stopped by someone. Matt shrunk a little, the person that stopped him looked rather intimidating, they were wearing mostly black clothing that hugged his body and had a scarf wrapped around his neck even while indoors, and also had a pair of shaded circle glasses that made it harder to see his eyes, again, while also indoors. 

"And what brings you here?" The mystery person had asked.

Matt quickly scanned the person for a nametag, and found one on his chest with his name written on it. "Uhmm… I came here to maybe find an outfit for a party I need to go to later?" Matt was debating if he should bother using the person's name, as he wasn't ready to potentially butcher it.

"A party? Tacky; but fine. Come with me I'll help you pick out something." The man waved his hand, signaling Matt to follow him.

"T-tacky??" Matt blurted out before wishing he hadn't spoken up.

"Uhm, yeah. Tacky. We sell things like dresses and suits, not poorly colored and terrible silk clothing for a party no one is going to remember." The person didn't even turn around to face Matt while speaking, and kept walking.

Matt was left speachless, he didn't even know how to respond to that, especially because it was a slightly true statement. After a few minutes of Matt not knowing what to say, and feeling stupidly shy, he decided to at least look around and see if anything caught his eye. Matt didn't realize that the person he was following had stopped, and almost bumped into him. 

"Here, stand on this stool." The guy pointed to a small stool that was set infront of a mirror against a wall. 

Matt obeyed and stepped onto the stool. He looked at himself in the mirror before quickly looking away for several reasons.

"Stand up straight." The idiot wearing glasses indoors ordered.

Matt quickly shot up and fixed his posture and stretched his arms out straight and was quickly filled with embarrassment. The worker pulled out a tape measurement and quickly started taking Matt's measurements. Matt, like the dork he is, felt his cheeks flush at someones hands being so close to his body, especially when taking measurements for clothing, which that normally required waist and bust measurements. Matt looked away, avoiding eye contact like it would kill him. He was probably making the situation seem worse that it probably was. The worker stood up and put the tape measurement back into his pocket before seeming to think about something.

"Don't you need to write the measurements down?" Matt shyly asked.

"I do this every day as a job, I have it in my head." The worker spoke with a tinge of sass in his voice. "What are you particularly looking for, anyways?" 

"Uhm.. well, I was mostly looking for a suit, though I normally don't wear the overcoat with it so maybe just a fine button-up shirt with a tie?" Matt had subconsciously reverted back to being slightly hunched over and his hands were fiddling around with the cuffs of his sleeves. 

"I'm sure I can find something for that. Any particular color you're looking for? And what type of tie? Are you allergic to any fabrics? I need all the details." 

Matt was overwhelmed by the sudden burst of so many questions and almost immediately blanked on anything he was just asked. "Oh I uh.. I'm not allergic to anything, uhm.. I'm not too picky about color, and I'd prefer a bowtie." 

"Very specific, aren't we?" The worker teased.

"Well I don't want to seem too picky, I mean I don't want anything too expensive." Matt stumbled over his words.

"Darling, being picky here is what we need. Lucky for you I'm not someone that just throws anything on you for money." 

"Ah yes, how lucky I am." Matt muttered sarcastically.

"So, are you sure you don't have a preference? Becuase I don't want to pick soemthing for you and you go complaining." 

"I won't complain!" Matt stubbornly said.

"Fine, fine. You're words not mine." Then he walked off, probably to go and find something for Matt.

Matt couldn't help but think how oddly the place was ran. Matt didn't expect it to be that they pick something for you, he thought it'd be like any normal clothing store, where he could pick out what he wanted to wear. Of course, if a customer pointed out something they liked then the worker would probably get it for them or allow them to look around, but Matt would rather die than speak up like a normal person. Plus, this guy seemed to know what he was doing anyways, so Matt didn't mind too hard. While Matt was thinking about looking around he decided to see what was around him anyways. There was a small jewelry section nearby which probably had necklaces and earrings and chains and bracelets. There were also shelves on either side of Matt, not too close to him, but if he stretched out both of his arms fully, he could probably touch the two shelves. They looked like they would be shoe wrecks, but actually had folded clothing on them. Matt noticed an orange Hawaiian shirt with pineapple print all over it and three white buttons extending down from the collar of the shirt. He couldn't help but giggle as he picked it up, but made sure to not unfold it in the process. I mean, it was a party after all, right? Not some elegant ball. And it's not like a silly pineapple shirt hurt anyone anyways, right? He carefully set it back where he had grabbed it from, and eagerly scanned the shelves for anything else that might catch his interest. Most of the things on the shelves, as for the rest of the store, were all silky material stuff or fancy and were probably meant for more special occasions rather than a party that Matt was going to sit out in the bathroom all night. Yet… something felt different about the clothing on these shelves. Most of the shelves were a beaming white, and only had three or four shelves near the bottom for shoes and some folded pants or socks and stockings, and had hangers at the top for skirts and dresses and shirts and gowns and such. The shelves near Matt were brown and only had folded clothing on it. And Matt just noticed the prices were a lot cheaper too. It was like he found the discount regect section of the store. Though, Matt didn't mind it too much because he found a shirt he liked.

Matt was so lost in thought, he didn't realize his "buddy" had already came back. Matt actually didn't even know until a shirt got tossed at him, causing him to almost drop it. Matt held it up and examined it. It was a green button-up shirt with black buttons. Matt glanced up at the worker, like he was expecting him to say something, which just lead to them kinda blankly looking at eachother for a little bit.

"Well?" The worker prompted.

"Well what?" Matt echoed.

"Do you like it? I found a pastel purple one too, and you could maybe wear brown slacks with them, but I think black would better suit you." 

"Well I don't mind it, than sounds fine." 

"Don't mind it? We need something you'll love, not just feel neutral towards." The worker said it as if he was offended. "Did anything catch your eye maybe while I was gone?"

Matt hesitated for a moment, and shyly glanced at the pineapple shirt and pointed at it as if he wasn't allowed to touch it. 

"Really? That?" The worker questioned and furrowed his brows.

"W-well you did ask…" 

"Yeah it's just… theres a reason it's in a separated section from everything else." 

"I assumed so, but it's pineapples.." 

"But you'll look like a a torrist that got lost."

"Ouch, thanks."

"Look, I'm trying to say it nicely, but you'll look like a complete dork."

"No dorkier than your name." 

"Hey! My name is not bad, if anything it's plenty better than whatver yours is."

"I didn't say it was bad! I said it was just dorky." Matt said defensively. "I like dorky things. I am a dork." Matt added.

"Yeah, uh, you do realize normally dork isn't a compliment, right?"

"Emphasis on normally."

"Look, if you like my name I'm not going to complain, alright?"

Matt huffed out a sigh. "I just wanted a shirt how do these situations happen to me." 

"Here, I found this too." The worker said and tossed another shirt into Matt's arms.

"Jesus christ." Matt muttered.

"What?" 

"Dice- can I call you that? I mean it's your name but..- Anyways, this shirt stinks."

"How? I mean if you think it's bad you don't have a sense of fashion." 

"I mean, I don't but…anyone looking at me far away will think I got stabbed." 

"And then they come up, see what it really is, and want to try it themselves. It's perfect."

Matt shook his head in silence. The skirt was white, but it had big flowers on it that were a deep red color, making Matt look like someone tried to shank him all over. Matt loved flowers but this was just asking to mess something up.

"If it helps, it's better than your pineapple shirt that you wanted." Dice said, like that was supposed to help somehow.

"If you don't like the pineapple shirt so much, cant I just buy it then?"

"No, I'm trying to save you."

"Save me? The only saving I'll need is from when someone calls the paramedics cause I look like I swam with some sharks." 

"Oh yes, because being dressed like a fruit helps. It's not even a floral print it's a pineapple. I don't even need to explain what's wrong with that."

"Do you do this with every customer or?.."

"No, just you." 

"Wow"

"Theres so much good clothing in here like suits and dresses and better patterns and nicer clothes and things that compliment you, than some pineapple shirt you can get at a Dollar Tree store."

"Y'know, you almost make me want to thank you."

"Well, you should be thanking me." 

"I'm not going to." Matt made sure to say this in a rather playful tone, even though most their conversation had been teasing banter.

"Here, how about we just find something we can both settle on?"

"You're best idea yet. That sounds fine."

"Good." Dice walked off to go and look for something for Matt, but this time Matt decided to follow him as well.

It didn't take long for Dice to spot something and show it to Matt. "Here, how about this?" Dice offered.

Matt recoiled a little bit when it saw it. "It's not bad but..-" 

"But?" Dice cut off Matt.

"Well.. it's so scratchy looking!" 

Dice looked over Matt as if he was trying to check if Matt was being genuine or not. "You haven't even tried it on yet!!"

Matt timidly reach out a hand and rubbed it across the shirt before cringing back a little bit. "No."

Dice sighed before putting the shirt back and going off the hunt for something else suitable for Matt. Matt glanced around, he felt a little bad and a little afraid that he was being annoying, but he tried to push it away. Matt let in an excited gasp as he spotted something, before scampering off to go and pick it up. 

Matt picked it up with a wide grin and held it up to show Dice like he discovered something new.

"That one?" Dice questioned.

"I am not letting you talk me out of this one! It has a space theme and that is final." Matt pointed at the shirt he was holding up, which had stars and planets all over it.

Dice held up a hand to his chin and looked over the shirt like he was considering it. He ended up giving in. "Okay, it's not too bad and I suppose it's better than that pineapple shirt…"

"I don't know what's with you and pineapples but I'll take it!" Matt was beaming and was bouncing on his heels from happiness. 

Dice gently took the shirt from Matt's hands and checked for a price tag. Matt frowned a little, he completely forgot that prices were a thing since he was so caught up in his excitement. Dice glanced around and snagged a pair of long purple jeans and handed the clothing to Matt. 

"How much will it cost?" Matt asked, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

"....I'll just say fifteen dollars." Dice responded.

"For both?" Matt asked, surprised.

"I want to help you pay for it." 

Matt was surprised by the answer. "Are you sure?" 

"Mhm." 

"Isn't that illegal in a way though?.." 

"Maybe if you want to look at it like that, but you're cute so I'm letting it slide."

Matt felt himself get flustered at the comment, whether it was supposed to be flirtatious or not. He decided to not respond and just shake his head in response, though he was pretty sure Dice had noticed anyways.

As Matt ran up to the nearest counter to pay, he couldn't help but feel the need to Wave goodbye to Dice. Things like that happen when you become attached to people after five minutes. Matt was oddly surprised to see Dice wave back but was warmed by the feeling. As Matt ran off to his car so he could try on his clothes sooner, he noticed a small paper hanging out the pocket of the shirt he had just picked out. He grabbed the paper before it could fall out and got deeply flustered and joyous at what was written on it. There was a small drawing of a single die cube, and a phone number written next to it. It didn't take long for Matt to quickly punch the number into his phone and pray it wasn't some rouse. He decided to just send one small message saying "hi :D". Right as Matt went to put his phone back into his pocket, it buzzed signaling he got a new notification. Matt checked it and tensely checked if it was what he was truly hoping for. He read the message so fast he had to read it a second time after not picking up what it had said. It read:

Already texting me right as you just left? Someone's clingy and in love.

