Getting Christmassy!!

Well it is starting to feel very wintery here - black Friday has been and gone; Cyber Monday kicks off the Christmas shopping season in earnest and pretty soon everyone will be tucking into Turkey and pulling crackers!
So to celebrate the start of the season we're giving away a free ornament with every order placed by Monday night. And here are some of the Christmas tree ornaments I've been making this year:

Which ones are your faves?

Back from holiday...

to a very sweet note from a very sweet lady who used a custom bowl made by me to hold her wedding rings.
Check it out on the photographer's blog here.
Right - back to work!!

Wedding season continues...

A big thank you to Christine Olson Photography for sharing these fabulous photos that Christine took, using one of my heart shaped lace bowls as a prop.




For any of you who are planning a wedding, Christine is based in Utah, and you can contact her through her website. Some of the pictures there are absolutely beautiful, and I'd definitely recommend having a look around. It is a treat to see the bowl being used in such a lovely way - thank you Christine!

I can't believe how busy it has been!

The Christmas rush is slowing a little now, as most of my customers are in the US. I had a little help today from a Japanese work experience student Kozue, and finally feel like I am getting up to date... She was great, really lovely, extremely helpful, and an extra pair of hands was appreciated! She helped out with some gift wrapping and sorted out some of my stationary so that I now feel free to actually make something- I haven't touched any clay in weeks!! It has been non stop admin and parcel wrapping round here, and it has been great, but there is some creative frustration bubbling away under the surface... watch out for some new pieces early in the new year...
I have a happy story today! - someone showed me a photo at theknot.com which is of two of my bird bowls which were used as ring bowls at a wedding - here it is...

It is such a huge compliment when someone uses my work for such an important function, and is a rare treat to see them in use. Thanks also to the lovely Ai Ling Liaw of Ling Photography, St. Paul, MN who was their wedding photographer. I was really touched. I have had a bit of a run of this lately - here is an image of a ring bowl I made for a very lovely lady's wedding recently. So recently in fact, that it is on a plane on its way to Australia as I write...


I used a silhouette that they provided of themselves, and recessed it into the clay. A slight toasting can sometimes occur in the kiln around the glaze, and on this one I think it gives a fitting, warm glow around the bride and groom. I felt that it added to the piece, and I hope they will agree. Ring bowls are definitely something I am considering doing more of in the new year! It was lovely to work with them and create a piece that they had some input into.

So with things calming down here a little, I am hoping that I might just get a little Christmas shopping done by the end of the week :)

Wehehey!

These Christmas decorations from my etsy shop are currently being featured in the etsy holiday ornament voter!
If you have the time, please go over and vote here!

Christmas decorations

Here are a few images of my new Christmas decorations. This year I thought butterfly snowflakes might be nice, as well as some simple, classic lacy hearts...





So far the butterflies have completely sold out, and are now available and made to order with a slightly longer dispatch time. I like the simplicity of the unglazed creamy clay. It shows the texture of the lace off in greater detail, and can be emphasized with a classic red or gold thread for contrast. Both of these could even be used at weddings, and the thread changed to compliment the individual colour theme. I like to tie them to gifts instead of a bow too!

Free gifts...

are always nice. Especially when they are a surprise! I love it when you get a little more than you were expecting when you order something online, and that is why I often put some little ceramic heart decorations in with orders, sometimes like these ones...


and sometimes little lacy ones. I know that often people buy my ceramics as gifts, and they are a sweet way to decorate a present. Also, it means that the giver of the gift gets a little gift for themselves if they choose not to use them on the present. I have some lacy ones that I hang from deciduous plants in the garden to add a little colour and cheer things up through winter. But I digress...
I was recently approached by British ex-pat Beeb at contest corner and I am running a special promotion with readers of her blog. She offers special giveaways for her readers, and her readers will receive mystery free gifts wth their orders from princedesignuk during May, as she is having a British Invasion celebration month... So, inspired by that, I thought I would experiment with some British-themed little ceramics...
I recently bought a little union jack key ring as a gift for a friend, and I began to think that I could perhaps make some out of ceramic as a free gift to send out with the British Invasion orders, and indeed with other orders from time to time.... PDUK key rings.... I like the idea! The main drawback is that I ordered the metal parts I need for this online, and sadly their shipping seems a little unreliable; I am impatiently awaiting their arrival... However, here are the ceramic parts... what do you think? I have messed around with the colour scheme somewhat, but I think I prefer the pink and cream to red white blue! I think it would be fair to say that I have feminized our flag a little. As always, comments welcome! And it seems a little unfair that readers of contest corner should get a little gift, whereas readers of my blog might not... So if you say you read my blog in the message to seller when placing an order this May, I'll make sure there's a surprise gift in for you too :)

Valentines day...

is nearly here! Apart from bracing myself for the usual sackful of cards that my poor postman will nearly break his back delivering, I've been busy sending out love-related items from my shop. Love is in the air!

Favourites this week have been these little lovebird pairs....


and these little sets of Valentine decorations...


How sweet!

Now those of you who know someone who always seems to take people under their wing, the motherly type, the one person who could never turn away a little soul who came their way might be able to relate to this week's new addition...
The mother hen mini plate. This mother's got a lot on her plate! Sadly it doesn't look like Daddy hen's around to help, but I think she'll cope just fine.

Eat your heart out...

I've made improvements to my Eat your heart out plates, with a new, slightly larger stamp for the hearts, and a gorgeous glossy glaze for over the top. This one is a more generous size than the previous ones. At seven inches diameter, I think it's a better size for a larger dessert or a sandwich. Having said that, the smaller ones were very cute, so I think I'll make some more of those as well soon.



I've also changed the stamp to the larger one in the full of love bowls and the big love bowls. What do you think?

Stamps...

are ace! I love my little stamps so much! I make them out of clay. I've used the one I used for this bowl quite a lot now, so I was very sorry when I chipped it yesterday... Perhaps it's a good thing. I've made a four matching bowls now, and a couple of shallower bowls/side plates using this imprint, so I can now honestly say that they are part of a limited number produced...

Time for some cuteness!

The first of my new range of little bird bowls have come out and are gorgeous! Not very modest I know, but there you go, I love them!
The first one to be uploaded to my shop is this one, Little love bird. It's a little tiny one, so I would use this to keep rings in or use it for a tea light candle. It has little hearts stamped into the surface to create little wings which have been filled with my favourite glossy pinky red glaze.
As ever, feel free to share your opinion!

I heart knowing where my keys are...

My new pieces as featured in last week's sneak preview are now ready, glazed and for sale in my Etsy shop!
Heart hooks, perfect for keeping small keyrings, necklaces and other hangable items safe in the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom or hallway...
I made these from a white heavily grogged clay very similar to T material and fired them to high temperature, so they will be strong.
I'm really excited about these! Very cute. I enjoyed making them so much that I'm working on more already...
As ever, comments welcome!