For those of us that don’t drink coffee or tea… sometimes a fun hybrid mug makes a beautiful vase for flowers! And even if you do drink hot beverages… you can still use a mug for flowers too!!! Just think of it as a vase with a handle!!!

One step closer with liner glazes… these Christmas Mugs will be making their “holiday debut” at my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW next weekend! Mark your calendar now… November 23rd & 24th at my condo in Chicago!

Doing some glaze inlay into the stamped impressions. Keeping the slip colors intact, but surrounding them with a dark glaze that will hopefully make the holiday stamps really POP out?!

So this week I added another mug to my already overflowing “Mug Collection.” This handcarved & soda-fired beauty by my friend & pottery student Kristen. She may have started as a metalsmith years ago when we first met, but now we’ve won her over to the clay world!!! Such amazing design, details & craftsmanship.

If you think you might “need” to add some of Kristen’s pottery to your collection as well… she’s doing a Pop-Up Sale tomorrow at OMC : Our Mutual Coffee Co. in Chicago at 3600 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60618 from 7:00am-3:00pm. Be sure to stop by & say “Hi”… your coffee will definitely taste better in one of Kristen’s mugs!!!

Nothing says “Christmas” more than traditional colors on my new holiday mugs! So I’m busy painting colored slips on the top half, as well as accenting the stamped impressions to make them even more festive!!! MORE IS MORE!!!

Handles are finally attached… and my new holiday mugs are really coming together! The theme stamps worked well. Now I just need to add some colored slips… and then RUSH to get them all done in time for my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW on November 23rd & 24th! Giddy-up!

Pulled handles setting-up & stiffening-up just a bit. I want them to be firm enough to handle, not squishy, but still wet enough to alter the curves. By pulling them and looping them over in this way, I establish about 85% of the curve before even attaching! Makes it a lot easier later…

Another batch of mugs assembled… handles attached & drying in my studio!

Holiday mugs need holiday handles! So here we go…
getting ready to pull a bunch of handles the traditional old-school way.

My TRICK-OR-TREAT MUG SALE kicks-off tonight only on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page! Lots of mugs being posted at 7:30pm cst… ready for people to snatch ‘em up & toss them in their goodies bags! Rhetorical of course… I’ll be packing, boxing & shipping with care!!! Not tossing!!! So set your timer… we’re just about six hours away!!!

Click here – www.facebook.come/firewhenreadypottery