Thanking Mother Nature for another beautiful surprise on TEXTURE TUESDAY. Who knew that cactus like these could grow naturally in Chicago? I didn’t think they would survive our harsh winters… but I found these growing around Montrose Harbor!

Tis’ the season for beautiful lilies apparently… so many different colors blooming all over the neighborhood! Like these vibrant pink ones just down the street.

Just painting some details on the flower pots with some accents of colored flashing slips. They may look white & beige now… but hopefully after the soda-firing they will “magically” change to bright oranges & yellows with some cool randomness due to the soda-firing atmosphere!

A quick trio for MUGSHOT MONDAY…
stamped, soda-fired and just hanging out on my back porch before the rain! With a quick reminder that there are always mugs & other pots available on my blog.

If you want to “class-up” your morning coffee… click here!

Classic red Asiatic lilies blooming in my front yard.
Simply saturated color.

Adding a few stamps, textures & patterns to my latest batch of flower pots. Handmade stamps for handmade pots… pressed in one, by one, by one…

The coleus plants on my front porch are all growing so well… so I just chopped them all down!!! Okay, so maybe “pruned” them is a better phrase… but here are the cuttings that I’m going to try rooting. My Peoria gardening friends to it all the time… so I figure if I can even get half of them to root I’m doing good!

A new favorite in the neighborhood! I noticed these striking asiatic lilies about a block or two from my place as I was pedaling home this morning! Pretty striking with their mix of colors & crazy patterns!

Plants on trees… now made possible with a trio of ceramic wall pockets made with drainage holes! A sweet little collection enjoying the morning sun. Thanks for sharing Kimberley Sue!!!

Another weekly installment from Cirque du Soleil… this time featuring the acrobatics of fan-favorite shows like LA NOUBA, VAREKAI & QUIDAM. When they came to Chicago with VAREKAI, I actually got to work with them so this episode has some special memories for me!

Click here to watch the video on Facebook.

And if you want even more VAREKAI… be sure to check out “The Fire Within” – a great documentary about the show from casting through rehearsals up to Opening Night. An amazing insight into how these shows are created & come together! Pure magic!