something new everyday

so, yesterday i learned how to wallpaper a room. not too tough, especially since i had some help. many many thanks to sylvia and dana, who is a pro at it, and tall, so he doesn't even need a ladder.

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it looks much better, and though the wallpaper is not exactly what i would love to have in there, it is waaaay better than what was there to begin with. sorry i don't have a before pic, but here are a couple of after pics. i took 'em from my phone, so the quality is poor, but you get the idea. don't worry...the curtains are going!

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i am procrastinating right now. the movers are coming tomorrow and i have so much to do still...so i bid you farewell until i am settled in a bit...adios!

new house business...

so, if you're wondering where i've been this past month or so, i am finally back to tell you all that i have been busy wrapping my head around buying a house!!! yippee!!

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it is a cute litte 1100 square footer here in town, with a garage and a little yard for me to mow and grow things in, and for my dog chicken to poop in!

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it doesn't really need any work, except cosmetically, and that mainly consists of some old peely wallpaper and an icky rug that needed to go. all the other stuff, like the old cabinetry and countertops, can definitely wait for a while. i need to live in the place and figure out what i want for it before i start ripping it apart.

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above is a picture of my new floor, sans yukky mauve/brown carpet. i ripped it up to find that, luckily, there was this lovely wood floor just waiting to be discovered by me. it needs refinishing, but i'll do that at a later date. now that all the staples and tacks are gone, it looks like a real room!

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i will for sure be posting some more pictures very soon, i just have to remember to bring my camera to the house...the phone cam isn't bad, but it doesn't do the place justice.

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next mini project will be to paint that panelling. hopefully i'll get to it before i move in, which is scheduled for the 5th of june, but if not i'll just wing it.

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i love my new house!

indie fixxed

one of my favorite weekly blog reads, indie fixx, posted an image of my work last week! it was a wonderful surprise and i was happy to be featured with other makers of porcelain jewelry. have a look here. thanks jen!

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i have been madly firing away and lustering my new pendant designs to have pictures taken and get my various applications out to shows. i have been anxiously awaiting a shipment of clay, that unfortunately is taking its own sweet time. i am a bit frustrated, but can do nothing, so i wait. there is plenty of other stuff to do, though, so at least i'm not sitting on my bum eating bon-bons.

wait a minute...that sounds kind of nice right now...

new pendant. porcelain, glaze.

milestone!

i finally sold something on etsy.com!! this is a picture of the necklace. it is made of hand colored and formed porcelain beads with laser-etched sterling beads. i'm so excited to be sending it out to its new owner, and i only hope she enjoys wearing it as much as i enjoyed making it.

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on another note, i finally made my third mold, with the help of my trusty assistant cory. only minor issues arose and they did not hinder the outcome of the final product. what a relief. i really hate making molds as it can be such an intense process, but i am realizing that if i take it slow it will all work out.

also interesting is the newness of actually having someone there to help me out. i have always, or mostly, been just alone in the studio and am used to getting things done that way, but now that i have some help i am realizing how great it is, and wonder how i ever managed to make it through before! thanks, cory!

only one more mold to make in this series, but others are pending, so stay tuned...i'm sure there will be more drama around it to report on.

progress!

finally, some progress! here is an image of the small luminary....

yay!

so far i have two sizes, and have yet to make the third mold...i have been scarred by my last attempt, but will have to jump back in this week sometime.

i am happy with the way they are turning out, and should hopefully be making them all for real in the next couple of weeks...it feels good to finally see the results of all this plotting and planning and test-making.

on another, different, note i have been taking a business class through the women's small business program in burlington, and will be spending the next couple of days finalizing my business plan. even though i have been "in business" for a couple of years now, i still felt like i needed some help getting it all together, so i decided to take this class....it has been very intense and really made me take a good hard look at the way i have been operating (not so well, it turns out!) and helped me get back on track. i'd much rather spend the time in the studio, but alas, this needs to be done as well...

i am terrible at the business side of things. disorganized and flighty about keeping records of sales and inventory, not to mention supply purchasing etc., and as i go forward and entertain the possibility of wholesaling, it seems like a good time to get my act together. hopefully i'll be able to put all i've learned in to practice. wish me luck!

plaster disaster

i got plastered! while making my third luminary mold today, i got completly messy when my plaster started pouring out of the bottom, from underneath the slab that the mold was resting in, if that makes sense. everywhere. stop. must clean immediately. you can save nothing. it is now about damage control.

oh well, it happens. i cleaned up and thought originally that i might just get back on that horse, but i was exausted. definitely not ready for it to potentially happen again, although i think i know how to stop it now. nope. went home and took a shower, got in my pajamas and did some yoga. i was sore. then some friends called and i met them out for dinner and had a margarita and now i feel much better. not that i was all that bummed, but it took a lot out of me for some reason today.

i did manage to take a picture of my feet and floor all messy. i do like getting messy. wish i could have grabbed the camera while it was all happening...doesn't really look all that bad here...

i also am adding a picture of some of the luminaries i have been making...

and another.....

these are handbuilt from slabs and textured...the one here is slightly translucent and glows when lit. it was a mold for these babies that i attempted to make when the previously mentioned disaster occurred. not to fear, i'll be back and ready to tackle it on monday.

spring!

woo-hoo!