The second large bowl from yesterday’s demo had a flared-out rim just screaming for some decoration. “HEY, DECORATE ME!!!”

So here’s the bowl after some stamping…
and a glimpse at the stamp that did all of the work!

One of the bowls from yesterday’s class demo was a basic round bowl desperately in need of some decorating. Today I stamped the exterior of the bowl, leaving fingerprint indentations on the inside. Sure, I could have stopped there… but instead continued with a small stamp for added details inside & out, and a little extra fluting along the rim!

My large bowls from yesterday’s class demo are now stamped… shocking, right?! I always tell my students that the wheel makes the bowls round, but it’s up to them to make the bowls SPECIAL! I choose to stamp textures & patterns… but I encourage my students to follow their own path and to decorate their bowls to make them their own creations!!!

Looks like my pal Allison is starting her day of right…
with a bit of morning steam from her “wake-up call” in one of my mugs! Thanks for sharing your morning with us on Instagram @apmolloy !

Dull dreary & cold Winter days are so much easier to cope with when you go down into my friend Rosene’s basement to find her coleus garden growing in full force! What better way to feed her own gardening addiction than to take cuttings at the end of Summer… and then root them & nurse them through the Winter! So many wonderful colors & textures on these gorgeous coleus plants! Perfect for a natural TEXTURE TUESDAY!!!

Too bad this little slice o Heaven is way down by Peoria!!!

Apparently Allison & Terry have become just a little “addicted” in their quest to find more of my ceramic fortune cookies at Illinois Beach State Park. Their first adventure was Saturday, and they went back again yesterday to continue their scavenger hunt!!! I love seeing their adventures… and hope that others are having fun finding more of them!!! There were 21 hidden to kick-off the New Year…

21 fortune cookies for Good Fortune in 2021 !!!

Out with the old. In with the new… I hope!!!

2020 has been so dismal for many of us!
So much has changed in the world, and very little of it for the better.
But I’m bound & determined to kick-off 2021 with high hopes,
great expectations and good fortune for all.

And I figured the best way to invite good fortune… is to share good fortune!
So I did.

Fortune “cookies” that is!
Oh wait, and do I even need to mention that they rattle too?!!!

While I hiked at Illinois Beach State Park last Monday, it was fun to put out some good vibes, share some positivity and spread good “fortune” for everyone! I kinda liked the idea of leaving them there as I “found” Illinois Beach State Park during one of my “quarantine” hiking adventures… which I might never have done if 2020 didn’t shut the world down!

You know how much fun it is to find things randomly out in nature. Or how much fun Geocaching is… if you haven’t tried, you should! So, while I was hiking last Monday, I “hid” twenty-one handmade fortune cookies out there somewhere so people can find them, get excited and bring a little more “fortune” into 2021. Get it?… 21 cookies for 2021.

I’m sure some of them will be found quickly. Some might take longer. While others might just be swept out into the lake and “reclaimed” into the wild. I love finding beach glass… imagine finding “beach fortune cookies”!!!

So here they are…
twenty-one fortune cookies and some “hints” as to where they are hidden along the lakefront at Illinois Beach State Park!

Fortune Cookie #1 ————–

Fortune Cookie #2 ————–

Fortune Cookie #3 ————–

Fortune Cookie #4 ————–

Fortune Cookie #5 ————–

Fortune Cookie #6 ————–

Fortune Cookie #7 ————–

Fortune Cookie #8 ————–

Fortune Cookie #9 ————–

Fortune Cookie #10 ————–

Fortune Cookie #11 ————–

Fortune Cookie #12 ————–

Fortune Cookie #13 ————–

Fortune Cookie #14 ————–

Fortune Cookie #15 ————–

Fortune Cookie #16 ————–

Fortune Cookie #17 ————–

Fortune Cookie #18 ————–

Fortune Cookie #19 ————–

Fortune Cookie #20 ————–

Fortune Cookie #21 ————–

Playing with pie crust… and upping my game this time.
I’m trying a new recipe for homemade pie crust!!!
A little more work, but hoping it’s all worthwhile!

I had to “borrow” two rolling pins from my studio yesterday… one smooth to roll it out, and a groovy textured one from Stodola Rolling Pins to make it a bit more fun!!!

Don’t you love when the sun shines in your window and it hits just right?.. making the coolest shadows & patterns. I just wish that sun would have stayed around a bit longer… welcome back to a Wintery day & a Wintery GRAY!!!

Don’t forget that today is Day Eleven of my TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS POTTERY SALE… featuring square vases! You still have time to do a little shopping for these fun, two-sided vase with a different “picture” on each side. Click here for the “official” Facebook Photo Album to shop from!