Fun and Flowers

Wow, those teabowls were snatched up quick! Nice! Guess I know what I need to make more of…

Also new is this little vase with some whimsical flower stamps I was playing with! I like this because it was a little fooling around and fun for me.

As far as the glaze on these pieces goes – it’s actually the same as all my other more “honey” colored pieces! It’s just a little different color due to the natural differences in each kiln firing. This particular firing came out a very rich, dark color – almost a black, with white/gold highlights just on the ridges.  All the variations you can get, just from the flames in the kiln, are part of what makes pottery a lot of fun (and occasionally frustrating!).

New work

I know it’s been a while since I listed new work on Etsy, but things are finally starting to grind back into gear.

Here are a couple of new teabowls I made recently – I especially like the shape and the distinct “throwing lines” left by my fingers as I pull up on the clay!

Planting

Hope everyone had a fun and happy 4th of July weekend!

Mine was dampened by the fact that I had to work every day (the news doesn’t stop, unfortunately). But the nice thing was working the night shift all weekend and having a bit of time to enjoy the sun and beautiful weather during the day! I got to go on some walks around the neighborhood, hang out with friends and re-pot some herbs for our windowsills! Yummy cilantro, rosemary, basil, thyme and oregano!

One of D.’s friends even gave us a large tomato plant, which we decided to try to grow on the front step. I attached the pot to the railing in the hopes that it doesn’t “walk away” one of these nights – we’ll just have to see if it lasts! Either way, it was fun making a mess on the street and getting a little dirty. And I love all the extra green in the windows and the way the cats curl around the flowerpots!

Final Project

For the last class of my Adobe Illustrator course, the teacher asked us to make a poster about the month we were born.

I always think about trips to the amusement park on the last days of summer when I think about my birthday, so this is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy!

Treasury

Big thanks to Sharon, of Manamoon, for including one of my swirl heart beads in a treasury this week! Looks awesome, and it would be great if you went on over there and gave it a click!

Coming Along

Well, things are begining to take shape at the new (old) apartment. We sort of got an unusual opportunity, since I had already packed a lot of my stuff, to “move in” again to the apartment I already occuppied. I mean, we changed the layout a bit, moved furniture around and made it a little nicer for two people.

Even better, D. is going to help me design part of our back room to better store my ceramics, packaging and photo setup! It’ll hopefully help me keep organized and streamline my process. I pretty excited to get it set up!

The place still looks a bit strewn with boxes, but at least we finally got the kitchen put away and were able to start cooking! For our first dinner really “living together,” I made a Medditerean-style salad of sauteed summer squash, zucchini, peppers and red onions tossed in a mix of olives, feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Served with fillets of seared salmon and couscous. Super easy and perfect on a hot Philly day!  Yummm!

Update

After a very sleepless night looking up building code regulations, D. and I decided we just weren’t comfortable with the state of the apartment we had intended to move into. Even if the landlord agreed to fix visible problems in our unit, it left us with a lot of concerns about the wiring throughout the building – and fixing the problem to our satisfaction would be, we figured, a massive investment of time and money on the landlord’s part.

So we met with him, were upfront with our feelings about the situation and reached a mutual agreement to end the lease.

On the good side, my current (two bedroom) apartment was still available, and my landlords agreed to let D. move in and were happy to keep us there.

We have a little readjusting to do, but I’d say overall we’re both really pleased and relieved with this outcome, and with the money we’re saving  we’re ready to make the old place a home we can both be happy in for the coming year.

Thanks for the comments and support – the blog should be back in full swing next week!

Unpleasant Surprises

After more than a week of frantic and excited packing, planning and getting ready to move, D. and I finally got the keys to the new apartment yesterday.

We were going in a few days early to paint, but we got a nasty surprise.

“I don’t remember seeing this when we looked at the place,” D. called to tell me, “But there’s no outlet behind the fridge, it’s plugged into an old extension cord that runs across the hall and plugs into an ungrounded outlet!”

Pretty quick, we were looking at all the electric and wiring in the place, and not very happy with what we saw.

The past 24 hours have been pretty unpleasant as we’ve swung back and forth over what to do, but suffice to say neither of us is foolin’ around when it comes to electric and safety.

We’re putting off the move for one month, and giving the landlord notice that our lease is pending him hiring a certified electrician to inspect the building.

Nobody is happy about it, but I think it’s the right thing to do.

Dancing the night away

I will be away for a wedding most the weekend, so enjoy this amazing party-perfect cake from Flagrante Delicia.

It’s been a hectic month, but I’m looking forward to having at least this one night to relax with D., dance and celebrate.  Cheers!

Go for a spin

I noticed this awesome ring, by TinahDee, on the front page of Etsy recently. Not only is it easy on the eyes, but it contains three little inner circlets that you can twist around! I love jewelry that doubles as entertainment!