Looks like Matthew has been busy in the kitchen making a beautiful batch of cinnamon rolls! They look amazing… especially on that green stamped plate! Thanks for the photo Matthew!

One question though… where’s the frosting???

Continuing our “game” theme… my Lillstreet Throwdown students continued by choosing a shape from the SQUID GAME logo… just a quick choice… unaware that they then would later be tasked with building a three-dimensional version! A tough challenge to make 6-inch tall piece in just 60 minutes… especially with some students having very limited handbuilding experience!

Turns out most of them chose the triangle… which meant a pyramid! Only three chose the square… which meant a cube. And no one chose the circle which would have meant a sphere! Some of them got a bit too wrapped-up in the geometry of a pyramid… HA!!!… but in the end, they all did great & had a fun time!!!

And maybe learned a little sumthin’-sumthin’ along the way?!

This week in my Lillstreet Throwdown class, I decided to kick it off with a rousing game of JENGA. With each person taking a turn to “make it taller, without making it flop.” Whoops Sara!!!

And then we followed that up with “Clay Jenga” on the wheel. With two people competing against each other… each doing one pull to make their “shared” thrown cylinder taller. Each person taking a turn to “make it taller, without making it flop.” It had to rise at least 1/4” per person, per turn… and not flop. The last one to do a successful pull won that round & moved on in our class brackets… until we had that one final winner!!!

My latest production round was a group of “rounds”… the top part of ikebana vases coming together. Stepping it up so that I’m ready when the Spring flowers start popping up… just some positive thinking… or, wishful thinking!!!

I love how one of my skinny vertical ClayQuilts fits perfectly in some of those hard-to-fill spaces… like between cabinets & door frames. Well it looks great… as Tracy finally got around to hanging up a Christmas gifts she purchased at my Holiday Home Show… last November! Just in time for another #TileTuesday!!!

Looks like my cousin Kim made her Mom’s special JELL-O recipe over the weekend… one we both grew up on & enjoyed for years. A “retro” concoction of lime JELL-O, pineapple, cream cheese, Cool-Whip & marshmallows! Looks especially yummy when served in some handmade pottery bowls. As we all know… homemade food always tastes better in handmade pottery!

Apparently there are still some fortune cookies to be found at Illinois Beach State Park…
if you’re willing to face the weather!

From Adam…
“Wow Gary, great hiding of the cookies this year! I spent 6 hours between the North and South Units yesterday on my bike and only found the one on the Poplar tree. Thanks for that, I knew I rarely saw that species there, so once I found the only grove of Poplars in the South Unit I was confident I’d find that one and did. Then last weekend Mom, the kids and I were out there with no luck until we finally tuned our senses & vision to that green moss/lichen and we found the one on the Willow Tree at the North Unit. I’m loving the ever-building excitement and attention your annual tradition is getting and the competition with other passionate hunters as a result! We will stick with our two for 2025, but always hoping to stumble upon one that remained unfound from a past year as well! Thanks as always for this annual thrill! Can’t wait for my birdhouse to be inhabited come Spring time! And if I do go for another fortune cookie hunt, I gotta locate that damned birds nest, it’s evading me so far and it’s killing me!”

Thanks Adam – glad you and the kids had a great time!!!
And now for that bird’s nest one…

Looks like a yummy baked polenta & mushrooms on one of my green stamped plates. A striking combo sent to me by my friend Kristen… kinda wish I had been invited to THAT party!!!

Looks like it was ice cream night for Allison & Michael. Apparently the waffle cone had a hole in the bottom and they needed an “instant” place to save it. Hybrid mug to the rescue!!!

Towards the end of this week’s Lillstreet Throwdown class, the students received their MASTER CHALLENGE. A long-term project for them to work on throughout the session. The goal is for all of them to bring their finished masterpieces to our final class for critique & judging. And you know I love a good theme.. . so each of them had the chance to choose which Fairy Tale they would base their final pieces on. But what are they making?… it was a surprise to them, so I think maybe I’ll keep it a surprise for you too!!! More to come… once upon a time…