Matt sighed and smiled and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. He had a feeling this was going to end up being something he needed to buckle in for, but whether that was necessarily a bad thing? He didn't think it was.

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

Danny Phantom - belief does not make it real (but fear does)

The first of my Patreon drabbles that I wrote last year and am now posting here to my Tumblr! I hope you guys enjoy it and, remember, to check out my Patreon page so you can see more great drabbles like this one year round!

Summary: Danny, Sam, and Tucker decided to test a few common myths to see if there’s anything that really can repel ghosts. Blood blossoms had managed, after all, and they’d rather not be taken off guard again. Some of the items, though, has Danny amused more than worried - at last until he realizes that some stories are true. 

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Characters: Danny Fenton | Danny Phantom, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley

Rating: Teen Audiences

Word Count: 2,219

               Check out my writing commission information here!         Pledge to my Patreon to get exclusive content like this drabble!

                                                           ⁂

“There’s absolutely no way that this is going to work.” Danny stared at the array of objects on his bed, Sam and Tucker on either side of him with Tucker’s phone still held out in front of his face, screen starting to go dim. “It’s not that I don’t believe in it, it’s just that this is stupid and it’s not going to work. Period.”

“Danny, you know I hate agreeing with Tucker, but he might actually be right for once.” Sam’s serious expression twitched into a smile, Danny trying to keep his stern expression at Tucker’s scoff.

“Thanks, Sam. Thanks a bunch,” Tucker grumbled, waving his phone screen in Danny’s face. “Just read this, okay?” The screen was black due to inactivity. “It seems pretty promising!”

“You literally googled ‘ways to repel a ghost’ and clicked one of the first results. How is that promising?” Danny moved to fall into his computer chair, rolling across the floor and relaxing a bit at the sound of wheels over a wooden floor. When he looked back up, Tucker was sitting on the bed and near drowning in his hoodie of the day and Sam was kicking her feet from where she was on his desk, dress flaring out with the movement. “This is stupid.”

“Yeah, but that’s what you said about your parent’s ghost portal when we were fourteen.” Tucker had a point and Danny hated it. “C’mon, man.”

“He’s got a point,” Sam sighed, kicking at Danny’s chair when he rolled back over. “We didn’t think anything but your parents’ weapons could hurt you, and then that whole blood blossom thing happened.”

“Ugh, thanks for reminding me of that,” Danny shuddered. He was now seventeen and even though that event was years away in the past, he still remembered how much those had hurt. It was almost the same feeling as when he had been stuck in the portal when it had turned on. “You think this stuff is gonna work, though?”

“Won’t know until we try,” Tucker shrugged, picking up a few objects from the pile that had been dumped onto his bed. There were a few pencils and notebooks scattered in there, but Danny had a feeling that was more from the fact Tucker had turned his backpack upside down on his bed. Then again, they could be using homework as a way to ‘repel him.’ It’d probably work. “Okay, first up is protection objects.”

“You’re going to hate this,” Sam ‘whispered.’ Half a second later she caught the object Tucker tossed at her without even looking. There was a reason Danny was afraid of his best friends, sometimes. “Okay, so first we’re going to try crystals.”

“Sam’s gonna do it since she’s the witch.” Tucker ducked the boot that was tossed at him, sticking his tongue out as Sam squirmed around and kicked her other one off, managing to nail Tucker in the knee. “Jesus are those things made of steel?”

“Just the tips,” Sam smiled sweetly, hooking her foot under Danny’s arm and pulling him back over to her. Danny let himself roll across the floor, trying not to laugh as he bumped into Sam’s table, the girl’s feet, covered with bright purple tights, settling in his lap to keep him there. “The website said black tourmaline, so we’re going to try that one, first. I’m also going to try some of my own crystal quartz, though.”

“Are we sure you’re not a witch escaped from Salem or something?” Danny settled back in the path of sunlight that fell over him and his desk, ready to take a nap as his friends got their weird curiosity out of their system. “Alright, hit me with it.”

“Sure.” With that, Sam proceeded to throw what she was holding at him and hit Danny in the middle of his chest with it. Danny caught the stone before it could hit the floor, rolling it around in his hand. The sunlight caught and held in the cracks of the stone, Danny unable to describe it better than a piece of charcoal that didn’t crumble beneath his fingers.

“Can I keep this?” Danny finally asked, Sam pouting while Tucker slumped and mumbled to himself as tapped something on his phone. He was probably making notes that the stones didn’t seem to work against him. “It’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can keep it. You sure you don’t feel anything, though? Not even an urge to throw it away?” Sam asked, nudging at his stomach with one of her feet. Danny didn’t bother swatting her away, instead fidgeting with the crystal.

“I mean… It doesn’t hurt, but I guess it sort of feels like more than just a rock, maybe?” Danny stared down at it, almost captivated at noticing the sleek sheen the sun brought out in it. Holding it almost reminded him of how it felt moments before he created a shield. “It’s cool.”

“Hm. Let’s try my quartz.” Sam dug under her shirt and tugged out one of her many necklaces, Danny trying not to laugh at the fact Sam was just wearing something that was supposed to repel ghosts. “I’ve had this for almost three years, now, and I cleanse it in moonlight every few weeks.”

“And you’re telling us you didn’t escape from Salem?” Tucker snort laughed, beaming at Sam’s glare and lack of things to throw at him. Danny ignored them and tucked away his own new stone before looking at Sam’s. It was crystal clear and looked almost like glass, a piece of metal wound around it and threading it onto a leather cord. “So, what, you’re going to throw this one at him, too?”

“Yeah, why not?” That was all the warning Danny had before he was scrambling to catch the necklace, eyes widening as he felt something the moment it touched his skin. It took a moment to convince himself not to drop it, Tucker and Sam noticing at once. “Danny? What’s wrong?”

“Dude, you okay? Did the magic crystal thing actually work?” Tucker sounded shocked, which, considering he was behind this, was not reassuring. He had probably done all this because he was bored.

“No, it didn’t- I mean, it’s not hurting or repelling me or anything, really.” Danny swallowed, looking down at the crystal and carefully reaching it back up to Sam, slumping when she took it back. “It felt like it was heavy, I guess. I dunno, it felt like you dropped a ten-pound rock into my hands.”

There were a few beats of silence between them, Tucker finally mumbling a soft little, “Spooky.” It was all it took to send Danny and Sam into a fit of laughter. “Okay, okay, we have a bunch more stuff to get through! Think fast, man!”

Catching the newest torture device tossed at him, Danny laughed at seeing it was a cheap dreamcatcher made of bright pink colors. He didn’t feel anything while holding it beyond a sense of amusement as he fiddled with it, fingers skimming against cheap plastic and cheaper strings.

“I mean, some pretty bad memories are cropping up, but other than that, I think I’m good.” There was a snicker from Sam and a little mutter about capes. Danny ignored her and tossed the dreamcatcher on his desk to give to Jazz later. She’d get a kick out of it, if nothing else.

“Maybe we should be testing these in your ghost form, too,” Sam said, Danny groaning and wiggling away from her before rolling his chair over towards Tucker and the bed.

“That just means this will take even longer, though. Tuck, wouldn’t you rather finish this soon and go play some video games at your place?” Danny grinned as Tucker started to waver before he sighed and slumped, defeat in every inch of his posture.

“We should really check everything in case we run into trouble like this in the future. We need to know what to look out for, man.”

“What’s she got against you?” Danny narrowed his eyes, looking to an evilly grinning Sam, who had her legs crossed. The fact she was wearing a black dress more suited for the daughter of a Disney villain was not helping matters.

“She promised to buy me a new tablet,” Tucker gave in with a completely slump of defeat, Danny rubbing at his back as he ‘glared’ back over at Sam.

“Temptress,” he hissed, trying to keep in his laughter as he let freezing cold energy build up in his chest before it snapped, form spiraling around him and changing him into Phantom. Beneath his now gloved hand, Tucker gave a sharp shiver. “Oh, sorry, man.”

“No big deal, just wasn’t expecting it. Alright, bring out the stones again, Sam!”

As it turned out, there was a bit of a difference between Danny’s ghost form and his human form. The tourmaline actually had him making a shield on instinct and the quartz was heavy enough that he couldn’t even hold it. Once they established that, they went into everything else and Danny learned a few things he hadn’t been expecting to learn.

Holy water, as it turned out, made him feel energized and refreshed and had him flying a few laps around the room, papers and books fluttering in his wake.

Burning sage, however, had him sneezing repeatedly and forced them to open his windows as he tried to stop his eyes from watering.

Sam’s herbs didn’t seem to have any sort of effect, Danny even eating a few to prove that he was fine. They were all relieved when nothing happened beyond a confused tongue due to all the varying tastes because, even Danny could admit, he hadn’t thought that one through.

Praying had ended up with all three of them in a circle on the floor laughing as they prayed to: the Nasty Burger, Lancer’s true or false tests, Sam’s favorite shade of lipstick, and the gaming controller Tucker had been using for the past seven years.

Meditating and cleansing their auras had left Tucker asleep against the bed, Sam in a deep, serene state on his only nice rug, and Danny feeling surprisingly lighter as he floated in the air. Although, it was odd that he found himself messing with his new crystal when they finally opened their eyes after fifteen minutes. They used some water to wake Tucker up, though.

The helpful article step telling them to ‘try and stop believing’ only had them looking at where Danny was floating over the bed and on his back. It had taken them almost half an hour to stop laughing.

“Okay, I got one last thing.” Tucker held up a shaker of salt, Danny unable to stop his snort. “Hey, it’s in Supernatural, so that’s got to mean something!”

“Oh, right, the horrible show that makes no sense, has poor story structure, and is culturally insensitive.” Sam’s words only had Danny laughing again, Tucker looking like his very life had been attacked. “Oh, calm down. You really think salt is going to do something?”

“Tuck, we literally drowned our fries in salt yesterday,” Danny managed past his laughter, floating down to sit beside Tucker, the two knocking into each other from the dip of the bed. “And I’m not anymore dead than I usually am.”

“Aha! We’ve never had you exposed to salt in this form, though!” Tucker held out the salt, Danny snorting and tugging off a glove and then rolling up his sleeve. “I’m just going to pour it straight on there, okay?”

“Sure, since nothing’s going to happen. Hey, think we got some fries downstairs? That would be great with this,” Danny said, beaming when Tucker gave a dry, single laugh while Sam burst into giggles. “Alright, alright, hit me with it.”

