Busy Summer

 I didn't realize just how long it has been since I last posted. My apologies to anyone who may have been looking for any kind of update.

The painting is complete, and the house has been back on the market for 3 months now. 

I decided to introduce a new friend to my collection, as well as a new Limited Edition Christmas Gnome.

Black Bears (Brown/Grizzly/Polar to come soon)

A Black bear came to mind, inspired by a couple of my favorite clay artisans. Theirs are SO very different yet very inspiring. I have made 17 so far, and only have 2 or 3 remaining finished ones. I am making more for Mistletoe Market!

In addition to the Black Bears, I will make some Brown/Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears, and more Gnomes, Cats, Fox, Owls, Ghosts, Snowpeople, Pumpkins, Angels, Santa Hats, Mushrooms, Penguins, Bluebirds, Cardinals, Hedgehogs, Mice, Bunnies, and maybe more... Ideas keep percolating in my head.

2024 Limited Edition Christmas Gnome

As I was making some Polka Dot hat gnomes, I decided that I would make the dots multi-colored, like the Christmas Trees I started making. The background colors so far have been black, purple, and yellow. Anyway, that inspired me to create the Limited Edition Christmas Gnome for this year with a Christmas tree for it's hat. I have pre-orders for 40 of them! I will make plenty extra to bring with me to Mistletoe Market.

In other news... I am frustrated with the fact that nobody has come to look at the house in 2 months! I had both bathrooms worked on (as per my previous post) as well as painting the one bathroom, and painting the large kitchen wall. I then hired a crew to trim the greatly neglected trees and shrubs. We lowered the price. We would rather not lower the price too much more. The house is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,300+ square feet of living space with an out building and 1.55 acres. Our agent grew up on this street and her dad still lives in the neighborhood. Any pointers on getting people to at least come and take a look?

I know it will sell when the time is right. I just am stressing about how long it is taking to get to the right time.

I will do my best to update things before Mistletoe Market (which is November 1 & 2 this year!)

Renovations complete! (Now to paint.)

 In the effort to get the house ready to put back on the market, I hired a contractor to completely re-do the small bathroom and to put new flooring and toilet (plus some cosmetic upgrades) into the larger bathroom.  I cannot say enough good about the job they did (local peeps - try to hire Carter's Remodeling & Construction LLC). 

Now, I need to finish painting the kitchen and the large bathroom. The small bathroom needs absolutely no more work.

Why did I go to this expense if I am selling the house? Because the only feedback from potential buyers last time was "How much would it cost to re-do the bathrooms?"

And, I need to get my hands back into the clay again and do some creating! I was accepted into Mistletoe Market again this year! Happy dancing!

The new floor & toilet in the larger bathroom.
I still need to paint.

The view of the small bathroom from the door.

The new vanity in the small bathroom.

A closer look at the new shower in the small bathroom.

The kitchen wall that has been colonial blue from the chair rail down 
is becoming all white. It needs at least one more coat, probably 2.

I've been busy

I have not had the time nor energy (physical as well as mental) to create too much these past several weeks. We had our contractor install new flooring at the store, which required all the stock and fixtures in that particular area to be moved elsewhere, and then back again.  We did have help from some friends with the moving and we are VERY grateful for that. 

We had the LVP installed right over the tongue & groove flooring Dad installed nearly 36 years ago, so the squeaks that existed are still there!

One weekend they did one half of the sales floor, and the next weekend the other half. We had them work weekends so we didn't have to close the store to have it done. Another weekend we had to move a fair amount of stock and fixtures so they could do some repairs to the walls that were hidden by built-in cupboards Dad had made. We had the cupboards removed so the flooring could extend all the way to the outer walls. 

Now we are in the process of getting some new fixtures to replace those built-ins that had to be destroyed in order to move them. Dad sure built them solid! It is a work in progress that may take another month or so to get to where we want it to be. 

As far as the house goes... we are going to have the bathrooms updated before listing it again. I am waiting on the Line Equity to come through so I can pay for the work to be done. 

I have some gnomes and angels in progress, but not too many yet. Hopefully more this weekend.

 

Hello Little Sister!

 I got your email through the blog, but had no way to contact you.

You can reach me at HigginsDesignStudio @ gmail.com.