I'm here!

I've been busy working with my sister and our friend Phyllis to prepare for a big card making class we are putting on this Friday evening in conjunction with the Heirloom Anderson Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival being held at the Anderson Civic Center this weekend.  We have 20 people signed up!  It should be LOTS of fun.  We are having it at New York Pizza (can't seem to add another link - grrrr) on Civic Center Blvd..  The students get pizza & salad with their class as well!
I WILL post photos! (Both here and on the store's blog TheMercantileStore.blogspot.com)
Today, my favorite traveling bead wholesaler comes to town for me to pick beads for our next trunk show!  MMMMMMMMMMM - BEADS!  It should be an all day event.  Then our local rubber stamp club (The Crafty Crew) has it's monthly gathering at the store.  It will be a LONG day, but a VERY enjoyable one!

This is not one of the cards we are making, just one I made in a class last week

Another Adventure in Pet Sitting

Sandie & Cleo

I spent the last 3 nights pet & house-sitting... the pets are 2 Labs (Yellow & Black) and a bob-tailed indoor cat.

Sandie is the younger of the two Labs, and if you can believe it... she doesn't bark!  She has this muffled woof-ish sounding thing, but no real bark.  And she whines to get your attention.  But that being said, she is a sweetie.  She loves to be around you and has a soft silky coat, even at 2 years old.  But she definitely likes her beauty rest!

Cleo is 6, I think, and she is the Black beauty of a Lab.  Her attention-getting maneuver is to put her paw on your leg or to nuzzle her nose under your arm until you have to pet her.  She is the definite watch-dog of the family with her resounding bark.  But a real softie to those who know her.  

Eliza

Eliza is the cat of the house... and she can head-butt you until you pet her too... great disposition.

There were also all of the birds out at the feeders...

The Mourning Dove perched atop the feeder roof...

This doesn't look like a Hummingbird...

Not to mention the deer... I didn't get a photo, but there's a doe and her two fawns and a buck as well that frequent the back yard.

I had a great time!

The sky on my way into work on Thursday... had to stop & take a pic!

The Large Mug - again!

I don't have much to write about this morning.  

All is going well with production of the large mug.  

I have not been able to get to the PO to ship out some things promised to people (wedding gift, prize, necklace...) because when I have the time, the PO is CLOSED!

I took this shot on Monday before Kathy picked up the FIRST first quality large mug to be finished!

As you can see, the wooden model is to the left, and the original mug is to the right.

Kathy was so pleased!  And that makes me feel good too!  I have the rest of them in production now for those who have been promised one or more.  The glaze on Kathy's seems to be the glaze of choice... ALL 6 that I need to make are the same color!

Well, back to production... I have to go consult this afternoon about my next dog/cat sitting job that starts Tuesday...

What inspires you to create?

In reading other posts, both on clay and on jewelry, I have seen a lot about inspiration.  I am curious what inspires people to create what they do.  Is it nature?  Something you see that someone else made?  Thoughts about a person or place?  Dreams?  I have been inspired by others work to make something with my own twist or flair, I have also created because of a thought of a certain person.  Sometimes, when wrapping a stone pendant, I 'let the stone tell me what it wants me to do'.  I have seen things in the print on fabric, or in cloud shapes in the sky.  My inspiration can take on many forms... what about you!  Come on, leave a note, I'm curious to read about your inspirations!  Don't be shy...

Lorelei's Blog: Talk is Cheap

My friend Lorelei is having a sale in her Etsy shop... you can go to her blog and read about it here...
Lorelei's Blog: Talk is Cheap: "Sometimes talk is cheap. Sometimes you just have to do it. I am tired of hearing myself talk about how I blowing money on Etsy fees . I am ..."

A technical question for my clay friends & followers

I was preparing to place an order for my favorite clear cone 6 glaze last night and discovered that after 21 years of using it, the company has discontinued it!

Ebonyware Roly & Straight Sake Cups

If you notice, the inside of my pieces have a clear glaze, and on the Ebonyware, it enhances the blackness of the clay...

Well, to my dismay, I have tried many other clear cone 6 glazes over the years, and they either make the black clay look very brownish or they are milky/cloudy no matter the thinness or thickness I apply them.

My question to all of you out there in the blogosphere is can you recommend a crystal clear cone 6 glaze that I can try???  I would rather not change that aspect of my work (the look, that is).  Last year it was the company I got my porcelain from going out of business!  Luckily for me, I found a better source closer for an equally wonderful clay!  Let's hope that with your help and my determination, I can find the right clear glaze as well!

Thanking ALL of you so very much in advance for whatever direction you can direct me in!