It’s the last month of the year… and here’s my last holiday ornament!!!
Searching for a little holiday inspiration, I pulled a little inspiration from my own front porch! If any of you drive by my condo, you might look up and see my holiday proclamation in lights… plus some twinkling “snow” flickering about. Keeping it short and to the point.

So why not make them in clay too?!!!… and I did.

Sure I could have just let them slump & dry… but instead I propped up the “H” on bamboo skewers to account for the thickness of the “O” to keep them level & flat.

I saw Sarah here in Chicago this weekend as I was helping her at the “One Of A Kind Show.” And she said that she would most definitely have a December entry in the Monthly Challenge. So when I get it from her, I will definitely post it here on the blog too. Fingers crossed for one last ornament from Sarah…

The “online” mugs & ornaments are ready to be shipped out.
My first online sale seems to have been a pretty big success, huh?!
It’s kind of exciting to have pieces going out all around the country… places like Kansas, Utah, Maryland, Louisiana, Iowa, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Alabama, Virginia… and of course, Illinois.

Just for the record… I’m still not a fan of shipping my one-of-a-kind pottery. I much prefer the face-to-face interaction with my customers who can touch, fondle, caress and love my textures & pots. But I feel a little guilty about not offering a few pots for the rest of you NOT in the Chicagoland area. So this “online sale” was a special event, not a regular occurrence. Yet with the success of this “online sale”… I’m sure there will be more! I’ll keep you posted.

Tonight I stopped in at the Ceramics Showcase in Evanston. So much fun hanging with a few of “My Talented Friends.” Cory McCrory, Roberta Polfus, Delores Fortuna, Amy Higgason & Mary Dye, Glad I got there when I did, as Delores was running really late and I got to “save the day” by helping her unload & get her space set-up! If you’re looking for some nice pottery this weekend, be sure to stop by Evanston and say “hi” to my friends!

Here’s a quick peek at what I came home with from the Evanston Ceramic Showcase…
wonderful goodies from my friends Cory Mccrory & Delores Fortuna.
I love having Talented Friends!!!

A wonderful tufted & textured goblet by Cory McCrory…

A whimsical, dotted mug by Cory McCrory…

A little party blackbird ornament by Cory McCrory…

And a beautiful dinner plate by Delores Fortuna.
It was actually a “thank you gift” from Delores for helping her out this evening. As she said, it was one of the worst days ever for her… lots of problems, conflicts & personal crises… capped off with a flat tire as she was driving in from Galena.

So there she was, arriving in Evanston “after” the show had already started! Luckily I was there – ready & willing to help. Trying to quickly get her shelving & pots into the room so she could get set up. It wasn’t until I was taking a couple extra plank shelves back out to her van that I ran into a little trouble.. err, well ran into a shelf… literally!!! The plank shelf that I was carrying out was apparently longer “taller” than the door frame I was trying to go through. The plank hit the door frame and stopped… unfortunately, I didn’t stop. Wham!!! I walked right into the plank. Ouch. But I was still trying to get Delores all set up, so I didn’t really think too much about it until I felt a little bit of swelling. It wasn’t until I got home and looked in the mirror that I noticed I might be getting a little shiner!!! Yep… took one for the team!!!

But I digress, back to pottery…
My new Delores plate is a great “partner” to this other Delores Fortuna plate
that I’ve loved using for years! Whoo-hoo… now I have TWO!!!

Tis’ the season… with a lot of mugs & ornaments to pack up today!!!

Looks like ALL of the mugs have been claimed…
and we’re down to the last six ornaments!!!
They’re still looking for a good tree to hang on… yours???

Thank you all for making my first “Happy December Online Sale” a huge success!!!
In fact, this was my very first online sale EVER! I may need to consider doing more of this?
Which means I may need to “get over” my dislike of packing & shipping pottery?!

Whoo-hoo!!!
Half of the mugs were “claimed” in the first ten minutes!!!
Still a few more mugs & ornaments looking for good homes!
Click here to get to my Facebook page to check it out quickly!!!

Happy December Online Sale!!!
To “claim” any of the mugs or holiday ornaments, you need to go to my pottery Facebook page and comment on the piece you want to “claim” it. Click here to get there quickly!!!

So here’s the “shopping list” of pieces that I’m offering up for my one-time
“Happy December Online Sale.”

DO NOT use this list to try and purchase any of these mugs or ornaments.
At 7:00pm Central time tonight, I will post the same pieces on my Facebook page.

We’re doing a first come, first served, old-school style “sale.” Keeping it simple.
The first person to “claim” the piece by leaving a Facebook Comment on the photo gets it.
NOT a Comment on the entire photo album, but each individual piece.
NOT by a Comment on this blog post.

So use these photos as a “sneak peek”… to create your “Wish List”…
and then watch for the official launch of the Sale on my Facebook Page at 7:00pm tonight!!!

MUG #1 – cone 10 reduction glazed B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #2 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #3 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #4 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #5 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #6 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #7 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #8 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #9 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #10 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

MUG #11 – cone 10 reduction glazed B-Clay stoneware.

MUG #12 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

And now…

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #1 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #2 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #3 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #4 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #5 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #6 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #7 – cone 10 reduction glazed B-Clay stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #8 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #9 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #10 – cone 10 soda-fired B-Clay stoneware.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #11 – cone 10 soda-fired porcelain.

HOLIDAY ORNAMENT #12 – cone 10 soda-fired stoneware.

So here’s the plan for later today… we’re going old-school on this one.
I’m currently taking photos of the chosen pieces. I’m thinking 12 mugs and 12 wheelthrown ornaments. When I get the photos ready, I will post them all on my blog ahead of time so you can see what’s coming up. And then I’ll post the photos again here on Facebook at 7:00pm Central time. The Facebook photo album will be the “official” sale page. First come, first served… and we’ll go by the first to comment on each photo – NOT the entire photo album post. So you can scroll through, see if anyone beat you to it, and if not, tell me you want it. And then I’ll confirm and we can work out the details later! So get ready… and keep checking my blog for the preview photos. And then back here at 7:00pm Central time. Good luck!!!

We’re nearing the end of the year… and quickly approaching the Holiday Season!
And it’s hard to believe that Sarah Chapman and I have been doing our Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge for eleven months now. Only one more to go!!! Unfortunately, Sarah has been a little too busy making work for the coming weekend’s “One Of A Kind Show” here in Chicago. So we may need to give her a pass on the November ornament? And if you’d like to stop by and see here at “One Of A Kind Show”,
click here for a link to get your FREE PASSES!!!

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on my ornaments for November. They’ve been done for awhile… kinda waiting for Sarah’s entry before I posted. But today is the last day of November, so here goes…

This month’s entry is a layered terra cotta ornament.  A simple snowflake on a contemporary textured circle. Here we are in “production mode” making a full batch of ornaments.

When they were dry, I added a thin wash of black underglaze to add some dimension to the textures on the back circle.

Then I painted the snowflake disc with some low-fire white glaze. A single, low-fire electric firing and these ornaments should be done and waiting for a golden ribbon.

NOTE – – – – – – – – – –
So, some of you may have gotten a “sneak peek” at this month’s holiday ornament during my Holiday Home Show. And a few of them may already have them hanging on your tree. Just pretend that these are “new” for this post. Don’t ruin the illusion for the others.