Crotched Baby Blanket for Ellie
Congratulations to my friends Hayley and Paul on the arrival of their gorgeous baby girl Ellie. Ellie was born 24th March 2012 and is growing up to be a cheeky little lady already!
Since August last year I had been crocheting my very first blanket ready for Ellie’s birth. My nan taught me how to crochet so it is a special technique to me and I’ll definitely be working on my crochet skills in the future. The blanket I made wasn’t the best and I probably used the most basic crochet techniques possible – I even ended up making some of it up as I went along! But as the blanket started to take shape I got the hang of it more and more…
Here she is snuggled up under her blanket! I was so pleased that my nan got to see her with it.
Isn’t she a cutie pie?! I love being Auntie Charlotte!
Production Line…
Not bad for a days work at the weekend, and on a Sunday too!
The rain had finally cleared up for a couple of days at the weekend here, so it was nice to have the workshop door open with honey bee’s buzzing in and out. I’m pleased with the progress of some new pieces, in particular the new shaped vases, so will look forward to firing those.
I’ve been having fun ordering some new glazes today, the names of some of the colours sound good enough to eat! Vanilla Bean Speckle, Pistachio Spice, Fudge Marble, Mocha Cream… Look out for new colours introduced to my work very soon!
Recycled Glass Bottle Garden Border
If you look closely at the border along the lawn in this picture, you should see lots of shiny circular objects all lined up in a row…
The circles are in fact empty wine bottles that have been pushed into the ground to create a recycled decorative and quirky garden border.
This is one of my Dad’s latest ideas and I took these photos in his garden last week when all we had was rain, rain and more rain.
The bottles look great in the sunshine with the light reflecting off the glass. Although it took a while for the bottles to build up, this is a fun and easy project to brighten up your garden this summer!
* SALE * ~ Reduced but still lovely!
Don’t miss out on a browse around the new Sale section of my shop, all items are now discontinued and greatly reduced in price but still very lovely! Grab yourself a bargain while availability is limited – there is only one of each item available.
Holiday to Alicante
I got back from Alicante in Spain on Sunday, and am missing the sunshine so much already! Thought I might have been able to bring some of the sun back home with me, but it didn’t seem to work. Apparently I missed out on a lot of rain! I had an amazing holiday which was just what I needed, it was a nice break to get away from everything, so I’m feeling all refreshed now.
And to make things even better, I’ll be jet setting again in July when I fly to Turkey for another holiday, so I’m looking forward to that now!
The weather in Alicante was lovely and warm with a great beach and a relaxing private pool. I enjoyed plenty of cocktails and took some inspiring photographs which will be used for some new pieces of work that I will be working on very soon.
I’ll leave you with my favourite selection of photos… If I close my eyes I can still imagine being there! Enjoy 
Fresh from the Kiln in April – Part 3
If you missed parts 1 & 2 of this ‘Fresh From the Kiln’ series, click on the numbers to be directed to each post.
Wow, another post full of fresh new work. I hope you like it!
I was particularly pleased with the surface decoration of this Natural Seashore Bowl above, oxides have been used to highlight the textures perfectly. This bowl is quite large, approx 30cm in length and it has a pooled area of my ‘signature’ melted glass in the centre which has added an element of depth.
This snapshot of vases is part of a new rustic collection. You will find similar shapes and designs available in the vases section on my website. My favourite is the tall vase at the back with navy pine leaves engraved onto the surface.
Back by popular demand, a brand new selection of collectable mini ceramic art landscapes (also known as ACEO’s), complete with mini wooden easel for display. I never make the same design twice, making each piece completely unique.
This new beast was fired beautifully, I love the tree bark texture trailing around the exterior of the planter. It has a bumpy surface, so this piece is very tactile. This ”Tree Trunk Planter‘, like many of my pieces, is suitable for use outdoors as well as in the home.
Is that the time? …time for tea and cake
I enjoyed playing around with impressing a sheet of lace into this navy clock above, it has created a lovely elegant pattern. Even now I still love experimenting and trying new things, it makes working more excitable! Dandelions seem to be cropping up on more and more pieces of my work, the latest being this Dandelion Clock.
And also a wavy dandelion dish! The edges of the bowl are wavy to give the impression of a flower head.
Hope you’ve enjoyed my tour of new pieces. Which has been your favourite? I would love to hear your comments
Fresh from the Kiln in April – Part 2
If you missed Part 1 of this months ‘Fresh From The Kiln’ series, you can view it here!
