Hard to believe we’re just over a month away from Christmas!!!
How did THAT happen??? So now it doesn’t feel so weird making ornaments, huh?

So here’s another batch of holiday ornaments made by me & four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory has knocked it out of the park again this month!!! How cute are these little Elf Shoes?!!! Friggin’ adorable… that’s how cute! And you can bet they’re going to be even cooler after they are painted & glazed!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
Sarah’s gone with a twist this month! A lovely pierced spiral ornament in shiny brass.

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta has stuck to her roots this month by making these flowering pod shapes that she’s known for. This time they’re a bit smaller than normal to make wonderful carved ornaments.

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
After a rough month in September, Amy returned to The Challenge with a vengeance. Simple, yet elegant. Beautiful sterling rings that will shimmer and shine on any holiday tree.

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
My October ornament is pretty simple this month. I’ve been SO busy getting everything ready for my latest soda kiln. Not to mention raining & doing my first IRONMAN. Regardless… I made a lot of these textured heart ornaments to add to my “bargain box” of ornaments. They’re all textured, slip painted and ready for the soda kiln to work its magic!

So there they are… October ornaments from My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out everyone’s websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

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Love this new soda-fired mug that just came out of my soda kiln. It’s a more subtle blush of color on porcelain. Not my usual preference, I usually like them “soda-blasted” a little bit more. But this one’s a sweety… the subtlety of the flashing and satiny-surface might be winning me over? Perfect for another Mugshot Monday!!!

So there was a gaping hole in the top layer of my bisque kiln…
I knew that I had to make something quick!

I “threw together” a couple tall slab vases… measured just to fit when the kiln lid closes. I finished assembling them JUST in time to teach my Tuesday night class. I put them on plastic grid and a banding wheel so I could rotate them in front of a fan to dry them quickly. During class, I skipped out (unnoticed) and ran upstairs to add some colored slip details and keep them spinning.

When class was finally over… they had to go into the kiln regardless of where they were at. I had to fill the space, but couldn’t wait any longer to get the kiln started. So they went in a little damp… with a bit of a pre-heat on the kiln… and fingers crossed.

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I’m kinda excited about this latest batch of lidded jars. I went a little larger this time… racing to get things made for next Saturday’s soda kiln. Even more importantly, in time for the Holiday Home Show which is coming up all too quickly. Always the weekend before Thanksgiving… just three weeks away?!

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As if repetitive stamping weren’t obsessive-compulsive enough…
let’s just make it a bit more labor-intensive by painting the inside of every stamp
with some colored flashing slip!!!

This morning started early with a bunch of stamping. My goal is to get them all stamped, trimmed and handled today. I’m “rushing” to get everything in one last bisque so that they can make it into my soda kiln next Saturday!!! These porcelain cylinders were thrown yesterday… and stamped this morning!!! Yes, of course I am running a bit last minute… again.

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Making another batch of stamped discs that will be soda-fired and become ikebana vases. I have them drying “fast” on elevated plastic grids so they can get air circulation on both sides for less warpage.

Here’s why… When clay dries it shrinks. If the air dries one side faster than the other it can curl up on the “shrinking” side. Air flow on both sides encourages more even drying… so less warping. In theory anyways. Don’t quote me on that… unless it works for you too, and the by all means! Quote away!!!

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Sometimes a single white rose can be the perfect centerpiece in a nice ikebana vase.

Just a few more mugs headed off to my next bisque kiln.
Couple days away… plenty of time to dry. And maybe even make some more???

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It was a long & productive night… but I can handle it. And now all forty cylinders have become MUGS!!! They’re now under wraps over night. For tomorrow I’ll paint them with some colored flashing slip accents.

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