“Don’t blame me when this hurts,” Tucker grumbled, trying to hide a smile as he wrapped his fingers around Danny’s wrist to keep his arm steady before tipping the salt shaker over to allow a thin stream of salt to fall.

There was a single moment where Danny was relaxed and at ease because nothing was going to happen, and then it suddenly felt like his arm was being held up against an open flame that burned. It felt like pinpricks of molten fire were sinking down into his flesh and searing him straight down to the bone, squirming and digging their way in to melt everything touched.

By the time Danny realized he wasn’t on fire, he was on the other side of his bedroom and shoved up in a corner on top of some dirty clothes, staring at where Tucker and Sam were watching him with wide, startled eyes. All three looked down to where Danny’s exposed arm was a bright, fiery red in the pattern of small dots that mirrored the specs of salt that had touched him.

“Well, then.” Sam’s voice was as faint as Danny felt. “I guess we figured out something that hurts besides blood blossoms.”

“Yeah.” Danny let go of the gathered cold in his chest, pushing it out slowly and letting his ghost form fade away. When he looked back to his arm, it was smooth and pale, the only pattern visible the small patches of sun freckles. “I guess we did.”

[canyouregrowgums-naturally]

Can You Regrow Gums Naturally?

Exactly what would be the most effective home remedies to quit receding gums? The answer isn't to complicated. Good oral hygiene is important to help keep your mouth healthy. You also will need to discover which factors, if any, could be adding to this problem. This is where lots of home remedies come into play. Find out more about Regrow Receding Gums Naturally visit here https://educatorpages.com/site/GumsRegrowth/pages/our-classroom-website

Gum inflammation is 1 cause of this problem. The more frequently you utilize your teeth for chewinggum, the more inclined you are to develop gum disease. This is the reason it's so important to brush and floss regularly.  Regular brushing helps remove food particles which have caught between teeth and at the gum line. Flossing removes plaque build up from one's teeth and also the roots of the teeth.

Regrow Gums Naturally At Home

There are additional home remedies to halt the problem. Adding Vitamins C and D into a diet will help keep your gums healthy.   These treatments may also make it a lot easier for you to brush your teeth and gums.

The problem with gums that become decayed or start to decay is they are less friendly to your teeth as they once were. They're also more difficult to clean properly. Therefore, it's important to strengthen your gums.  Utilizing hydrogen peroxide or baking soda is an effortless method to earn your gums stronger. This system is also safe for the gums and teeth.

It is also possible to fortify the gums naturally. Some natural home remedies include apple cider vinegar, sage tea and probiotics.  These all have shown beneficial to help prevent gingivitis.  These two home remedies are both very safe and effective to strengthen and improve the health of your gums.

Some people need slightly more than just a good brushing and also a daily flossing. In cases like this, they may start looking in to dental implants. A dental implant is obviously attached to your jawbone in such a way that it is going to feel natural and work like real teeth. You don't have to think about getting your gums impacted again, because when you have dental implants, they simply evaporate.

In the event you never desire to undergo this procedure, you will find other options available for your requirements. Home remedies to help prevent your gums from sagging can incorporate some important things you will find at the store. 1 way to earn your gums stronger would be always to employ a paste of ground vitamin C and hydrogen peroxide. After a couple of weeks of doing so, you should observe a distinction.

You only have to earn a mixture of both of these ingredients. Then, apply it to your gums every night before bed.  You need to do it for a few weeks before you see a significant gap on your gums. These remedies are very safe and effective, but they are able to take time to help you do away with one's gums.

Regrow Receding Gums At Home

Some people decide to go with more drastic measures. There are actually surgical procedures available which are meant to permanently quit receding gums. One procedure involves making an incision at the gums and then inserting a titanium abfoliative right into them. The problem with that, however, is that the task can be very costly.

You will find cheaper natural remedies that you could use to quit receding gums. Home remedies will help you reach your target by using items you probably already have. For example, there are particular foods that will make the gums stronger. One among these foods would be water.

You don't need to see the dentist should you not need to. There are many natural treatments available that can help you with this problem. You should have a look at the remedies available and figure out how they can help you.

Many people look for home remedies to end gingivitis however they frequently overlook the most important aspect which causes a fantastic percentage of gum disease and that is lifestyle. If your home is a life which consists of exactly the exact habits that can bring about this problem from the others, then you definitely are going to have problems with your gums irrespective of what home remedies you decide to try. For example, if you've got poor dental hygiene and do not brush or floss your teeth regularly as you should you are more inclined to come up with gingivitis. On another hand, in the event that you constantly eat and drink food with high fat content, sugars and other nutrients that are hard for your body to digest you are likely to have problems with plaque building upon the inside of your mouth and between your teeth.

The best home remedies to stop gingivitis involve making simple modifications to your life style. The first thing you have to do is to quit smoking. Smoking plays havoc with the ability to properly digest and absorb the nutrients that it needs.  Gum disease may be the result and also this will only continue if you don't stop smoking. The second thing you need to do is to reduce your everyday meals. Instead of eating three large meals a day, divide your meals up into six small meals.

It's therefore much easier to go to the shop and buy a tube of toothpaste than it's to get the hands on some herbal toothpaste or possibly a fantastic mouthwash. Whenever you quit care for your oral hygiene it is simpler for plaque and tartar to both build up and it will cause your gums to be much more sensitive. The key here is to create tiny changes that'll start to heal your gums. It's a whole lot simpler than trying to experience a lifetime without any medical issues as a result of few straightforward things you could do on a daily basis.

Regrow Receding Gums Naturally

There are other items that you want todo for healthy gums. You need to drink lots of water. Water helps to lubricate your gums in order that they remain healthy. You also would like to avoid acidic foods as far as possible. Including lemon juice and carbonated drinks like soda pop. All these have been shown to be awful for your own gums.

If you have a receding gums problem you will need to eat plenty of calcium. This can help the cartilage to remain healthy. Avoid eating fatty foods and salt just as much as possible because those can promote the formation of plaque from the moutharea.

Stay away from drinking sugary drinks all the time. They are also acidic and could have a bad effect on your gums. If you brush and floss regularly, you should see your gums advancing in a few months.  Flossing will probably undoubtedly be easier as soon as the teeth are clean. The bacteria in between your teeth won't stick to plaque as muchbetter.

Work with a good mouthwash. Something like Warmth and Smile Is Just a great product. It's a mouth rinse which helps to keep your mouth moist. This will stop the buildup of plaque in your teeth and gums. And with a mouthwash can also help kill the germs which could be evoking the receding gums.

How To Regrow Your Gums Naturally?

Keep in mind your teeth and gums are still an important part of your entire body. It really is what connects most of your parts together. So be sure you look after them and provide them the attention that they deserve. You will be delighted with the results when you stop investing in expensive treatments and acquire immediate relief.

[anaspiringalice]

Starting The Magic: How to Start Planning for Disneyland!

Disclaimer: I'm not a travel agent, Annual Passholder, cast member or associated with the Disney company in any way. The views, as with everything on my blog, expressed here are my own and how I personally begin to plan and will follow through planning. This is to help those who have no idea where to start. Planning is overwhelming. I go into far too much detail with planning, starting a year or more in advance as it's entertaining for me and take a lot of the anxiety out of the trip. I enjoy it and thus spend too much time doing it. I hope that what I have found will help others and reduce the stress of planning their own Disneyland vacations.

You've gone ahead and chosen Walt's original park to have your next vacation - Disneyland in California! An excellent choice and one you won't regret (but who would regret a Disney vacation? Perhaps those who don't plan it properly!) That begs the question: now that you've chosen your destination, where do you begin?

Hi, I'm Aspi! I'm an avid Disneyland fanatic and the purpose of my blog is to share my own knowledge, experiences and mistakes so that you can learn from them and plan your own trip. I want to compile Disneyland tips, tricks, how-to's, suggestions and little bits of magic .. all while removing as much of the stress as possible to help your own trip. Please read my blog disclaimer before continuing!

WHO'S COMING?

One of the most important things is to figure out who is coming, as the people you bring (as well as the number of them) will have the largest impact on the rest of the planning. They present the most variables you need to account for: scheduling, rides, food, budget and more. Everybody has their own way of doing things, so by planning and allowing for that, the process becomes that much easier. Far less meltdowns and stress and much more fun ahead!

When I planned for my sister and I back in 2018, I had no problem getting a rough draft of what to expect. Not only did we grow up together, we share many of the same interests and opinions on Disney and how we prefer our days to go. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses and what would be tough in the park, our sleeping and eating habits, staying all day, remaining in the "disney bubble" and the like! She's been to the park several times before, so it was easy for her to communicate what she did and didn't enjoy about her previous trips. With a year for me to plan, it was more than enough time to figure out what we didn't see eye to eye on and plan a vacation that would be magical - for the both of us! I'm happy to say it was a success, and it meant so much to me when she said I'd been her favourite to visit with and that our trip had been the most magical of all the others she'd been on. In fact, she was even bored of Disneyland and didn't want to go, she just wanted to spend time with me! Now she can't wait to go back.

This time around, I was in more of a pickle as I don't have that experience with the group I'm going with. I want to do for them what I did for my sister; make it magical and memorable. While I've known two of the people I'm travelling with for almost fifteen years, having gone with them to many anime conventions, I know Disneyland puts even the largest con to shame and poses bigger and different problems than struggling to put contacts in or staying up until 3AM to paint scales on a dress. The third person I'm friends with, but I've only known for about three years and haven't had the pleasure of going on a trip with or getting to know as well as I'd like to! I don't know the fourth at all and really wanted for us to connect and get a sense of how well everyone worked together and what their preferences were. More on this in a moment!

WHEN TO GO?

Fortunately for us, the time of year or the amount of days wasn't even a question! It was without hesitation that we wanted to experience the Halloween season and attend Oogie Boogie's Bash on the 31st, with 5 Day Park-Hoppers. Unfortunately, life goes as it does, and several factors such as COVID-19 and a wedding just made those dates not work for us. We've adjusted our dates and will now be visiting in early November, hopefully enjoying the first few days of the Christmas season.

In any other situation, the way I narrow down when to go is factored in by all of the following points, which makes it easy to choose the month and year. I don't tackle these things in specific order or worry about hte exact day, unless there's a specific celebration, as that is narrowed naturally by things like days off of work, openings in hotels, crowd levels, flight prices, Disney tickets, etc.

