Instead of being able to spend my time doing that as much as I would like, I, along with 29 other hard-working, HONEST beadmakers have to deal with  Ullja Kuntze.  She is a very annoying irritation.

She has a hobby.  She is now  filing malicious lawsuits.  It is sad, really.  She even admits that she is using the legal system to teach us a lesson.  *insert eye roll here*

She is incorrect in thinking that she WON the lawsuit that was brought against her.  When a lawsuit is dismissed by the plaintiffs the defendant did not win anything.  The Plaintiffs in the case got the information that they wanted.  That she, Ullja Kuntze, was the author of the defamatory website that I will not name here.  And frankly, we had better things to do with our time than deal with her constant delays and refusals to depose.  I wonder why she would not depose?  Hmmmmm

And the entire reason for all of this? Ullja was caught selling other artisan’s beads as her own.

In 2008 Ullja Kuntze (id: Beads4U) and her mother (ebay id gerbera28) bought beads through ebay and directly from the websites of many artisans.
Ullja then turned around and resold those beads as being created by her in her studio in Italy. Selling someone else’s intellectual property and mis-labeling it is against Etsy TOS.

Artisan’s, following Etsy’s TOS filed infringement cases against Ullja’s Beads4U store. Etsy found the claims to be valid and closed her store.
Ullja did have recourse to challenge the infringement claim per Etsy’s TOS

No one forced Ullja to infringe. Etsy chose to enforce their TOS as well they should.

An entire community is now being stalked and punished because Ullja was not following the rules.

You can read the history of the sad tale at ulljas.com

Anyway,If you would like to donate to the cause of making this irritation go away, please do!!

AGLF!

Come…walk with me.

We have aisle after aisle..

So, let’s see what we have.

Oh! Aloe Soda, sounds interesting. Might actually be good?

Oh! what’s this? MILK SODA! MMMMM *urp*

Seaweed chips! Poor guy looks like his mouth is hot..

Moving on..Ahhh now this is interesting.. Do you fry them? Eat them like candy?

OMG, I can JUST imagine the smell when you open THIS can…

Onto the frozen and refrigerated.

You Killed Squidward! You bastards! Poor Spongebob..

Then, you have the “Common Octopus”..soup anyone? *shudder*

Gallon O’Shrimp ?

“Wild Caught?” I wonder if they were hard to catch?

Honey, my peanut butter and jelly tastes kind of fishy!

And for the rest…Wow. That’s all..

(You know what pizzle is right? Hint, it sits on the body next to the picture after…)

Umm I think I threw up in mouth..

OK, after coming to the whole pigs head for $13.00 I was done.

It is an interesting place….

Then, there’s the “dark side”.  There are predators and people who are, perhaps, unbalanced.  Like Ullja Kuntze, a person who has been cyberstalking beadmakers for the better part of a year now.   She is now using Paypal to purchase from people using sockpuppet email id’s and the Paypal account of Bead4U.  She purchases from people for the sole purpose of getting their personal information.  She seems to then enjoy calling all manner of authorities to stir up trouble.  

There is a legal fund set up to stop her. 

Thanks for supporting honest, hardworking and talented artisans.  Stop the FRAUD of Ullja!

First up BetsyMn.  Her beads are adorable and she is an awesome totally great member of the lampwork community.  Just look at those beads!!

Then there’s Lydia Muell.  Her and I have met a few times and she is a total doll.  She is very giving with her lampwork knowledge and creates unbelievable work.  Check her out.

I love being part of the lampworking community.  As artists, we band together and help each other out in the worst of times and celebrate the best of times.

Thank you to all the TRUE artisans out there!

My walks home take me through a beautiful bog garden with a waterfall.  This morning as I was walking through in the quiet of an early summer morning, I came to the waterfall.  Almost magically, a beautiful heron stepped out of the shadows and stepped passed me with a fish still dripping in his beak.  Even the dogs were too shocked to bark.

It was so cool, and surreal.  I wish I had a camera with me.

Two years and countless doctors and specialists later I now have a diagnosis of sorts and a treatment plan.   Lots of days are rough.  But most days I can breathe again and my lips don’t swell up like they did for so long. 

There are lots of “experts” who are actually paid by insurance companies and builders that say “mold is everywhere, it can’t hurt you.”  To them I say “Walk one day in my shoes and you will change your mind.”

I am 41 (42 on 7/25).  I was fit, thin, exercised often, did yoga.  Then I got hit with toxic mold.  Now, I struggle to breath, I am in constant pain, I have no energy.  *Poof*  Literally happened the week we moved into this house.  I now have autoimmune disease and my thyroid is being attacked and destroyed.   I am on a celiac, diabetic, vegetarian, lactose-free diet.  Think about that.  What would you eat?  It’s tough. 

But I have hope that we can get this under control.  And that I can go back to being a healthy person again.  I may blog about the road to my recovery.  Maybe I will look back at it and say, “Yeah, boy am I glad I am not there anymore.”  That is my hope.

Why?

Because in my fridge was a Praying Mantis Egg Sac!  Yes, a real one.  I was keeping it in hibernation until the spring so I could populate my yard with natural pest killers.

I plan to get one again soon to populate the new yard.

Why am I posting about this?  I started a thread at Lampworketc.com of inspirational pictures to stimulate us at the torch.  Someone (Nagibeads) posted a pic of an Orchid Mantis.  OMG!  What an amazing creature!  Then I found out there are LOTS of amazing mantids!!  Here are a few from an amazing photographer:

I see some cool beads coming….

Taking a 3 lb bird to the vet is not always easy. He has to ride there in a carrier, which in my case is a large dog crate. Usually getting him into said crate is quite a task. But yesterday, luckily it was fairly easy. I took him out of his cage and just started walking towards the crate and put him in, no fuss. He was doing a nervous laugh the whole way towards it, then once he was in there he started scratching at the paper and making hrmmph hrmpph noises.

He did pretty well at the vet considering he had the indignity of having a q-tip put up his butt. LOL

Here is the sweet “little” guy…


Here is a video of him Dancing
Diego Dancing

My problem is that I am one of those people who does not follow recipies.  I kind of consider them rough guidelines.  That is probably why the kids are never thrilled when I say I am going to try a new dish. LOL

However, I found Marie’s tutorial helped me to think of things I hadn’t before and try some new stuff.  And bottom line,  isn’t that what it’s all about?

Some beads from the tut: