Are we having fun yet??? 

We still don’t have power.  We lost it early friday morning at 2:30, and I don’t anticipate getting it back for another day or so.  The line workers have been busting their butts to get stuff up and running (17 hours on, 7 hours off, plus crews from New Brunswick, Michigan, and elsewhere), so I’m definitely not complaining.  Our generator powers up pretty much the whole house on very little gas (yay it’s 1.71 right now and not 4.50)–we just don’t run the washer or dryer.  Yes, I am running out of clothes.  Notice the ice buildup on the birdhouse.  About 1″.  And how about the view from our deck, overlooking the garage.  There is but one light burning on that mountain at night. 

It was so gorgeous when the sun came out on Friday.  And when I got up late at night to tend the generator, I didn’t even have to use a flashlight, since the full moon was so bright.  It looked like special effects, it was so gorgeous.  Anyway, here are some pictures.

But I did manage to get a present made the other day.  This necklace has carnelian beads, cultured pearls, and small metallic seed beads, besides the ceramic pendant.  The toggle clasp is copper. I’ve been holding onto those pearls for months, and I had an epiphany the other day as to what I wanted to do with them.  This is one of my victorian round pendants that I have available in my etsy shop, Winchell Clayworks. 

Keep your fingers crossed that we get power soon.  No power=no kiln.  I have a slew of stuff to fire for my shop and wanted to list for last minute shoppers, but I fear that I’ve now missed the boat.  So much for momentum.

got a chance to make some jewelry out of my own ceramic pieces.  These earrings are available in my etsy shop: http://dwinchelldesigns.etsy.com   I’m running a special on shipping now till Christmas:  Free domestic shipping on orders over $15.  

I created a chickadee ornament this weekend, and today it was finally dry enough to create the mold.  I had bought some silicone baking dishes at Mardens last week, and they work great for pouring my plaster molds.  Pops right out, nice round edges.  I think I better get some gloves for mixing the plaster, though, b/c I suspect that the next time I do it my hands are going to react to the plaster. 

Off to make some ornaments for the kids. 

Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right????

I’ve lost my rolling pin.  The one I use specifically for ceramics.  Now, it’s not little, so it couldn’t have gone far.  But, if I’ve been working and Isaac gets up from his nap, I usually hustle to put stuff away.  Hence, I have no idea where I put the bugger.

My mother and I like to say that looking for stuff is a hobby for us, because the alternative (that we’re disorganized and clutter-bugs) is less pleasant.  So I’ve been actively working on my hobby for a couple of days now.  Ugh.

The picture above is of an order that was just shipped out yesterday.  My customer requested a number of small ceramic pieces to create adjustable rings, but don’t you think they’d work for glue-on earring backs? 

I’ve been busy listing a number of different pendants in my etsy shop.  I’m also hustling to get a bunch of horse-themed ornaments and pendants ready for an open house that will be hosted by Burgundy Hill Farm Morgan Horses this coming Saturday.

I put in a request for a small test kiln for Christmas, so hopefully it won’t take me two months to fill a kiln anymore.  I also just got some smaller high-temp wire which will fit into the small holes that I prefer on the pendants.  That should make life easier–before I was having to make s hooks out of a small gauge wire, then I had to hand them on a rod, making sure they didn’t touch anything.  Now I’ve got lots of wire, I can just load the wire as I work (maybe that will keep me from firing half-glazed pieces, as well–again, I’ve become stupid….)

 This is a sampling of the glaze colors I have available.  I’m pretty sure the list isn’t complete, but I need to set aside some time to do new samples.  These samples are on top of a white tile.  I had a particularly hard time getting the colors right on the pale blues and greens, so just be aware….

     These are the underglaze samples.  They can be coated with either a coat of clear glaze, or I can coat them with a colored glaze.  Again, I know I have more, I just have to get everything together in one place.