» Budgeting. Of course, this is a rough ballpark of what you want to spend. I take into account items to purchase as well such as clothes or shoes for the trip, food, tours, character dining, flights, hotel, transportation, gifts and merchandise. I find around $5,000 is my ideal budget without having to worry about money while I'm there and to be more than enough extra, including for emergencies or if something doesn't go as planned. Plus, it feels good to come home realizing you spent $1,500+ less than what you budgeted for! You want to find out what works for you. Take the time to browse prices, what interests you in the parks and how long it takes to raise what you can comfortably afford. It might be a few months, or even a few years. Keep in mind your budget may look different, as I may be interested in different things or you may be driving/have cheaper flights and may not need to factor in conversion rates if Disneyland isn't an international park for you. I'm Canadian, so this is something I need to keep in mind!

» Celebrations/Holidays. These are things that you would like to be, or not to be, in the park for. Consider birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, new ride or land openings, special parades and shows, park events such as Dapper Day, holidays and the like. One of our members comes from a military family, so wasn't wanting to be in the parks on Remembrance Day as it's an important day for her family if we could help it!

» Refurbishments. Consider attractions that would completely ruin your trip if they were unable to be ridden while you were there. I personally have six that I couldn't imagine not riding, but the only ones that would completely ruin my trip would be Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Carribbean. Indiana was originally planned for refurb in 2020, but due to COVID, I'm not expecting that to happen this year; if it did, I would re-schedule in a heartbeat. This happened to me with the Matterhorn in 2018, as I'd never ridden it before and wanted to! I also missed seeing Fantasmic as the last day it was available was our first day there. Make sure to check the schedules!

» Crowd Levels. This, I’m sure, is the major factor for most people. Nobody wants to be elbow-to-elbow walking from point A to point B; but it’s hard to say for sure what the park will be like on any given day. Fortunately for us, there’s plenty of tools out there to help you make educated estimates on levels. While my personal favourite is IsItPacked, you do need to take into account Public Holidays as well as thing like Events or Refurbishments and seasonal holidays such as spring break. There are many websites that have articles on the best and worst times to go, some of them being MouseSavers, IsItPacked, GetAwayToday and DisneyTouristBlog.

» Weather. I will likely lose a lot of you on this one as I don’t mind a rainy day or two or the colder weather and I find it much more comfortable than any amount of heat, but of course nobody likes to be out in line for two hours when it’s sweltering. Take the time to check historical averages and some information on Disneyland during different times of the year. Weather also affects what rides are operating and how long the parks are open, so do take that into account too!

WHERE TO STAY?

Disneyland currently offers three official hotels; Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier & the Grand Californian. However, there are many places to stay right across the street for just a fraction of the cost, some being even closer than the official hotels! With that, I think my opinion on the matter is pretty clear: I don't think it's worth it to stay on-property at Disneyland. Some say the benefits aren't worth losing, but other hotels offer similar amenities for a little extra (but still remain lower than the average night at a Disney hotel.) Some things may be done yourself in "DIY" fashion, or made up for in other areas!

» Extra Magic Hour. The perk of entering earlier every single day of your stay compared to entering early only once is easily made up for with a good itinerary and time management. If you are willing to fork over the extra money just for this, then I recommend the Max Pass as a still-cheaper and even better solution as you have access to all PhotoPass photos, including ride photos.

» Proximity. With the exception of the Grand Californian, several hotels are actually much closer to the parks. Those that aren't are only a few minutes more walking distance, may offer free or low-charge shuttles to and from the parks, or are only a $5-7 Uber ride away; all of which are cheaper than the average nightly rate.

» Theme. Personally, I was less than impressed with the Disneyland Hotel when I visited in 2018. After a meltdown where my sister ducked me into the nearest bathroom to calm down, I was a little disorientated and had to ask where we were.. because the themeing was just so minimal. Apart from the teacup-chairs and headboards in the rooms, the dark carpet and odd texures mixed with historical elements that I feel would be better off highlighted in a tour.. it just felt far too dirty, focusing on quantity rather than quality with no privacy in areas like the pool. It was disenchanting and unwelcoming in comparison to the gorgeous Majestic Garden, offering full-out castle themeing with a rose garden and koi pond, not to mention a fairytale surrounding the hotel with its own Princesses who wanders the halls and tells her story nightly by the fireside and even responds to letters. The Grand Californian was beautiful, but I feel the cost of staying is better put to use with more days in the park at an off-property hotel. We never visited Paradise Pier, though it was almost our hotel of choice, but the cons outweighed the pros. With so many hotels much more beautiful than Disney's, as well as AirBNB's in the area, offering so much more private space and even full kitchens... it's just not worth it, to me. I do think it is more than worth it to take half a day or so to tour the hotels and the lobby, especially during holidays, but I’m not fond of the themes otherwise.

» Character Dining. This is offered in other locations, my favourite being the in-park Minnie's Breakfast At The Plaza Inn.

» Reservation Priority. For most everything you would want to reserve, they may typically be made up to 60 days in advance for non-hotel guests and there is generally no issue with booking if you're early enough.

» In-Room Celebrations. As far as this goes, I will be making a post at a later time in my AddALittleMagic section which presents a DIY Method to bring in a cheaper celebration. Part of what this will mention is various Princess Party businesses, which bring in characters who will do a series of activities. I'm sure if you phone those companies, they'd be more than willing to offer specialized wake-up calls as well, just like the Disney property hotels.

The only benefit I see as worthwhile for staying on Disney property is the Package Express, which delivers items directly to your room for you. Even then, there is something so special to me about choosing a particular item in a store with friends and family. Some of my strongest memories in the parks, including one of my very few memories of my 2004 trip, were choosing items in the store and carrying it around the rest of the day. There are locker rentals for larger and more cumbersome purchases, but I also recommend midday breaks back at your hotel.. which just trumps the benefits of the Package Express. The decision of staying on or off property is completely up to you, but I would much rather buy an extra day or two in the park!

How do I choose where to stay?

I don’t have a fancy way of narrowing down the options which I use, but I am thorough in choosing where to spend the night. The method I use is meticulous, but well worth it. I consider the amenities the people I travel with would like or need, ranging anywhere from free breakfast, pool, gym, suite, connecting rooms as well as a their overall budget.

From there, I search on Google Maps for “Disneyland Hotels”  and keep within a few blocks of the park itself to make sure everything is in walking distance or only a short Uber ride away. I use the options to narrow down guests staying, the dates and the price per night. I visit the websites of these hotels and view the rooms, listing pro’s and con’s. I then do similar on the AirBNB website and compare amenities and price! When I’ve narrowed it down to the top 5, I take the list to those I’m staying with and ask them their opinions - voicing what I think the best option for us is.

The most beautiful hotel I found in the area, offering so much for such a ridiculously low price, is the Majestic Garden Hotel where my sister and I stayed in 2018. I have stayed in many a hotel and AirBNB and the service and quality offered here is completely unmatched.

For 2020, my group and I will be staying at the Hyatt House. I was sad to compromise with this, but we would have needed two rooms at the Majestic Garden - which doesn’t offer free breakfast either, so it made more sense costwise and it was important for us to all be in one room. We’ll still be visiting the Majestic Garden during our trip, to tour the hotel and eat the amazing sliders at their bar!

Other places which I haven’t had the pleasure of staying at, but I would have stayed in a heartbeat, is this gorgeous Peter-Pan themed AirBNB. The host also offers several other spaces themed to Disney movies, but I’m a sucker for Peter! There was also this stunning muted pink-and-grey townhouse!

I sincerely hope that this post helped you in some way and would appreciate a follow if you would like to see more! I’ll be making plenty of posts about Disneyland and my planning process. *No affilliate links are featured in this post. All opinions are my own.

[shefanispeculator]

Gwen Stefani has gone far since her early career singing backup for No Doubt. Since then, she became lead singer, launched her solo career, and started two successful brands.

Stefani has a net worth of $135 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Stefani was born October 3, 1969, in Fullerton, California. Stefani is 50. She started No Doubt with her brother, Eric Stefani.

She was married to Gavin Rossdale, and the couple divorced in 2016. She kept their Beverly Hills mansion and listed it for $35 million after their divorce, according to Forbes.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Gwen Stefani Bought a Beverly Hills ‘Kaleidoscope’ Mansion for $13.25 Million & Sold it for a 60 Percent Discount

Gwen Stefani sold her renovated mansion in the Beverly Hills Post Office district at a 60 percent discount in 2019, but that price was still well above her purchase price. The neighborhood was facing a real estate crisis with only two homes selling in the first eight months of the year. Then three homes sold in about three months, showing some revitalization in the neighborhood’s real estate market. Two of the homes that were sold were some of the most expensive. The first was Stefani’s seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom home. The other was backed by billionaires Ian and Richard Livingstone, according to Forbes.

“She purchased the home with her ex-husband Gavin Rossdale for $13.25 million in 2006 and proceeded to give it a colorful overhaul with the help of designer Kelly Wearstler (whose “kaleidoscope” flair and approach to design have graced these pages already, not to mention her work on Hollywood’s most expensive penthouse),” Forbes reported.

Stefani originally had the home listed for $35 million, but reduced the price several times until it sold for $21.65 million October 1, 2019. The home includes ornate chandeliers, glassed-in porches and a pool that looks over the city.

2. Gwen Stefani Launched a Clothing Line & Fragrance Line Earlier in her Career

Gwen Stefani launched her first brand, L.A.M.B., in 2003. It was named after Love Angel Music Baby, her debut solo album. The brand sells in stores worldwide and earns $90 million per year, according to Diversity Woman. Stefani said she wanted the brand to be something she could do after she retires from music.

“I’m not going to be running around doing cartwheels on stage for the rest of my life,” Stefani told Diversity Woman. “L.A.M.B. is something that can be lasting and something I can continue to do . . . with a family.”

She launched an eyewear brand, Tura, through the company in 2016, according to her website.

“Widely recognized for her iconic style and lifelong love of design, Grammy winning singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani launched her luxurious fashion line L.A.M.B. in 2003,” the website said. “What began in Gwen’s kitchen as a two-week design project has grown into a much loved lifestyle brand. An acronym for Love Angel Music Baby, L.A.M.B. is defined by Gwen’s innate sense of style which features a perfect mash-up of classic Hollywood movie star glamour and modern street influences.”

3. Gwen Stefani Made $55 Million in Ticket Sales in Solo Concerts in 2008

In 2008, Gwen Stefani made the Celebrity 100 list with Forbes, ranking No. 63 between Ryan Seacrest and Daniel Radcliffe. She had an income of $27 million that year, and performed 100 concerts on her solo tour. At the time, she was still the lead singer of No Doubt.

“The genre-stretching singer played 100 solo concerts in the past year, racking up $55 million in gross ticket sales,” Forbes reported. “The front woman of No Doubt also owns a high-end fashion line, L.A.M.B., and appears in commercials for Hewlett-Packard.”

In 2012 when No Doubt reunited to release an album, Stefani said her solo career was only a side project.

“It just feels so much more natural being back in this mode,” she told the Guardian. “The solo records allowed me to indulge my girly side but it was never meant to be taken seriously. It was just like an art project that kept going longer than I expected. The group never ended – we always knew we’d come back to make this album.”

