New Favorites

It's rainy and gloomy here today, but I just unloaded my kiln and I wanted to show you some of the new things.  I have some new toggles - I really like the one on the bottom.

 After all of this glazing I have some favorites.  I love these glaze combinations...

 I don't usually like browns, but I like these...

 And the glaze on these isn't amazing, but the texture...oh the texture.  I can't stop touching them.  They remind me of those flip flops that have the bumps all over them.

Green is my favorite color so I like these greens.

I had planned to go to a store this morning to buy some new texture tools but Kellie reminded me that she has a half day today.  So much for my plan.  It's just as well, because I have 3 custom orders that I need to start working on - I hope this rain goes away because it makes me very unproductive.

Out Of The Kiln Monday

 More new items from the kiln this morning.  Remember those white buttons for the order I had recently that I couldn't use?  Well, here they are and I really like them.  I don't think this pattern can come out bad!

 and I am really happy with this one...

 Here are my favorite pendants from this batch...

 a few more tiny tiny buttons...

More earrings - these are so dark with the chocolate clay - I haven't decided if I like them yet.

and there are a lot of beads in this batch too.

So the kiln is reloaded again.  Hoping for more happy results.  Happy Monday!

Just Out Of The Kiln...

I can't even tell you how much I love this set!  I love them so much I am donating them to the BeadsofClay Etsy store.  Love them!

I love this one too!  Look at all the colors in that pendant!  I'm donating this set, too.

and this set... 

 and this set... 

 and this set...

 so if you like any of those they will soon be in the BeadsofClay Etsy shop.

Also in this last batch were some of those new textured pieces I was telling you about.  I really like how they came out.

 I thought these two were skunky

 but look at them with beads...

 now I really like them.

And this new size/shape came out well.

 some new earrings...

 these purple ones are my favorite...

 and lots of beads...

The kiln is being reloaded today and I'll be firing a bunch of stuff tomorrow.  Very happy so far!  Have a great weekend!

My Clay Stamp

I have used this symbol as my signature on all of my art quilts, embroidery, etc for years so when I decided to start stamping my ceramic pieces I wanted to use the same symbol.  H m e.

Well, it arrived today and I love it!!!!

Molly and I are going to Bead Fest in Philly this August.  We are all registered for a torch enamel bead making class and our room is booked for the weekend too! woohoo!  I decided that since it's my birthday weekend that instead of driving the 1 1/2 hour each way from my house we would just stay at the hotel and make a weekend of it.  My only concern...Molly and I can do some serious spending in three days.  We are both (hear me Molly - BOTH) going to have to start saving.  Since I had been doing some serious campaigning for this for my birthday this year...

I think this could be (maybe) a little less expensive and that Mark should give me his credit card, don't you?  I mean compared to the new studio space I want this weekend away is a bargain even if I spend like $1,000 - still a bargain right? lol  A really nice husband would let me have this weekend away with carte blanche spending AND a new studio.  He said he's not that husband. lol  Better start saving.

BTW

Since it's Wednesday and I'm glazing beads I thought I would participate in Bead Table Wednesday.  I finally got some beads glazed - first one glazed at 9:34 PM - ridiculous.

but now that I've started I'm in the zone and my obsessing is over.  I'm going to spend the entire day glazing.  It's going to get sunny later and around 60 degrees - Yaaahooo!  I am so ready for spring.

Oh, and in case you were wondering...Miss Molly has pneumonia - the walking pneumonia kind so she's okay, just needs to take some meds for a few days.  I'm hoping that does the trick.  She had whooping cough a few years ago and that wasn't fun and dragged on for months.  I don't want her to have to deal with anything like that again.  She's also my one who was born with double pneumonia and had to stay in the NICU for 10 days.  I'm like...enough with the lungs Molly! :O)  Have a happy Wednesday!

My Table...All day.

The hardest thing for me...choosing what piece will be what color.  I moved upstairs to the kitchen because the hot tub repair guy was here this morning.  So to stay on schedule I thought I would just glaze upstairs.

I have been sorting and rearranging all day.  How many pieces glazed by 1:54 PM .... ZERO!  Not one.  The brush hasn't touched glaze yet.  Does anyone else obsess about this the way I do.  It's ridiculous.  I need therapy. lol It's not like I can't just remake it if I don't like it, right?  And I love all the glazes I'm using so, really, what are the chances that I won't like it?!  Completely unproductive day. It's like when I buy that really awesome piece of fabric for a quilt and then I can't bring myself to cut it because it's so awesome!  On the up side - the hot tub heater is fixed! yes!  I have been popping my meds for my arms all week and I really don't like to do that.  Off to the Dr with Miss Molly.  She called from school to say she is skipping Tennis and a cappella group because she doesn't feel well.  She's had a cough for 3 weeks that seems to be getting worse the past few days.  For her to skip practice - she must be sick.