 I’ll be posting some samples of my texture sheets and cutter shapes within the next day. I made some new molds today that I’m itching to try out, so maybe I’ll have some new pendants, as well

I’ve been hemming and hawing over whether or not I should sell seconds in my etsy shop.  I sat down last night and looked over them–most of them are quite nice, other than some slight warping.  I finally decided that as long as I fully disclose what’s wrong with them, I can move them at a discount.  It seems like such a shame that they should linger in my bin. 

I was hoping to get some photos today, but the sun was only out for about 5 minutes this morning (and the afternoon doesn’t look promising).  I guess I’ll have to get the lights out–bugger! It’s so much easier going on the deck and setting the stuff down.  The cost of living in New England.

Off to go work on a wholesale order.  My new shop is getting more exposure than my first shop, and I love making the components.  I can’t wait to see what people do with them…

Stay tuned for the December issue of Bead Trends magazine.  I created a pair of earrings featuring sterling silver, pearls, and garnets, and the editorial team chose to use it as a December project.  I hadn’t heard that they have switched over to a monthly format, so I was amping when I received my issue of Trends last week.  Alas, I was a month early.  Well, just gives me something to look forward to, I guess.   I can’t add a picture until the magazine is published, but these earrings would be perfect for holiday parties.

I’ve also had 5 sales this week between my two Etsy shops, plus a wholesale request.  I’m trying to make an effort to boost my exposure on there, which hasn’t been easy, timewise.  Monkey man keeps me running from the time he pops up in the morning till he crashes at night.  Kudos to anyone who has more than one small child and can still get anything done!  I don’t know what I’d do without “Nan + Boppa” (my parents), and hubby, who distracts Isaac long enough for me to work for 10 minutes at a stretch.

The kiln gods were kind this time, rather than farting in my general direction (yeah, I know, my father knows about his elderberry stink).  I’ll be able to sell most of these.  Unfortunately, I had some issues with an orange glaze I was using , so some of my fall theme beads are lost.  I love the way glazes can pool, but I’m thinking I might just stick to underglaze colors with a clear glaze.  I have to glaze some large containers by the end of the week, so any beads that needed an extra coat of glaze can go back in. 

I have some buttons in the works, too.  I know of a few knitters who would love some handmade buttons, so I’m going to give it a whirl.

I’ll be getting photos in the next few days, so look for new pendants in my other etsy shop, WinchellClayWorks.

    I picked these glass beads up at Beadin Path this past summer, and finally got around to making something with them.   Better late than never…

 I’ve been loving the simplicity of single pearls lately. These monster pearls, however, deserve something more than a simple cable chain.  It looks regal, doesn’t it?

 Boy is it Crappy out.  With a capital C.  It was raining so hard at one point that I could actually capture it on camera.  Actually, the past week has been kind of dismal.  I was heading home last week and had to pull into a parking lot because the rain and wind were so heavy that I couldn’t see.  I was also a little freaked out, since I’ve never seen the sky turn green.  Apparently that’s what happens if a tornado or microburst is coming.  Right after I pulled over there was 1/2-1″ hail pelting the van.  Isaac was unhappy; so was Mama. 

Today I’ve been working on taking better pictures of some of my pieces.   My goal is to get some sort of consistency in my shops.  I read an article last week on jewelry photography (I’ll post the link if I remember it…) advised adjusting the exposure on the camera.  Duh.  Now I’ve had plenty of experience with my manual Pentax film camera, so you think I would have figured that out.   I also try to put a corner of a white index card in all my pix, so I can later adjust the color cast in Photoshop Elements.  I’m getting there…

 I did manage to finish some pretty lucite earrings today.  Here’s a little tip for working with headpins: When you get to the end of the wrap, and your poor fingers just don’t want to push the wire down, use the outer portion of your crimping pliers to create a nice, round finish.       Just trying to push that 1/4″ down seems to send my hands into spasms.  (ah, I hear the umpteenth weather advisory of the day screeching in the next room).