She sold millions of solo albums, and she was nominated for multiple Grammys.

4. Gwen Stefani Has Landed Acting Roles in Popular Movies & TV Shows

Gwen Stefani has landed a slew of acting roles. Her biggest role was in “The Aviator” in 2004. She played Jean Harlow in the film. Her most recent acting gig was a voice actor in “Trolls.” She played DJ Suki. She has also had appearances in popular TV shows. She appeared on “Gossip Girls” as the “snowed out singer” in 2009. She also appeared in Dawson’s Creek and in Zoolander, according to IMDB.

In 2004, she told MTV that acting was much more challenging than singing for her. She said it was something she wanted to do more. At the time, she had just landed her role in Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator.”

“Acting is a lot different than singing,” she said. “It’s not as theatrical, it’s a lot more subtle, and that’s a lot harder. Simpler is usually harder. So I would love to do more. I got my feet wet, but I would love to go swimming.”

5. Stefani’s Brand, Harajuku Lovers, Became an Empire as an Accessible Line

After Gwen Stefani’s success with L.A.M.B., she launched Harajuku Girls as a less expensive and more accessible product line. In 2015, she added a children’s line to the brand. She also launched a fragrance line through the company, according to Forbes.

“LAMB was selling so well (Newsweek pegged its revenues at around $100 million a few years after launch), the pop star expanded the company to include a cheaper, more accessible line called Harajuku Lovers,” Forbes reported in 2016. “The brand extension was essentially just merchandising for the album, which was still being promoted, and it featured everything from t-shirts to lanyards to simple accessories. While the items she was selling under the Harajuku Lovers name might not have been luxurious or even terribly interesting, the fact that she now had a pair of fashion companies going at the same time turned her from a designer to a mogul in record time. Just last year, a children’s line was also added under the brand’s powerful name, and while many of the items once sold have disappeared, Harajuku Lovers fragrances, which use some pretty familiar names and characteristics, are still sold in stores and online.”

The line includes clothing, fragrances and figurines. It is sold at Ulta and other stores.

She told Harpers Bazaar she wants her quirky style to morph with more typical styles so that people want to wear the looks every day.

“It’s kind of easy to make that really cool, quirky, fancy piece, but then you wear it one time and it’s over,” she said. “I’m always trying to make clothes that I want to wear every day.”

[courtneyyharper]

Depopin’

Hello folks, another day in the life of lockdown and another article to fill up “five” minutes of your time. One way I’ve been spending my time is spending some more time on my Depop account and just thought I’d share my knowledge (what little I have) with you all.

I’ve personally been using Depop for close to two years now and genuinely when I first started I thought nothing would come of it. Then one day I randomly sold my denim jacket for nearly as much as I had bought it for originally. From then it’s been a steady process of learning the ropes and although I am by no means a professional at this or making an income I do enjoy it. There are ways to make a brand out of this with wholesale goods and making your own goods etc. but these are just tips for anyone like me just trying to make a little extra money, save some money and be more sustainable even with fast-fashion.

So, I’m going to talk you through what to do before you start selling, how to sell and ship and even how to pick up a bargain for yourself…

Before you start…

Okays, I’m not going to go through the actual making of the account. I’m pretty sure you guys have got that covered. Make your password secure and stuff.

On to finding stuff to sell. My most popular items have always been going out dresses as they’re usually my higher branded clothing, such as Oh Polly etc. You can post almost any type of clothing but the more interesting the more likely it is to sell. Anything you do choose however should be in good condition and something you’d be happy with purchasing yourself. The best-selling items are usually brand new or in close to perfect condition. Every once in a while I like to do a clear out of things in my wardrobe I haven’t worn in a while and although it is up to you what you sell and of course there is an audience for everything I personally try and be realistic about what I can sell and what needs donated/binned.

Next you must be willing to ship the things that are purchased (this is something I struggled a lot with at the start as I learned the best process). I’ll talk more about shipping later but first you need the supplies. There’s nothing worse than receiving a Depop parcel in a taped together plastic carrier bag with your address scribbled on it. My top tip out of this whole article is to purchase some packaging.

Packaging bags can be surprisingly pricey at the post office or in office supply stores so what I first did was buy packs of them for £1 in stores such as Poundworld and Home Bargains which works out at only a few pence per parcel. Even better still if this becomes something you really get into a groove off you can buy wholesale packs of 100 on Amazon and eBay etc in colours. Little things like this can mean a lot to your customer and will actually end up saving you money in the long run.

Now you have the items you’re going to sell and your packaging to do so!

Taking your photos…

Honestly, this is kind of the entire key to selling. If your product looks good, then people will want it. There are three types of photos I like to use:

Website photos:

These ones are usually best if you have no photos in this clothing or would prefer to not be in the photos. They’re the easiest to put up on short notice. You just screenshot the photos from the website where you purchased them. The only problem with this is that some people prefer to see what the clothes look like in real life (I know I do if I’m on the fence) and will most likely ask you to provide a photo which is just effort later. Usually if I’m using these photos, I provide them in addition with some of my own photos or disclose I’m using this because the clothing does not fit so I can’t try it on, hence why I’m selling.

My own photos:

Sometimes I get lucky and I have a nice Instagram picture in the dress or top or whatever it may be but sometimes I have to set aside time to try on and photograph the clothes. When I do this, I like to do it as though it were going to be uploaded for Instagram. If you have someone to take photos of you in them than great but mirror selfies are also grand if you can do them right. That means having good lighting, so that the clothes are highly visible. I try and take them in bright day light, in a clean mirror and with a clean background. No one wants to see your laundry in the background or those water bottles that haven’t moved from your room in two months that we’re all guilty of.

Flatlay:

If you’re not overly comfortable or confident with being in the photo, then you can still take good photos of the product without wearing it. Always make sure your clothing or shoes or jewellery or whatever it is you’re selling is laid out freshly. It really goes without saying but all clothing should be clean and without wrinkles if possible. You can hang them up on a wall or lay them on a clean background on the floor. For this I like using a white wall or a clean block colour blanket, but everyone has their own style when it comes to this. Maybe even add some plant props or other things to spice up your photo but remember to make the product the focus of the photo.

Videos are also an option on Depop but it must be over 5 seconds long and I only like using this for sparkly or metallic items etc to show the real affect in person.

Although this isn’t always the case but when I really organise my page I like my account to look like an Instagram feed itself. It’s not necessary but it can really draw people to your page if they’re just clicking on for a browse.

When taking your photos always get a photo of the front, the back, any close-up details and of course if there is any marks etc on the item you should always show in a photo. You can only post four photos total so try and give people a good idea of what the item really looks like.

Description:

Next you need to describe what you’re selling. All the words you include will make it easier for people to search and find your items.

You should mention what exactly you’re selling along with brand, size, colour and anything else people need to know.

Always mention what condition the product is such as: 10/10, perfect condition, BNWT (Brand new with tags)

Even mention why you’re selling it: no longer fits, doesn’t suit me, ordered 2 sizes, didn’t return in time etc. Especially mention if it is not in perfect condition: small mark on right sleeve but barely noticeable (see photo 4)

#tags: You also have the options to add hashtags to your description to make is easier to find but you don’t need the hashtag to make it searchable. If I mention the brand it will come up in search when people search for the brand name, even without the hashtag.

Although against Depop regulations (so I’m not recommending) if there were to be other keywords (popular and similar brand names to what you’re posting for example) then your post may reach a wider audience…

Everyone has different layouts for their description but here is an example of one I would do:

Oh Polly LOVE ME KNOT dress

Ruched long sleeve bodycon dress in Oyster White

Size 10 (small fitting would fit an 8 also)

Thick good quality material

Bought on Depop and worn once by me

Great condition just won’t wear again

RRP 38 SOLD OUT ONLINE

#nightout #party #ruched

Then simply fill out the information it asks you for again, brand, size, price and shipping price too! (This is separate from price).

Pricing:

People don’t want to be buying things close to full price unless it’s brand new and you have the last available one to buy anywhere. If demand for your product isn’t high, then you’re going to have to be reasonable with pricing. You must remember (unless you’re handmaking your own clothes etc) that you’re not a retailer and people are looking for a bargain. However, every item is different so I can’t really give you a baseline price for items. The best way to learn where to ballpark your pricing is search for other items similar to yours and see what everyone else is pricing them for and if they’re selling well. I usually try and price things around 60-70% of what I paid and over time drop the price if there’s no movement.

You must remember websites are usually running offers on their own items. For example, I had one dress up recently and was getting a lot of messages as I was selling it for half the original price. Recently I had no questions about it at all and while writing this I realised the retailer had it on sale for lower than even that. Pricing can fluctuate daily and sometimes you must wait it out and/or concede to lowering the price.

Reposting:

If your item has been up for a few weeks and still hasn’t been purchased I usually go in and edit my item. Maybe switch the photos around, update the price and description a bit and post it again. This way people see something different and it gets put back to the top of people’s search.

Shipping:

This is the bit my friends ask me about most when Depop is mentioned. It’s also the most effort.

I’ve tried to get into a routine so as soon as someone purchases an item, I like to package it up straight away. Fold the item neatly and put it in its packaging. Make sure the address is correct. It’s always best to direct message the buyer and thank them for the purchase and assure them when you will get it shipped. Communication is key for good feedback later and although not necessary, I usually include a little thank you note in some funky way (at Christmas I sent Christmas cards and lately I’ve been using felt unicorn shapes I picked up in the arts and craft bit of the pound shop).

Now as soon as possible, you usually have about 5-7 days after purchase, take it to the post office. All you have to do is take it to the window where they will most likely ask you to set it on the scales for weighing and do the work for you. Once you’ve done all this once it’s a breeze.

Packaging costs me £3 a parcel (this is for second class, under 2kg, less than £20 value, unsigned and untracked which is pretty standard). However, for safety and for the first few sales I’d spend the extra and send it tracked. This way no one can claim they didn’t receive a parcel.

Top tip: if you’re sending a small package like a single t-shirt, then package it flatly. Sometimes they can fit it through the letter stencil, and you can ship for large letter prices which is cheaper than parcel prices, but this is also up to the cashier’s discretion so don’t count on it.

All current pricing can be found online too! You can print labels here and pay online to save going to the window, but I find it easier in person.

Make sure to get your proof of postage receipt and keep it! I always like to post a photo of this to let them know their item has been shipped and remember to update the shipping status too. Plus, you’ll need it if there’s any problems later.

Feedback:

Remember to leave your buyers honest feedback and hope they leave you one in return. The more positive reviews you have them more people will see you as a trusted seller later.

DMs:

Always try and click on to the app a few times a day and respond to any mails as soon as possible. Usually if you wait a day to respond they’ve already found something else instead.

