West Elm Popup Shop!

While I am packing for the move, I'm also firing a bunch of things for the West Elm Pop up Shop this Saturday!
I'm not sure how much to bring, so I'm bringing as much as will fit in my car.
Yeah, it might be overkill.
 But what if twenty people decide they want to throw away all the mugs they own now and replace them with an eclectic mismatched set of twenty SecondChance mugs?
And a teapot?
It could happen, right?

I always tend to bring WAY too much merchandise to sales, and I always tell myself that next time I won't bring nearly as much, and each time I end up putting stuff in until the car is stuffed completely full.

But for this sale I am more looking forward to the people I will be meeting than the sales they might produce. I know some Etsy admin will be in the area, and I hope they will stop by and see the sale. The curator, Jessica Jones is another person I can't wait to meet. And of course I love to see other local Etsy sellers, and some of the best will be there on Saturday.

I can't wait!

Happy Solstice!

Wow! This holiday season has been crazy busy, especially in my Second Chance shop on Etsy, though AntB on Etsy was bustling too.  So, I'm sorry this post is so long overdue, but it was for a happy reason. 

Solstice means Giveaway!

I have a couple little things to giveaway. First I have two pairs of dipping dishes. These are small square bowls that would be perfect for holding vitamins so they don't roll away before you can take them, or for holding a couple tablespoons of wasabi. Put one by your sink to hold rings or earrings. So many uses! They also are just the right size to hold a regular tea light.  
With their sun and moon images, I thought they were perfect for the winter Solstice. 

There are two pairs of these, just the same. These are similar to the ones I sell in sets of three on Etsy. 
These little dishes are about 2.75 inches square (7 centimeters). They are porcelain and dishwasher and microwave safe, though so small that I doubt you would put them in the dishwasher or microwave. 

 Next, I'm also giving away a mug. The images are from antique sources, and the words are my favorite phrases from this post on Regretsy.com
Thank you to Helen Killer!

The mug holds 16 oz and is dishwasher and mirowave safe.  Inside it says "You have no privilege to utter falsehoods on the internet" and "Some people are wreck less fools".  A somewhat labor intensive design, but sooo much fun, especially if you are into Etsy drama.  (like me!)

 And finally I'm giving away something from AntB too. 



This little holder is great for ACEO's and ATC's as well as Polaroids and recipe cards. It also will hold about 10 business cards too, so if you do craft fairs, it might be useful. 

It is made from small slabs of white stoneware, and is glazed in blue and brown. You can put a photo in it and hide a little thing like a key behind it in the triangular space, if you want. 

To win any of these,  just leave a message in the comments. Say which one you would like to have a chance win. If you want to be in the running for any or all of them, just say so, and I will put you in for all of them. If you have won before, I DON'T CARE! Comment to win again.  :D

I will be picking winners on Monday (Christmas Eve). **Be sure to put a way to contact you in the comments!!**

Thanks! And HAPPY YULE!

Summer Sale At Second Chance Ceramics

I have my summer themed pottery on sale in my ShopDelighted store.
Mugs like this garden tools design are more than 25% off.







Or how about a fisherman's mug? Again, more than 25% off!
This would be a great time to get some of your early Holiday shopping out of the way!

And this sale is ONLY in the ShopDelighted store, not my Etsy shop, sorry!
Though, I have an coupon code for those shops that you can use anytime:
BLOGREADER
will get you 15% off anything in my Etsy shops.

Thanks!

Oh, look, this one is on sale too!

Farmer's Market

The summer is winding up, but the harvest season is in full swing. The farmer's markets where I sell, are brimming with great produce. My favorite market is in Beloit, Wisconsin on Saturday mornings. When I can, I get away from my booth and wander the three main aisles of the Y-shaped market. My booth is in the parking lot, or the tail of the Y.
In the other sections are produce vendors and crafts people from all over the stateline area. I wandered around this last Saturday, and admired the huge variety of great food and items for sale.
On the intersection of the Y, there is music each week. Last week a harpist played.

My booth is fairly close to the raised music platform, and I get to hear the selections really well. Since the set is so long, (9 am to 12 pm) most of the musicians have repeated some of their selections.
 For some reason nearly every musician has played Eleanor Rigby.  The only ones that didn't play it were a jazz quartet. Eleanor Rigby has  become an in-joke in our area, with groans and laughs each time it is played.

Apples are just starting, and so are pears. Zucchini are everywhere. Tomatoes are at their peak, and sweet corn is almost done. Watermelons and cantalope are just getting good, and last week I saw a few pumpkins. One vendor even had some delicata squash already! Many produce vendors are also selling their beets and other root crops now. like a second crop of carrots, and the slow growing turnips.

As the days get cooler, broccoli will appear in the market again, and in October there will be greens again, pumpkins and brussels sprouts.

The farmer's markets have been a great ending to each of my summer's weeks. They allow me to get out and see people, and buy the produce I can't grow. I just love them!

Octopus Teapot

I pulled this out of the kiln, and am so pleased with how it turned out that I thought I would share:
I used a plain white porcelain teapot, and added iron oxide decals that I made from a vintage image I found at  the Graphics Fairy.

First, I printed the image out onto waterslide paper using my old printer.
I reversed the image for one side so the same tentacles can wrap around each side.  It looks great from the front!


I soaked the decals to loosen the backing paper, and placed and smoothed the decals.

After I applied the decals, I fired it to 2050 degrees F. in my electric kiln.
Now the image is permanent, and the teapot (with its image) is dishwasher safe.

And of course, the mugs that match are in my SecondChanceCeramics shop on Etsy.

Happy Solstice Giveaway!

Happy Litha!

For this Solstice, I am giving away a soap dish from my latest kiln load, one made from folded clay slabs. Also, you could win a set of three witch hats. 

If you would like to win either of these, just leave a comment saying which you would like to win (or both if you want to be in the running for both of them!) along with how I can contact you (your etsy name, twitter, facebook, or something!).

Feel free to link to your shop or blog, if you have one.

Comments will be open until Midnight, June 24 (Sunday night). Then I will choose two comments at random on Monday to win them. Its that easy!

And while you are out and about, please check out my shop on Etsy, antb.etsy.com and SecondChanceCeramics on Etsy too. 

So, get to commenting, and HAPPY Solstice!

Amazeballs and CF4L!

This week, in my SecondChanceCeramics shop on Etsy, I was asked by April Winchell, the creator of the Regretsy blog to do a special order.

She liked it, and posted a photo of it on her Member's Only site.

(To get in, the password is cf4l )

Since then my shop traffic is through the roof in both AntB on Etsy and SecondChanceCeramics.

AND, I was offered to try out for a feature in a European magazine, and have been offered some features on other blogs.

WOW!

So a big shout out THANK YOU to April, aka Helen Killer, and to all the Fat Jealous Losers who have been stopping by my shops!

:)