I Don't Know How This Happened...

Unloaded the kiln this morning...Oh happiness, oh joy...

 such pretty blues, greens, and grays...

 But then all of a sudden this...

Dog poop brown.  I don't even know what to say.  How did I choose this color and then glaze this many pieces with it?  Sad ending to the kiln unload I must say.  I'm going to have to go look and see what color this is (on the jar) 'cause I'm pretty sure it didn't say dog poop brown!

Christmas Arrived A Little Early For Me...

I fully believe that everyone should buy themselves a Christmas gift while shopping for everyone else.  I have been wanting a small counter top brick oven to make bread.  I've been google searching and I saw this one on several bread blogs - The reviews for baking bread and pizza in it have been really good.  It goes to 500 degrees so you can cook anything in it.  I only plan to make bread/pizza in it so it seemed like the best choice for me - especially since it's regular price is $360 and I only paid $98 with free shipping! and the best part is that I ordered it from Amazon.com yesterday and it arrived today!!!

 I also bought two new bread books...

I can't wait to start baking bread!  home made bread...heaven!

The Beach..That's what I am thinking of

When I opened the kiln this morning it looked just like the beach to me.  Probably because I want to take a vacation, but they are beachy aren't they?

 and happy day!  look at the lovely flower pot decorations I made. lol.  I hate when I don't clean the holes enough and they stick. :o( 

 and I made more of deez here...

I just think these glaze combinations are so pretty.  They make me happy just looking at them.

Molly and Jason are finished with finals so Molly and I are making our baking supplies list and are about to head out to the store.  The next four days will be a candy/cookie/bread making extravaganza! yay!

My Latest Obsession! and Holiday Shipping!

When Marsha Neal did a post earlier this year about lentil beads with a link to Summersstudio about how to make them I knew I had to try them.  Mine are small so I have to find a smaller mold to use to get a better dome shape to them.  And I'm crankin' out these bead caps too. 

I'll be loading the lentil beads in my shop today.  Also, all sales in my shop from today, Sunday 12/17/11 to 2:00 PM EST Wednesday, 12/21/11 will ship with a free upgrade to Priority Mail to all US customers and should arrive before Christmas (according to the USPS Holiday Calendar). 

Lots Of New Pieces Coming Out Of The Kiln

I have been really busy working on custom orders this week, but I have also been making lots of new items for my Etsy shop!  I love bead caps so tons of these are in the works...

I think they are so cute!

And I've been glazing a lot of things with this red glaze!  It's a really rich, bright, red and I love it!  I guess I'm feeling all Christmas-y cause it's my favorite color this week.

 I've also been making lentil beads.  I broke 3 (gaaah - That's what I get for treating them so badly)

 And I like these tubes.  Fun to make - I want to knit some Icord and felt it and then use these with it...

 and lots of earring sets like these...

 It's been busy here.  Still haven't heard anything about the Retail/Studio space that I'm trying to rent so I guess that's on hold until the first of the year.  I did all of my Christmas shopping online and now my foyer looks like a warehouse but that fine with me!  I'm just happy to be finished with the shopping.  yay!  Next week is cookie, candy, and bread making time.  I'll be making these for sure! these, these and these I think I'm going to make everyone a gingerbread cake for Christmas this year.  I have to make one for us first and make sure I like it.  Otherwise, I'm thinking herb bread - 'cause I looooooooove it.  love it.

Hello December!

December!  Really?  I'm not ready for you.  Way too much to do.  Haven't made a single Christmas purchase yet.  Have no idea what I'm going to be purchasing.  I'm getting stressed and it's only December 4th.  Not good.  I'm meeting my friend at the mall at noon for lunch and some shopping today - hope I can find some sales.  We'll see.

As for clay...I've been carving carving carving....

and my kiln has been running almost every day!  I really love this glaze!

 I think I need to re-carve this one. 

And I thought I was going to like this reindeer - kinda folk arty and all that, but Kellie said it looks like a diaper so now I'm not so sure about it.  What do you think?

 and this glaze I wasn't sure I was going to like but I made some pieces in it anyway....

and I've gotta say - I really love it on these link things...

speaking of link things, I've been making a lot of them recently...

and this house is for sale near me for commercial use... 

It was a ceramic doll studio and then it was a ceramic art studio.  Ryan actually had his fifth birthday party there years ago.  Anyway, I've been looking for a studio space near my home because, quite frankly, I need to get the hell outta here!  I need more space!  I'm squeezed into a tiny space and I'm starting to fall over myself!  I also need a big kiln and I don't have room for that at my house.  Plus, there are way too many distractions here.  The phone, the kids coming and going, the computer, and the regular day to day stuff of the house.  So, I can't afford to buy it right now, and I can't afford the rent on the entire building, but my real estate agent is trying to work out a deal where I can rent part of the building.  It would be great since it is all set up for kilns already!  Crossing my fingers that he calls me this week with good news.

First Friday Art Walk Sale

Please visit my Etsy today for the Etsy First Friday Art Walk and receive 10% off everything in my shop with coupon code: BOCFFAW at checkout!  Please visit the Beads Of Clay blog for all the participating Shops!

CYBER SALE Starts Today!

I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop!  It starts today, Monday 11/28 and runs till 11:59PM EST Wednesday 11/30!  Save 20% off your total purchase (excluding shipping and tax) by entering coupon code: CYBERSALE at checkout!

Who Doesn't Love Glaze...

These didn't turn out the way I had expected.  When I first opened the kiln I was like eeek! but as I pulled each piece out I realized that I like them a lot more now that I can really see the colors.

I'm really not a fan of matte glaze, but I do like these.  I had expected them to have a lot more of that gold-ish color on them, but after looking at them for awhile, I really kind of like this glaze.

Here are some of the other colors that were in this batch. 

I'm really happy with the buttons