Likewise, if people like your item feel free to shoot them a message: Hey, are you interested in [insert item]? If you have any questions just let me know! [insert friendly emoji]

Remember it’s all about interaction! Followers and following on Depop mean next to nothing. People use the search bar much more frequently than their timeline.

The Realities of Making Money!

Some weeks I’ll sell nothing on Depop and usually there’s more of these weeks than not but other times I’ll sell a formal dress, a few going out dresses, a jumper and make about £100. Although these weeks are far and few between you have got to persevere.

You should always remember when pricing items that Depop take a 10% fee and Paypal 2.9% after you’ve sold something (it costs nothing to list an item!) and account for this when pricing your items but also remember that people probably won’t want to pay £5 + shipping for a plain black t-shirt from New Look. Honestly, I rarely notice the fee being taken out especially if it is for clothes that I would otherwise just pack away under my bed for years.

Another thing to remember is that even when the money is deposited into your Paypal account you’re more than likely still going to have shipping to pay and packaging costs, so you need to set this aside also.

Buying:

So, when I’m looking for something specific online or find a nice dress that I’m thinking of purchasing then I like to do a quick search for it on Depop. I search the website name for the item (Oh Polly Love Me Knot Dress) and the size I’m interested in. If I find what I’m looking for I like to message the seller with any questions and if it is available. It’s always worth asking (politely!!) if they would consider selling it at a negotiated price or even with free shipping but always be reasonable. I can’t count the times people have asked if I’d sell them dresses that I had listed for £20 for a fiver with free shipping. There’s nothing more irritating. The nicer you are the more responsive they’ll be and want to reply.

I also like to save or like items and come back to them later, as a sort of wish list if I’m browsing. If nothing else the app is always good for getting ideas for future outfits much like a mood board.

In the case anything goes wrong…

Always buy through the Depop app and Paypal! Every once and a while sellers will ask you to pay them through friends and family on Paypal to avoid Depop fees but if you do this you have no way to claim back your money if the item doesn’t arrive. If an item does not arrive to you or someone claims they do not receive yours then this must go through the Paypal dispute system. If your claim is legit then you can easily get your money back so no need to worry and if someone makes the claim against you all you need is your proof of postage (but preferably a tracking number for 100% safety) and you can refute the claim.

With Paypal you’re always protected which is what makes Depop so great to use!

This was a long-winded way of explaining my personal process of Depop and has made it look even more complicated than it really is. Everyone has their own vibe how to Depop so don’t think you have to stick to this.

I love using the app to save money and even when purchasing items like formal dresses that I know I’ll only wear once I can usually find the one I want for a bargain or if I can’t I don’t feel too bad about paying full price because I know I can get some money back for it when I resell it. At least that’s what I tell myself…

Okays, that’s all I have for you today… Happy Depoping!

[ibythetidepromotions]

An interview with: Wax Vessel

Could you introduce yourself to the readers?

Nik Velleca - Founder/Owner/waytolongofaresponder

What led to the inception of Wax Vessel?

It’s actually a story in a couple of parts: the name (which is not interesting), the year before it started (mildly Interesting) and then the actual launch! Maybe two years ago I really wanted to get in to the whole Instagram vinyl collection showcase scene. Made a second account called Wax Casket (because it sounded cool) and did a couple hundred posts. No big deal. But at that time, it kind of out the inkling of an idea in my head. Fast forward a year or so, and Simon from WFAHM and I were taking about how literally every influential album from 2000-2010 was never pressed on vinyl. We thought about teaming up to do Ion Dissonance in vinyl (which is still a huge goal). It never materialized, so the label pages (renamed to Wax Vessel) kind of got shelved. Speaking of the name Wax Vessel (rant incoming) I landed on that name because I’m so fed up with the start of digital. MySpace deleting song libraries. Hard drives crashing. CDs getting bit rot. The only try archival format is vinyl. You could pull a WV release of a shelf in 2219 and it would still play. It’s a “time capsule” or “Vessel” for preserving history. Anyway. Fast forward to like 5 months ago - I had just stumbled upon PRR and they told me they were doing Destroyer Destroyer. I asked if I could just press the records to accompany that release, and viola! Here we are!

Wax Vessel is very unique, you what always comes to mind when I think of extremely rare and beautiful presses. What process goes into getting your visions to come together properly at the pressing plant?

So I’m glad you touched on this, because artisanal (barf) pressings are one of the tentpole features of WV. There’s so much that can be done with the format that it seems like an insult to just do single color records. I figured if I was going to bring all of these albums back from the dead after decades of never having a physical release, it might as well be in style! Otherwise someone will just repress it hah. But each release is its own project. My goal are always to have the color play with the album art, while also pushing the physical medium itself. Everything is very case-by-case, with the number of variants and the type of variant really just being subject to my mood haha.

Recently announced was the pressing for Dr. Acula’s S.L.O.B, congratulations on making it to WV007! From the posts I’ve seen on social media, you guys are really excited about this release. How would you describe Dr. Acula to someone who has never heard of them before?

Thanks! Dr. Acula was a huge one for me, they’re one of the forefathers of Deathcore in my opinion. They’re that early, wonky type of proto-Deathcore that uses a lot of samples before breakdowns and has a lot of inside jokes. It’s just fun, without taking itself too seriously.

They obviously got much bigger later, but SLOB was such a classic album, and a standout release from 187 records at the time (who really deserve all the credit for basically being the label pioneers of the genre along with Debello and BMA).

Wax Vessel focuses on pressing music from the MySpace era of metal. What about that era made it so memorable  and dear to your heart that you decided to resurrect it in the wax form?

Man, prepare to watch me get spun up on this, haha. I’m really terrible at organizing my thoughts in to a cohesive essay on the topic, so as a kind of “stream of conciseness” ramble please accept this: 2000-2010 was just peak music. It was a digital Wild West with a bunch of talented Midwesterner pioneering new sounds for niche audiences. It was a perfect storm of a bunch of cultural factors playing out all at once. Literally all of these trailblazing bands were pushing envelopes and rail blazing new genres for No monetary gain and no fame. Every single review form music media was “this is unlistenable garbage”. They absolutely did not get the recognition they deserved at the time. I mean the “scene revival/20-9-scene” is more popular than the actual scene at the time! So what happens when you mix this new way to make music (digital production) with a new way to reach fans (social media/MySpace)? You get a fucking no holds barred race to make the most niche, unlistenable music in existence. The decade was a fucking blip in music history and then was lost to the ages. The internet was too young to preserve it, and to young for anyone to really use to their advantage. Just a lost decade. So I think that’s worth preserving. Especially since YouTube rips are the only thing left.

The default vinyl color of black is never an option with your releases, always seeing high quality, creative options for your limited presses. What is the reasoning behind this stylistic choice?

Black is such a fucking cop out. It’s only to save money. It’s lazy and requires no finesse or imagination. If you’re going to press records, go all in. Like imagine building a house in 2019 with all the modern amenities and building materials we have at our disposal and just building a 6-sided box. So boring. And for everyone who says it sounds best - black (carbon) is an additive for strength. Natural PVC is additive free and sounds better. So when I need a cheaper variant to offset the cost of some of the more expensive ones, natural PVC is always my go-to.

Have there been any challenges so far with the process of mastering these old files on vinyl? Were any of the music files hard to come across?

You have no idea! I feel like a lot of people see WV and then want to start a vinyl label, haha. But there’s so much craziness behind the scenes! Let’s start at the top - WV will only do a release if the band is on board, and the rights are retained. Mechanical licensing retained. Full quality tracks hunted down and mastered for vinyl. New art made (no one has their old art files) and laid out for vinyl. Then after all that, I have to drop $4k at the plant to get it pressed. Then promos and art made, coordinating with ZBR on timelines, etc. But none of that can happen without the tracks. Most of the time the band will have the master bounces, and it’s not that difficult. But on a couple of occasions I’ve had to rip old demos from personal CDs. I’ve even had to pay for a hard drive to be recovered for a band member so we could get tracks! I really believe that vinyl isn’t just for the fashion, so having great sounding records is top priority. Can’t do that with a YouTube rip! If we can’t get the best quality tracks, I won’t do it!

Any possibility of there being Wax Vessel merch down the road?

I mean I’m not sure anyone would give a shit! But if like 10 people messaged me and said they wanted a shirt, you bet! We would whip up a cool “no represses” design or something, haha. Maybe 2020!

With a new year right around the corner, what are some goals for kicking off the new decade in 2020?

2020 souls have some cool “firsts” for sure! I’ve got our first multi-LP box set dropping. First project with a hand-painted cover. First modern release (under a different side name, don’t want to dilute the WV name haha). Really what if love to do in 2020 is press Psyopus to round out the techgrind section. That’s a big goal! I’d also love to have a both and sell LPs at like a festival, but they all sell out too quick!

Anything else you would like to tell the readers before we go? Just a couple of blurbs! People always forget that wax Vessel is a non-profit and we give 100% of the money to the bands. So remember that the next time you think I’m an asshole for not doing something you like! We got a lot of hate mail about not doing represses, haha. To that point, there will never be represses. It’s a sticking point. I don’t want to make records that end up in dollar bins and eBay lots. I’d rather leave money on the table. I want to great collector items that will be cherished. All of these bands have been defunct for a decade. No one is coming back to just to try and make a quick buck. These are all swan song little fun presses for the core group of fans. For the 200 weirdo left who still care about early 2000s techgrind and vinyl, haha. It’s niche, but no one wants to make any money. It’s just a fun thing for the scene. Remember this is all for fun! Additionally, I see a lot of miscommunications that I’d like to get on the record! Please remember: Wax Vessel is its own thing. Not an imprint or affiliated with anyone. I shoulder all cost, design, etc for everything! So it’s very much WV as the label. I hate shipping and fulfillment, so ZBR [Zegema Beach Records] is WV’s official store. The mega studs over there (Dave and Dave) definitely allow WV to exist. If I had to ship everything, it would be one release a year haha. And super not last, WV couldn’t exist without Ryan Peter. I have absolutely no scene Fred, and Ryan gets fucking results. He almost single-handedly spreads the word and gets bands on board. Literally invaluable. All the records in the world mean nothing if you can’t get any bands to agree to get pressed! He’s a MySpace madman!!

Wax Vessel Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Website [Coming Soon]

Big Cartel [Coming Soon]

Merch through Zegema Beach Records

[ourladyhart]

Ethical Gift Giving (But On A Budget)

I stumbled across this today and I absolutely love it! This is a fantastic chart to get you thinking about ways you can give during the holiday season whilst reducing our future impact on the environment and get creative at the same time. Definitely a win/win!

I have a couple of extra tips to add for those of us on a low income or those who are on a tight budget. The holiday season can be particularly tough when you’re living below the poverty line or are barely making your pay check stretch month to month. It can make us feel excluded or even ashamed of ourselves; and whilst this couldn’t be further from the truth – you are so valid regardless of your financial position – there are lots of different ways that you can still give and feel included with little to no funds.

