Help me Start a Career!

Hello everyone! You may or may not know me, but I wanted to tell you a little about myself.

Over the last few years, I have been the glue that has been holding my small family together. We have lost almost everything. I lost my grandparents, who were my biggest supporters and inspiration. I lost the house I grew up in, lost cars, lost houses, and really lost myself along the way. I've lost my confidence, my self-esteem, and everything I held dear.

This fund-me project is the start of something to help change all that. I've been looking up and down, left and right to find something, anything, to give me meaning, and to give me something meaningful to do with my hands. I've been looking for a career, a path, a journey to start. And, I believe I have finally found one: Stained Glass. It may sound silly, but the more I look, the more excited I get. The more I ponder the possibilities that this outlet gives, the more I want to dive in head-long. There is only one thing holding me back- lack of extra funds to use on something as "frivolous" as art. If you are like me, you know that art is something that should be embraced and empowered. I truly believe that starting work in Stained Glass will give me incentive, and motivation, to start working and moving forward again. I can look forward to creating beautiful works that people, and I, love to look at and love to make. It's the best answer I've seen in my studies/soul searching, and I really want to pursue this as a potential means of income as it progresses. So, without further a due, I implore you to help me on my journey of healing and discovery. Every dollar counts. Thank you so much for sharing and being a part of my forward motion. Love and hugs always welcome~

Wondering what this money would be going towards? Here is a little run down of the equipment that I'm looking to fund:

Glass Cutter- $10-$30

~~This is a hand tool used to score (scratch or create a depression in the glass) in order to break it more easily and with more precision.

Cutting Oil- $1-$10

~~This is used in the glass cutter to lubricate the cutter so the cutting is done smoothly without jagged edges, and to keep it from over heating. No shattering of glass!

Grozer Pliers- $5-$15

~~Used to snip off little edges and for initial breaking of glass.

Running Pliers- $5-$15

~~Used for longer cuts of glass. The nose of the pliers are wider to help keep glass from shattering when working with longer or more fragile pieces.

Soldering Iron- $20-$80

~~Used, of course, to solder. This is generally the finishing touch to add a silver like coating to the binding. Makes it look shiny and helps keep the adhesives together. The iron itself is a hand-held tool with a heated tip.

Solder-$10-$50

~~This is wire that is used in the soldering process. Generally comes in a 60/40 or 50/50 mix of tin to lead ratio. Need this to help adhesive and to help make the finished product look... well... finished.

Copper Foil- $7-$40

~~This is what gets soldered to do the main binding. It's the glue that holds the glass together.

Flux- $6-$20

~~This helps the solder get into those ridges of the copper foil to get a more even solder.

Carborundum stone-$10-$40

~~This is a hand stone used to file down sharp edges. You want the edges to be softer and even so that they fit together nicely. This stone helps achieve that!

Electric Glass Grinder- $80-$200

~~This is a tool used to grind down those pesky sharp edges, but it makes the work much quicker and more efficient. If I want to pursue this long-term, I'm going to want one.

Lightbox- $35-$150

~~The light box will be used to transfer graphics to the glass. It's much easier to do with a light box than most other techniques, which basically includes a lot of guess work.

Glass-$20-$70

~~You can't very well make stained glass art if you don't have glass to start with! I'm looking to start with a pack between $20-$70.

So that's the wrap. At the most expensive, the whole package would cost a little over 700 to start, which is a little over my current price range. Thank you so much for making this far, and for helping my dreams turn into reality! Love light and happiness to you and yours <3