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.

Therapy!

The house listing went live Saturday morning (6/10/23). I had some free time on Sunday and I gave myself a small dose of clay therapy.

I only ended up making 6 gnomes, but it was so restorative to my peace of mind. I was house & dog-sitting over the weekend so I couldn't spend the whole day creating, but those few gnomes made a LOT of difference! Here is the listing for the house, in case you want to see it. (Hover over "house" and click there for the link.)

Moving on to the next holiday gnome...

2023 Limited Edition Easter Gnome

I have the prototype finished and started taking orders on Sunday. I take orders for 2 weeks and then make my decision on how many extras over the pre-orders I should make. Once I reach that pre-determined number, I stop making them, afterall, that is what Limited Edition means. 

With these, the hats will all be the same color purple, but the eggs patterns and colors will vary.

Mouse #1

The mouse was made for a special order. It is my first mouse, but I love how it turned out and I will make more!

Valentine flowers

Being single isn't always easy on Valentine's Day. Some friends invited me over for dinner and gave me the purple Daisy Mums. I added the Jonquils from the garden at home. 

2023 Limited Edition St. Pat's Gnomes ready for glazing

I have a total of 35 LE St. Pat's Gnomes to complete this year. I started glazing them yesterday and will hopefully finish before the weekend. My deadline is to be able to send the ones that need to go travelling to their new homes before the first of March. I am on schedule for that time frame.

My younger sister is coming to visit next week to help me finish sorting, cleaning, and packing up the house and getting it ready to sell. 

I found a house I would love to buy, but haven't heard back from the bank yet... many years with NO credit, I am having doubts that I can get a loan. This has my anxiety level quite elevated. I will most probably miss out on what I consider the perfect house for me, which will make me very sad. I haven't seen anything else that even closely fits my needs and budget (from the proceeds of Mom & Dad's house).

 

A Belated Merry Christmas!

Sending wishes to all of you for a wonderful remainder to 2019 and a happy and healthy 2020.

I had a wonderful Christmas at my sister's home, surrounded by family.

There's no place like home!

After just over two and a half months, we are back in our house!  We moved back in on the 6th & 7th of January.

The new roof looks and works wonderfully, as do the new gutters.  Dad's bedroom repairs make the room look like nothing happened.

No photos to share. 

Glad I wasn't home

Last evening my sister called me at the house where I was pet-sitting.  

She told me that my neighbor came to her house and told her that this big tree had fallen on my house, 

but neither Dad nor I were home at the time.  

Luckily, Dad could stay with a friend for the night and I stayed put where I was.

It put a hole through the ceiling in his bedroom.

They are removing the tree today and the insurance inspector will be by.  

A roofer will tarp it to keep out the rain from the storm we are expecting this afternoon.