Give Memories: Lovely photo frames are easily found at $2 shops or op shops; and if you don’t have access to a printer, you can print from your phone or USB at Kmart for about 10 cents a print. Our generation often forgets how nice it is to have physically framed photos and getting a photo that means a lot to your friend or family is a beautiful personal touch.

Total cost: Less than $5

Experience days don’t have to be a trip to the movies, an escape room or ice skating, and the cost of these activities can rack up quickly. Instead, you can make a “movie day” at home for you and a friend. You could even give them this gift in the form of a handmade “IOU 1 Movie Day”. Set up a picnic on the living room floor and watch your favourite movie together. You can also bake together or get some cheap snacks from the supermarket whilst you both veg out.

Total cost: Less than $10

Give Your Time:

I love this one! Again, you could hand make cute vouchers for these, “1 Day of Helping You Organise Your Wardrobe” or “1 Day of Building Your Website”, etc etc.

Remember, in this busy day and age sometimes all we want is actually just time spent with the people we love; and your company is often enough. If your friend suffers from chronic pain or a mental illness; they may love some help with cleaning. Perhaps they don’t often eat a home cooked meal and you could whip something up for them. These actions are often invaluable.

Total cost: Free – Your time

Upcycle:

Well you know this one is absolutely going to be my favourite! I am huge on street finds and items I procure; fixing them up and then passing them on. You can often find great items of furniture or knick knacks in council clean ups. It’s a good idea to check out when the next dates will be in your area; so you can get ready for some “late night shopping”!

If friends give me hand me down items throughout the year, they often come with “Oh, it was almost perfect, but…”. I listen to what they didn’t like about the original item then give it a total up cycle before giving it back to them. It’s often a lovely delight! My favourite of these was when an old flatmate gave me a sad looking lamp. I gave it a really good Tiki Bar sort of look (which she was obsessed with) and gave it back for Christmas. To this day, it’s her favourite object she owns.

Total cost: Free – $50 depending on which materials you use

I’m going to add three of my own sections in here:

Re-Gift:

We all get gifts throughout the year that we’re not sure why they were gotten for us but you’re not really sure what to do with. SAVE THESE ALL! I put all mine in a bag or box in my laundry so when Christmas time comes round, you’ve already got a haul of presents to give. My husband and I often get thank you gifts of alcohol from the community, but neither of us drink. Other people certainly do though and this is a lovely gift for people who do drink to receive.

I know there is a bit of controversy on re-gifting, but I know if I gave a gift that wasn’t quite right, I would love for it to be passed on to someone who could truly appreciate it.

Total Cost: Free

Save The Accessories:

I can’t recommend hanging onto gift bags, used wrapping paper, birthday candles, banners, and cards throughout the year. You can even ask friends or family at the end of their parties if you can have the gift bags or wrapping if they’re going to just throw them out. This saves SO MUCH money each year on having to buy new wrapping equipment, and it’s readily on hand when you need it. If you haven’t been doing this already, start now and put them in with your re-gifting stash for the end of each year. You’ll thank me next Christmas!

Total Cost: Free

Ask:

Your friends and family probably have a whole heap of storage stuff they haven’t been through in ages; and once they do will be looking to unload a lot of stuff. I love to help my friends organise their stuff in exchange for anything they want to give me. The old adage “Ask and you shall receive” is gold here, so pop on your thrifty hat and don’t be afraid to ask those around you if they’ve got anything they want to get rid of.

Total Cost: Free or Time

Buy Second Hand:

Op shops are my definitely jam, with about 95% of my clothes being second hand. My wedding dress was a $45 vintage dress from Vinnies Newtown.

Op Shops (or Thrift Shops for our American friends) are TREASURE TROVES of second hand trinkets, clothes, furniture, and weird things you can only imagine. Give yourself plenty of time to wonder around and let objects or clothes let themselves known to you.

Boutique antique stores can often come with a boutique price tag, but you can find just as wonderful vintage and antique pieces at markets or throughout op shops.

eBay and Gumtree are also great places to find items for a lot cheaper than RRP prices and you can often barter for a lower price or find something similar for a lot less.

Total Cost: $2 plus, depending on what you’re after

Make: One of the most sentimental gifts I made was with a $2 ball of wool and some knitting needles. I sat night after night and knitted my friend a scarf for her birthday. Along with it, I included a beautiful note about how the scarf helped me with my recovery after a hospital stay in June; and that I wanted her to always be warm and cosy. She wore it every day of Winter this year! Other things I’ve made over the years for gifts include hats (of course!), costume pieces, spell jars / spell kits often for success and love, candles, cookies, paintings and general pretty things.

Cooking or baking makes a lot of treats for minimal bucks. You can bake up a large batch of cookies, and even save a bit more cash by buying recipe boxes when they’re on sale at the supermarket. Decorate them then pop some into a tie up bag, it’s a super cute and delicious gift!

Total Cost: $2 plus, depending on what you make

Buy:

Finally, if you must buy; buy independently. Buy from small businesses, buy from artists. Your money will be funding groceries for another week for a family, or maybe even a special treat like going to the movies or purchasing new towels. Buy compassionately and support those who need it most. I can promise you the gift of support you give to these businesses and artists will cause the biggest smiles for Christmas; and that’s what spreading the true joy of the season is all about.

Bonus Tip!

You can also save money on feeding the masses by opting for food options designed to feed a lot of people at once. Meals like spaghetti bologanise, BBQ, pizza, rice and so forth may not be typically Christmassy; but they will stretch to feed a lot for less.

You can also ask everyone to bring a dish and then all the guests can share a bounty of food whilst keeping in with the community spirit.

Total Cost: $5 plus depending on what you make

[scifimagpie]

The Art of Destruction: Distressed Aesthetics

A belated happy new year, my dear followers!

So, I have a neat idea for a new series coming up. But after the holidays (which were pleasantly busy) and some interpersonal scuffling in January (which was not nearly as lovely, but came to an all-right enough resolution), my idea bank was absolutely flat broke.

A nice chat with friends has filled the bowl up, but while I work on those posts, here is something I stashed off to the side after a Facebook conversation last year.

I often reference fashion and clothing to help get in the right mindset for my writing projects. Whilst working on Poe's Outlaws (Book 4 of The Meaning Wars series; book 3, The Meaning Wars, is ready for beta-reading and edits now!) I indulged in my usual technique of sifting through Dolls Kill and Pinterest to look at various bits of outre, fun, futuristic fashion.  Of course, when working on Monsters and Fools and planning for After the Garden's sequels, I also like to look at post-apocalyptic and distressed clothing. I like distressed clothing anyway, but it tends to get a lot of flack. =

On an episode of a podcast called Minion Death Cult, the hosts discussed some common reactions of tradespeople and Boomers to distressed and some faux-muddy jeans. (Not unsurprisingly, there were a lot of tired jokes about just selling people old, worn-out jeans from "real" tradesmen.) But not a lot of people understand how distressed clothing works, or why it's somehow different from their dad's old, grimy jeans and tattered denim jacket, so I'm going to break it down. 

Note: all images in this article came from the Nordstrom website. Most or all are designed by PRPS.

  I'm gonna take the unusual stance here of defending distressed jeans, because I've been studying and making distressed knit clothing and other types of distressed clothing for a bit. Why? Because I like post-apocalyptic fashion, and I think wrecked things are often beautiful. 

You may be familiar with the term "wabi-sabi," which sometimes passes in and out of vogue for decorating trends. The term is comprised of two Japanese words - wabi, in a nutshell, refers to the beauty of simplicity; sabi, to the beauty of age and use. There's a bit more to it, but that's the quick explanation of these beautiful and imperfectly translatable terms. Wabi-sabi is usually used in reference to home decor, but it totally applies to clothing, too. 

Anyway, getting on with the point - the thing about dirty jeans is that they're gonna leave dirt on wherever you sit. Fake dirt still captures the same look, the rather beautiful way the brown stains and fades into the tightly woven blue threads, but it won't leave big ol' scuffmarks on your leather car seats.

As for the distressing, the interesting and beautiful way that denim falls apart tends to happen in less sexy areas - the knees, the thighs, the crotch. Distressing clothes on purpose lets you get the look without impairing the wearability and structural integrity of the clothes. Sometimes that doesn't work at all, like with the cheaper distressed jeans that are all holes and have a high spandex content, but that's still the idea.

As far as how this relates to designing and making clothing, with knitwear (such as the awesome punk sweaters we all may love, or at least have seen before), it's important to know how the particular fibres and yarns work structurally. There's a reason why clothing made to be or look distressed looks so awesome and a lot of actually busted up clothing or "home-made" distressed stuff looks crappy. Knowing where and how to cut fabric in pre-made knits, how to style the runs, or how to make patterns with the runs and holes, is all very calculated. As I've learned myself, if you try to distress a finely-knit sweater, it'll look like crap; distressing needs a chunkier, thicker yarn to be really noticeable. And wet-blocking a ravelled sweater (stretching while wet) is very important - otherwise, the threads maintain their curled appearance, and don't become those straight lines that create contrast with the curving knitted stitches. It's also really important to actually tie off runs in a distressed sweater, or the whole thing will, in fact, unravel. 

The advantage of knitting a sweater with a distressed look is that you can control this process. In effect, dropped stitches and yarn-overs create a sort of freeform lace look, and don't destroy the structural integrity of the sweater (which unravelling a pre-made sweater CAN do). 

So basically there IS a method to the madness in pre-distressed clothing, and knowing how to distress your clothing well and safely - whether it's for a stage production, Halloween, or fashion - takes more than sharp scissors and boredom!

Predictably, clothes like this inspire retorts like, "I could give you my old jeans covered in cow manure and farm dirt and motor oil for that price!" But that's the point - the "fake dirt" that so baffled the Washington Post and CNN, where reporters appeared unfamiliar with the concept of "p a i n t", will not rub off or dirty other surfaces. The pants don't contain the scent and sweat of another person's work, nor are they worn out and about to fall apart, as those pants probably are. (For example, the wear patterns and distressing and whiskering all appear on the thighs and calves of the jeans, rather than in the crotch, around the bottom cuffs, and etcetera.) 

It's not about pretending you work - it's about exploring the beauty of entropy and things that are lived-in. The way fabric dye fades, the soft whiskering of denim fabric, the delicate feathers of raw-edged cotton - all of these have their own beauty. Repairs can create a contrast from the original fabric or material as well, and it needn't be ugly. People familiar with "that weird gold thing," kintsuogi, may also know have seen it in cases where useful objects are repaired and the cracks are patched with gold leaf to highlight their beauty. 