I Think I Love This Glaze...

I'm not sure yet because I was a little heavy with it.  These are just a few of the samples I did the other night with some of my new glaze.

I was a little heavy with it - should have been 3 coats total and this is like 4 because I changed my mind half way through. lol so typical.  I've lost some of the texture, but I love the colors.  I think they will be great when applied more evenly and 1 less coat.  The top row is porcelain and the bottom row is stoneware.

I made the buttons for the order in porcelain thinking that at least one of the 4 new red glazes would work.  The swatch arrived and guess what...none of them match.  Not the 4 new ones or any of the reds I already had!  The only thing that matches in a low fire glaze that I have on earthenware.  So, now I'm behind because I won't be able to use the porcelain buttons that I made and I have to remake them in earthenware.  I am going to glaze the porcelain buttons that I can't use now in the glazes above.

And I thought I would give you the rest of the Jason saga...

So, we were at the ER from Thursday night into Friday morning.  Saturday night...I hear weights hitting the floor above me.  Jason can't be working out can he? I say to Molly and Mark - with a look of I'm going to have to kill someone now, be right back.  I walk to the steps....

Me: JAAAASSSSOOOONNN!!! Are you working out?!

J: Yeah!

Me: Have you lost your mind?! You are going to seriously screw up your arm!

J: No.I'm.Not! it's fine. (because when you are 19 you clearly know more than your parents - dumb and dumber - and to clarify, I'm dumb - Marks dumber. lol)

Sunday morning 6:30 AM back at the ER.  Enter Dr.

Dr. blah blah blah blah blah blah.  Do you have any questions.

Me:  Yes, I have one.  How long should Jason wait before he works out?

Dr. at least 3 weeks.

J: WHAT?!

Me: HA! (because I'm 16 again. lol)

Dr. blah blah blah blah that's why.

Me: See!  You should listen to your mother!

Jason: glaring - I'm not sure who he wanted to smack more - me or the Dr.  I'm thinking me since I was the one laughing.



Finally Some New Pieces To Glaze!

I am way behind on making new pieces.  You know how` life has a habit of getting in the way.  So I unloaded the kiln this morning.  Lots and lots of new pieces.

I've been playing around with some new textures.

I made this motorcycle to sew on the front of a journal.

Lots of tiny earrings in here.

and some new shapes and patterns.  I'm kinda likin these.

I made some hexagon buttons too.

I need to get crackin on glazing these.  I am seriously running low on pieces and I have commitments all over the place that need to get in the mail ASAP!  These need to be in the kiln tomorrow so that I can work on a button order.  Red buttons.  Red glaze makes me nuts.  I can never find the right red.  It's too light, too dark, too bright, too orange....ghaaa.  I'm waiting on the yarn swatch to help me match the color. 

So far this week has zoomed right on by with business paper work taking up every day!  I'm trying not to get behind but it is sucking up all my available clay time!  Well, that and my kids.  Last week was crazy!  Thursday night at 10:30 PM I was working with clay thinking ...I'm going to make a few more pieces and then I'm going to bed!... enter Jason...

Jason: Mom, does my arm look swollen? 

Me:  (his arm is swollen like Popeye! and it has a cut.) YES!  What the heck did you do?

J: I was goofing off at work and punched a box and didn't see the metal shelf sticking out and I hit it with my arm.

Me: When did this happen?

J: Tuesday.

Me: TUESDAY?!! Why didn't you tell me sooner?

J: I don't know.  I didn't want you to freak.

Me: Well, I'm freaking now!

Off to the ER.  When we get there the triage gal says "It's going to be a long wait.  Most of the people out there have already been here 3 1/2 hours."  Fun.  Then around 12:15 AM some woman walked by and said "Boy I feel sorry for you - I've been here since 4:00 PM!" So instead of going to bed I sat in the ER till 3 AM and then had to go to the pharmacy to get his meds then finally home.  Unfortunately, I had to be up at 6:30 AM to get the kids off to school and Mark off to work.  That was not a productive day.  At one point I wanted some Hershey kisses but was too tired to walk across the room to get them so I had to go without! :O) We had to go back to the ER on Sunday morning at 6:30 AM for a recheck and they had all of his insurance info wrong and the papers said he was married.   Isn't that nice ... such attention to detail. Quite remarkable. :O)

More Irish Waxed Linen Thread!

I updated my Etsy shop today and there are now 30 colors of Irish waxed linen thread available in 5 yard and 10 yard amounts.  I offer quantity discounts on the thread in both sizes and you can always request a custom listing.

I finally have the kiln running today with a load of bisque.  Lots of new pieces.  Can't wait to glaze them tomorrow.  I'm running very low on pieces at the moment so I'm looking forward to the new items.