Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Happy Holidays!

I don't have much to say, I have been very busy (like most of you) with this holiday season. I have been busy with custom orders, regular orders, and pickups. I like it, but it made me a nervous wreck. I also had five knit gifts I wanted to get done. I have only completed one. It was a cowl neck that was opened early so that my sister can keep warm during her visit in Germany while visiting our other sister for the holidays. She loved it! Two others are still being worked! My mother's infinity scarf is about half way done and only one of my sisters sock is (almost) done! I need to get to work! The other two I had planned...I gave up. I bought those people gifts. Here are a few things I have sold over the holidays. Some I had for so long or really liked, I was sad to see them go. Here I have listed all my custom orders.






All of these are the custom orders. The first ones listed are a custom order for a friend in Germany and the last ones (the set of four cups) are for my sister and her husband as a Christmas gift. The cobalt blue ones were purchased for a friend in Indianapolis, and the white vase is for a family friend. If you would like to see others that have left my shop this Christmas season, check out my sold items in my Etsy shop www.lizetpotterystudio.etsy.com

Here are a few things that I have recently listed. I was very excited to use those crackle and crystal glazes I ordered, but they didn't come out as expected.The crackle ones are okay, but the crystal ones look like barf.







A close up of the sea green crackle glaze.




This last lidded pot was featured on Etsy's front page! I was very excited about that. You may remember these pots from previous posts where I have pictured them as bisque or greenware. It will be a while before I get any new greenware or finished pieces up.  Have very Happy Holidays!!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Little Gift Guide in Technicolor!

I decided to do a little gift guide here with all things bright and all things under $20! Think I can do it? I think so. Also everything will be from Etsy and handmade. This way, you won't break the bank and you will supporting artists who devout their time to making quality pieces. Oh, and of course they are all bright colored pieces hence the Technicolor title. I will have all the links below the photo.


Estilo Jackie has glass beaded bracelets with gold and silver accents. They look so pretty stacked together. This look packs a lot of posh without breaking the bank. Love them!
Beaded bracelets $12-$15




www.estilojackie.etsy.com
This Goodie Goodie Gum Drops shea butter soap set is so cute and looks tasty! They are only $6!! The store is loaded with very affordable lip balms, lotions, and bath time goodies at very affordable prices.



www.sostinkingsweet.etsy.com

































Designs by Sheng has all kinds of pretty cotton accessories. These were my two favorites. At $10.50 a piece these wallets are totally worth it. So pretty and bright! This store has different sizes and patterns of totes and handbags.

















www.designsbysheng.etsy.com













These shirts are great quirky gifts that look very comfy and have an array of pretty colors and designs.
These t-shirts are $17.00 and come in any size. I like the rooster. This store also carries pillows, tea towels, and reusable bags.













www.zenthreads.etsy.com
Kathprints has all kinds of designs and colors. This store carries journals, coin purses, cards, and prints. The note cards are $16 and the coin purse is $14.


www.kathprints.etsy.com


Lastly I wanted some pretty affordable art work for your home. This is a print entitled Sweet Dreams Owl and costs $17.  This store has plenty of prints of all kinds. The tree prints are also very nice.

www.zeppiprints.etsy.com





Friday, December 10, 2010

Christmas Orders and Such

Okay, so I was ready for the crazy wave of holiday shoppers in November, but they didn't come. They are here now! Crazy procrastinators, gotta love them, especially since I am one of them! So last minute I get orders. They came at just the right moment too! Thank God! If anymore come in, I don't think they will make it in the kiln on time. So here is what I have gotten from the kiln today after class. Oh yeah, and speaking of class...I have a child prodigy on the wheel! He's not really one of my students, he just came in one day (without a lesson mind you) and decided he wanted to throw! Now, he weasels his way out of his other classes to come to mine. He's very good. I can't wait to see what else he makes.


The two larger came out today, the smallest one is from a while back and has been in my shop a while. The medium size one is for a family friend and the tallest *MEGA SPOILER ALERT!!!!* is for my sister...sorry if you already saw this picture before you got it! They weren't supposed to go together, but now that I put them together, I feel horrible splitting them up! They look like they belong together. Looks like I will have to make more to complete the set. 

A co-worker of my sisters ordered some things (bye bye turquoise jewelry box and blue bud vase) and suggested I make small tea light candle holders. I thought sets would be best, so here are my first set. Thanks for the idea Melinda. They are each about three inches tall. and I used a single hole cutter to carefully make these shapes.



Not sure which color to make these little gems. Other than this and that, I have purchased some crackle glazes that will come out Monday along with a few more custom order pieces. I also have a new crystallized glaze, which I am very excited and curious to see come out. 


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Some Bisque and Finished Pieces

My new students are amazing! I think my next post will be about their pieces and their progress. I am very proud of them. They are still having problems centering, but they are getting better and learning to not be scared to take chances. I have gotten a few new pieces from the kiln. The day was snowy and drab, so the pictures of the finished pieces came out crappy. I got a hefty amount of bisqueware back, so I have a lot of glazing to do!





As you can see, I have been a little crazy about different kinds of bottlenecks and tapering fat bellies. I will always choose to do a fat round vase over a cylinder one. I also love skinny bottle necks.

Here are some of the larger pieces. The tallest is a custom Christmas gift. These studded vases take very long to finish, but they are so pretty. I will only glaze them white. I think white compliments the shadows and values of the vase.


Here is that custom candle holder I have been finished. This pot is in my "Journey of a Custom Order" where you can see it as bisqueware. I am happy with it, and I really hope my customer is too! I'm excited to see what she thinks. Below is a photo of that yellow mug I had showed before the glaze was fired.