Here's another example of finding beauty in marks and unexpected places. When I saw an advertisement for Canada Post that featured a very intriguing necklace, I tracked down the artist's work and had a look at her site.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUkgqx4hXdu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

View this post on Instagram

#fbf to my 30 seconds of fame 😛 I custom made this piece especially for the #canadapost commercial. It took every spare second I had for a month....... and it will be on-screen for a second at a time for three years 😪 💰#lianevazbespoke

A post shared by Toronto Goldsmith (@lianevazdesigns) on May 26, 2017 at 2:22pm PDT

However, to my surprise, most of her jewelry was either minimalist and geometric, or covered in dented and scratched textures, like this!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw10Dy7AWYp/

View this post on Instagram

HEX textured pendant in 18k gold on a vintage chain ✨

A post shared by Toronto Goldsmith (@lianevazdesigns) on Apr 29, 2019 at 6:17am PDT

Or, like this! 

There is real value in appreciating things as we wear them out. If we are to shift to a less consumption-driven culture, which is necessary in the fight against climate change, we're gonna have to get used to not having things that look new all the time. Supplies and availability of items may be restricted. Repairing clothing and items instead of just throwing them out has also become pretty popular amongst Generation Z, many of whom are embracing thrifting and minimal-waste lifestyles. 

But in addition to that, there's also a beauty in the broken or fraying, the imperfect, the less-than-new. Most of the time we spend with an item will be active. Jewelry gets scratches. Clothes rip. Colours fade. Paper tears. And all of those things expose new beauties and different aspects of the item, revealing its structure and design and suggesting or reminding us of experiences we've had.

After all, our possessions act as anchors for memories. There's a reason why in pre-industrial times, treasured items were passed down through generations or repaired over and over. Our things aren't just pretty diversions or useful parts of daily life - they're parts of our lives, woven or tangled with our memories.

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

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[luigiblood]

Nintendo Switch Online, 1 year in review...

Well, well, well... Nintendo Switch Online...

You’re cheap, but you’re too cheap in return sometimes. I want to talk about it and some of my frustrations about it (and not necessarily with Nintendo). To do this, I will talk about each feature seperately.

Online Play

The most obvious feature is Online Play. It went from being free to being paid, which is pretty much a problem but then the competitors do the same. Many Nintendo games do not have the most stable netplay, even though I do not have most of the problems that other people get.

I’m not going to do a P2P vs Dedicated, or rather I would like to say that people genuinely don’t understand basic netplay and are all going against P2P without knowing that some of the games that works fine are probably all running on P2P to begin with.

I’m not gonna go into the details, nor do I want to say I’m an expert, each have their own pros and cons, but I think the main issue is ultimately the netcode. Here’s hoping with GGPO being open source and free to use for professionals now, the future could be a lot brighter.

I would want Nintendo to take netcode a little more seriously and test it in homes with slower Internet. Testing it with Wi-Fi and Ethernet and everything.

Save Data Cloud

This feature technically works. You’d think it’s hard to fail, right?

Of course they did when some games just don’t provide the support for it because of fear that people may abuse it for cheating... Meh.

Nintendo uses the exemple of having a broken Switch to where this feature might come in handy. Too bad this also means completely lost saves for some of the most important games like Splatoon 2 or Animal Crossing, the latter being really annoying if you lose hundreds or even thousands of hours...

Smartphone App

This one is tough because potential was there. Truly a waste of time.

All of the main services could have just been a website that works on PC and Mobile. But I think the main issue is that people don’t really want to check stuff about their game all the time because there is simply not enough feedback.

There was actually better execution when SplatNet was a regular website accessible on every device, Super Mario Maker Bookmark website too, instead everything is stuck to an app, limiting uses.

Content should be seen from everywhere when it’s possible. Making it work behind a subscription fee was a terrible idea.

And then let’s not even talk about the voice chat. That is a truly depressing thing. Why making it stuck to mobile? I get that you don’t want the Switch to process that stuff for performance reasons but truly that stuff is supported on it too...

Special Offers

Let me list what extra stuff we got from Nintendo Switch Online:

Exclusive Splatoon 2 Gears

Tetris 99

Game Vouchers

The right to buy NES/SNES Controllers

Game Trials (for only one game)

I did not list another thing that will be its own seperate bullet point.

Tetris 99 was truly the best part of this. It’s actually a pretty darn good game. Game Vouchers could have been nice if you couldn’t get the brand new games for cheaper in physical form.

Game Trials was a thing they tested at one point, but then they just didn’t bother...

We, subscribers, don’t really get a lot of extras, do we?

My Nintendo (Bonus Rant)

Nothing has been more of a waste than My Nintendo. Gold Points finally started to be kind of useful since it became an equivalent to a cent for the Switch eShop, but that’s the only good point I could give to it.

Its execution is terrible, and unlike many people, I do not have a lot of good memories about Club Nintendo (the European one, that said), because most of the cool items we only could get the stars we needed much later and then then the item was gone. That’s literally most of my experience with Club Nintendo.

When I learned that with the North American Club Nintendo you could get virtual console games and other cool shit I was genuinely disappointed how the European one was. And I’m not mentioning how the Japanese Club Nintendo had some of the cooler things than the west ever got.

And then My Nintendo has none of the cool things from any regional Club Nintendo... what’s the plan, Nintendo? Why does this exist?

The day 3DS and Wii U will stop being supported, what will happen to the vouchers that you guys always put up? Will it become even more useless?

NES / SNES Nintendo Switch Online

Now the real meat because that’s the stuff I really would like to talk about.

You guys know how involved I am with retro Nintendo content and I can be very invested about this kind of stuff because I just love Nintendo’s games.

Unlike many people, I don’t mind the subscription aspect and the fact you don’t really own these games anymore compared to Virtual Console games. I think this has ultimately been the better thing to do. However I find many problems with the execution of it, especially in the long run.

Due to its subscription nature, I did expect it to have less games than Virtual Console. Rights have to be renegotiated, and the most I expected were Nintendo games. Turns out we got some third parties, some even high profile, pretty cool.

But there are pretty infuriating stuff, like the slow drip feed we get. I get that you want to keep interest going for these games over time but there’s a lot of problems with that entails, and that’s how most of us are frustrated that Nintendo is not using the Switch to its highest potential, and especially about having all of the Nintendo games possible in a small amount of time.

Its portable nature wants us that Nintendo puts all of the retro games as quickly as possible, we want to dedicate our time to the Switch instead of plugging the Wii and Wii U for VC games that aren’t there. We want N64, GB/C/A, GameCube, and more. We want to have Mario Party 2 netplay in an official capacity, and so on...

I noticed the potential of retro Switch Online offer when I found myself addicted to Balloon Fight. Actually a game I’ve never downloaded off ROM sites before, as I usually dismissed it as being too simple. However the game was just there and I gave it a shot. This is one of the reasons why its subscription nature didn’t mind me, it got me to spend time with some games I usually wouldn’t spend time with, especially for NES.

I want to put a list of things that I want Nintendo to do with their retro offering to bring interest, but also sustain it:

- Bigger Drips of games

This seems trivial, but keep in mind that games have to be tested before going live, we pretty much want at least 3 games per month for each console. But stuff takes time and we at least want more communication about this aspect. We just want more games.

- Localized games

This is a personal pet peeve and only works for people whose native language is not English. I do not expect of Nintendo to localize retro games, but at least to release localized ROMs of games when they exist.

I expected of them to release these:

Kirby’s Adventure, French and German versions (yes, they exist)

Super Metroid, European version (that’s a bit more controversial however...)

Zelda: A Link To The Past, French and German versions (French even has an official 60hz version)

Yoshi’s Island, European version.

I know what you could say, 50hz games suck, music is slower- Stop. My only answer is fuck you.

Also, SNES 50hz games cannot have slower music, aside from a few rare ones. If you remember games having slower music on PAL SNES you have a bad memory and mixed up with NES or Mega Drive or something.

I don’t see how, as a developer myself, a selection menu could not be implemented for selecting the language for a game. That way you let people play whatever they want, it’s less painful, everyone is happy.

I still wish for Nintendo to localize retro games however, or maybe even bring unreleased localizations of games if they approved it back then...

- Random Game of the Day / Moment

This seems like a dumb idea, but when I played Balloon Fight I noticed how Nintendo could bring attention to games that don’t necessarily get it.

When the library gets bigger, some games will be left on the side over others, a system to bring motivation to play those games, even as simple as a random game name at the top, is better than what piracy can even bring you.

Maybe you could even implement a button that selects a random game.

- Game Tweaks / Special Versions

AKA USE LUA SCRIPTS IN GAMES

Now we’re starting to get a bit on the expensive side of things.

Special Versions of games aren’t really good on NES, they’re just save states. Some are useful (Golf Course unlocks), some are amusing (Zelda), but most of them are just a save state at the end of the game.

I want them to go on the next stage of this, actually hack the games, or even scripts on top of them. You see, some emulators have scripting features that can alter the game, in ways that improves them (map on Metroid NES), or outright gameplay altering (Kirby Canvas Curse gameplay on Super Mario Bros. 3).

I gave real exemples of use, these could be used to make games easier, harder, balanced, weirder, just like another concept that Nintendo did... NES REMIX. (What a waste of a concept... This really got people into NES games.)

I wish for Nintendo to use their LUA script system already in place for the menus, for their emulator.

This could also aid in development of localization of games without altering the ROM and without space issues.

And this could aid in making SNES Mouse games to work on a touch screen and more, it’s genuinely easy to figure out I could do it myself in a day... ;)

- Shared Library of games between Japan & International

...Well all I want is that I don’t have to need to download the japanese app or the japanese to download the international app to play other games that are not present in the local library. I thought this would have been solved with Super Puyo Puyo 2 but guess not.

This could have the added bonus of japanese games on top of the american (and european?) ones.

- Game Events

Sort of an extra to game tweaks, bringing events for people to play a specific retro game and give them gold points or something. Events could have objectives, achievements, scoreboards, many things could be done here.

You could even bring in the Nintendo World Championship ROMs, other competition stuff, or even games like soundlink games from the Satellaview like BS Zelda, BS Super Mario All-Stars and so on. These games are made for competition!

This is the ultimate thing to bring people to play retro games, bring the unusual games that most people have possibly never even heard about!

- Others

Some of those bullet points don’t need a big explanation:

More Unreleased Retro Games (Japan only or even anywhere)

Localize Retro Games that were never localized (not just in english!)

Borders

Small Control Scheme Help (to compensate for lack of manuals)

5-player Netplay support for SNES (Super Puyo Puyo 2 supports 4 player)

Netplay with Global Rooms with passwords and not just stuck to friends. (This should be a thing for EVERY GAME. This could even be a Switch OS feature.)

Automatic Matchmaking for certain games?

I have also always said this: I’m interested to work with you, Nintendo, on this kind of stuff...