So much fun to spend time with one of “My Talented Friends” today… as metalsmith Sarah Chapman was part of a sculpture show this weekend in Evanston. I had the chance to swing by today to see Sarah with some of her newest work, sculptural pieces & beautiful jewelry. To see more of Sarah’s amazing metal work, click on www.chapmanmetals.com

At first glace this looks like an AMAZING chocolate cake with a ton of yummy frosting! Look a little closer and you’ll see that it’s sitting on a stamped & glazed platter by yours truly. Looks like Rosene might need a bigger platter? Thanks for sharing the photo of your cake… now if only she could share some of that cake too!!!

Looks like Rhonda has brought in some fresh basil from the garden… washed it off in a handmade berry bowl and getting ready to make something YUMMY!!!

Thanks for sharing your “freshly-cleaned produce” Rhonda!

Colorful coleus in a stamped & soda-fired vase. Love the splash of color contrasting with the stamped & soda-fired texture of the vase. Thanks for sharing your beauties Rosene!

Two more mugs “submitted” for the BIG MUG discussion… apparently people are LOVING their larger mugs these days. I guess they can say they “only had one cup of coffee”… even though it was practically the entire coffee pot!!! Thanks Pam & Pammy for sharing your mugs with us this morning!

Vibrant colors & yummy flavors. A beautiful summer salad… served in a vibrant blue bowl. With just a bit of stamping along the rim of the bowl to really make it POP!!! Thanks for sharing your colorful salad creation with us Kristy!

So I had a glazed ikebana disc that had a crack through it… so I “donated” it to some kids to use as target practice with their BB guns! We put a piece of paper in the center hole so we could see if they every got a bullseye. They may not be very accurate, but the are definitely persistent. They’ve apparently hit ALL around the bullseye… but have never hit the center yet. Keep shooting guys… Sullivan, Maxwell & Franklin… and maybe aim a little better?!!! HA!!!

Celebrating another MUGSHOT MONDAY with a collection of mugs that have become homes to an adorable little succulent garden. They’ve even been drilled through the bottoms for proper drainage! Such a great idea Rosene!

Last Sunday was the Fourth of July… and I went down to celebrate with my friends Kel & Kelly in Chenoa, Illinois… the middle of nowhere in Central Illinois. Since the parade & festivities didn’t start until the afternoon, I decided to bring my bike along for a beautiful ride along Old Route 66. It was a little hot, humid & breezy… but still a great ride through a little slice of American history!

This past week of Summer Camp I was upstairs on the third floor in one of the Painting Classrooms for sculpture camp. In the room there’s a large bookshelf full of props & pieces for them to build still-lifes for painting & drawing classes. It was fun to see one of Emily Murphy’s old soda-fired pots in the mix. Sure, it may have a small chip on the rim, but it still looks pretty darn good considering Emily left Lillstreet and moved to Minneapolis several years ago!!!