Pretty!

For the Birds!

I got a few birdhouses out of my last kiln load, and I posted one in my Etsy shop. Here is the listing:
Spring is coming, and it is time for birdhouses!
Unfortunately, this time of year in Illinois is still snowy and awful outside- not at all conducive to photographing birdhouses.
I wanted to make my new birdhouses look really great for the shop photos, so I went to a local craft shop to hire a bird model for some good indoor shots.
Of course I made sure to have her fill out an extensive questionnaire, but I just didn’t have the time to check all her references and she looked so sweet that I just brought her home and put her right to work.

Well, not right to work. It was almost five when I got home, I had to make dinner, then go to parent/teacher conferences, then my daughter and her girlfriend stopped by, then my granddaughter needed to be rocked for a while, and then the puppy had chewed up something that Grace needed for school and we had to remake it...So I guess it was more like 2 am before we got down to the photos.
But she didn’t seem to mind the late hours. Her feathers were bright, and her plastic eyes looked sweetly into the camera. Unfortunately her legs were all wrong. I checked, and well, she didn’t actually have legs. She had a wire in a plastic plug in her bum.
To be honest, I *had* noticed that before. But I don’t mind hiring the differently-abled. I believe that everyone has the right to opportunities,so I never mentioned it at all.

She could tell this wire thing was interfering with my photos, so she offered to let me scrunch it up out of the way. That worked ok, but It made her sit listing to one side. Finally she asked me to just remove it. She said she had been wanting to get it removed for ages, but what with medical costs being what they are, and having no insurance and all, she just hadn’t been able to. (Stories like this break my heart -Don’t get me started on the state of healthcare in the US!)

Anyway, she was willing, and I was able, so I did it. I just removed that wire in one big tug. It might have hurt her, but you would never have known it from herface. Not a peep, either. And she was so much more able to be positioned. You could just tell it was a relief.
So, we got back to the photo shoot, and things were going well when her boyfriend shows up.

There had been a two-for-one deal at the craft store, and I had let her bring her boyfriend along and totally forgotten about him. Well, now he comes rolling out of the bag, and you can just tell he is trouble.

For one thing, he has this real Goth look to him.

Now, you know some Goth kids are just Emo sweeties that you want to take home and feed cookies laced with with Paxil.
But not this guy. No, there was street-tough written all over him. His eyes had that look, you know? Not to mention the huge roach clip he was carrying around.

Yeah, seriously a ROACH CLIP, just out there for everyone to see.

And he and my little model must have been using it while I was in the bathroom too, because the next thing you know, she is falling over, hiding and giggling, and smelling things, and acting all odd...

Well, I finished up the shoot as quickly as I could.
I had to pay her. After all, I made her wait so long to get started, and even now it is about 3 am as I am writing this. And she had that wire up her... you know... for so long, maybe the stuff was medicinal. She looked like she could have been from California or somewhere. Who knows. I am just glad the two of them left without too much trouble. They just ate a whole box of cereal, and took off.
And I think I can use some of the photos.

The birdhouse is about 6 inches long and wide (15 cm). The opening in front is about 1.75 inches wide (4.5cm). There is an opening in back for ventilation, and cleaning it out if needed after the nesters are gone.. This type of bird bottle is good for wrens, swallows and other small birds that eat lots of bugs. You mount this kind of bird bottle on a nail in a protected, shady spot like on a tree or under the eaves of your barn or garage.

You can see the listing at my etsy shop. It is Here.

More Kiln Pics

The kiln was finally cool, so here is a preview of the pots inside, layer by layer:

My favorites are the patens with the melted glass, and the dragon bowl. Danny's tea bowls came out beautiful, and yes, there are more skulls.
Ugh.

Waiting for the kiln to cool...

My second glazed load in my new kiln is cooling, and still much too hot to unload. It is at 550 degrees.
But, I did pop open the top just long enough to snap this photo:So far, so good! Though, from a close up look at the photo, the bowl right in the middle has some glaze bubbles, so it is destined to be sent on to mosaic heaven, if the picture is correct.

Bummer.

But the others look pretty good!

Ooooh, I can't wait!

Chair Envy

I was firing the kiln late last night (my second glaze firing - yay!) and browsing Etsy, when I came across this amazing shop, called ChairyBlossoms.

They take distressed and forlorn chairs, and make them... well... FABULOUS!

I want them!

All!

Look at this one:

I can see this pair in my friend Sarz' apartment:

And this one would match my living room perfectly!

Anyhow, if you have fallen in chair- love, you can find these, and the others that I drooled over at ChairyBlossoms.etsy.com.
Oh, and get one for me, M'kay?

Decals part Two

The decals came out of the kiln.

There is good news, and bad news.

The good news is:

They worked!

The image came out quite clear, if a tiny bit bubbled.
The bad news is that the white glaze I used turned dull in the third firing, meaning it is unsuitable for decals.

Shoot.

Oh, well, I was wanting a warmer white anyway, not quite so stark of a white-white. I guess I will be adjusting my recipe, or searching for some new ones.

But the decal looks pretty good on this glaze, called Nutmeg:

Last Day To Vote!

Today is the last day to vote in the Etsy Mud Team's Platter Challenge:

Vote in it and you'll receive a coupon code for 20% off in dozens of etsy pottery shops, including mine. Here's the link: http://etsymudteam.craft-sense.com/Challenges/viewchallenge.asp?ChallengeID=43

I didn't make a platter, but lots of other team members did, and it is hard to pick a favorite.

Pick one, though, and get your discount, then go shopping!