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…

This week in my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, the students brought back their “finished” mug… from their first “perfect” prototype cylinder from the first challenge. Always fun to see where they have taken their vision with some trimming, refining & handles!. But then they were tasked with another challenge of throwing a saucer to go along with that mug… similar in design, finish & function. After just 45 minutes, they brought both pieces back to the table for critique & judging. Another fun challenge!

A bit more detail of my newest batch of mugs…
stamped, assembled, handled & now ready to dry…
and then off to a bisque kiln some time soon!

Handles attached… first batch of mugs for the NEW YEAR!!! You know they’re my all-time favorite thing to make. So there will definitely be a LOT more mugs to come!

Time to make some mugs… because I’m a firm believer that a mug without a handle is NOT a mug!!!