I’m enjoying sorting out the pots in the garden recently, I think that’s what has given me the inspiration to make more pieces suitable for outdoors. Especially now summer is fast approaching, it’s time to start making the garden look nice ready for barbecue’s on (hopefully) warmer days! This textured turquoise planter is suitable for the garden but would also look lovely displayed on a window-sill in the home.
One of my favourites – this blue lily pond flowers dish is a pretty little new addition to my collection.
I enjoy making these panelled hangings, they look great hung up in a hall way. This oak wall hanging is a new design and is limited addition – only one available!
Another one of my favourites, a set of new dandelion coasters.
And last but not least, sorry about the poor photography… I LOVE this new landscape clock. A combination of different glazes and textures have been used to create the fields and sky. All of my clocks come complete with the required battery so they are ready to hang up straight away.
Hope you’ve enjoyed part 2 of this months ‘Fresh from the Kiln‘ series, come back tomorrow for part 3!
Fresh From The Kiln in April – Part 1
A few weeks ago I was playing around with the idea of a new ceramic wall planter in sketch form. It’s a great feeling now that a finished design has been made! My brand new ceramic wall planters will look lovely in the garden for summer, especially all lined up in a row. I will be making plenty more of these over the next few weeks as I only have 3 left at the moment.
Remember my first bonsai bowl designs? Here’s a new bonsai bowl with one of the same designs hand engraved into the surface. This bowl is more of a natural colour rather than pure white, and has glimmering patches of turquoise glaze to emphasize the leaves of the tree.
I had a request from one of my favourite customers who wanted a custom made soap dish and toothbrush holder for her new bathroom a couple of months ago. Here are the finished pieces above. Thankfully the customer was pleased with them (I always get nervous with custom orders!), and she said they reminded her of the sea.
My leaf bowl designs are building up now, and with the leaves on the trees turning green for summer I thought it quite apt to show you this new Botanical Leaf Bowl with Plum Centre. The melted plum coloured glass in the centre is what makes this dish stand out, and it would look lovely filled with little trinkets, or could be used to hold keys, as a couple of usage examples.
This tall cream squared vase has a gorgeous natural pattern impressed into the surface and really sets off a colourful bunch of flowers. This vase/vessel was hand built by hand and would match any décor due to it’s muted colours.
Another recent customer request was a bird bath for their garden. The one I made above has three little feet underneath that it rests on. I also added a subtle touch of detail to the rim – if you look closely, you might spot the imprint of two little bird prints. Looking forward to seeing some photography from the customer with some birds bathing in it soon… hopefully!
Part 2 of April’s ‘fresh from the kiln’ series will be posted tomorrow!
Giving the Workshop a Makeover
A couple of weeks ago I was making the most of the sunshine and gave the workshop a well needed lick of varnish. I’m glad this job was done now that we’ve had so much rain over the past week. I took some before and after shots… look at the difference!
This was Molly’s idea of helping…
I also had some exciting news a couple of weeks ago. If you are a ‘liker’ of my Facebook page you may have noticed me mention a new book called ‘The Workshop Guide to Ceramics‘ by Quarto Publishing in one of my updates.
I received my complimentary copy of the book in the post (which is a brilliant book, by the way), and guess what?! My website is featured in the Professional Practice section under ‘How to Promote Your Work’.
Amazing!
New Garden Section
All we seem to be getting weather-wise lately is rain, rain and more rain. But at least the garden will be kept happy. I’ve left it a little late this year but I can’t wait to start tending to my flower pots and plants.
Brand NEW to my website this week ~ a Garden Section where you will find all ceramic pieces relating to the garden in one place.
From wall planters to pots, wind chimes to plant markers… If you are looking for a unique gift for a garden lover, or even large sculptural vessel statement pieces, you are in the right place!
Happy browsing
Canal Boat Birthday Weekend
I had a great weekend for my birthday! It was spent on a canal boat cruising down the canal with friends, music, food and wine. Thankfully the weather stayed nice and we didn’t get any rain. We were also lucky not to crash as my steering wasn’t great! I would definitely recommend hiring a canal boat for something a bit different and will definitely be doing it again
#SBS Winners Event with Theo Paphitis
Yesterday’s #SBS (Small Business Sunday) Winners Event held at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham was a fantastic day! I am still shattered from all of the excitement and can’t stop grinning from ear to ear!
It was lovely to meet so many other winners of Theo’s SBS competition, and to put faces to names of so many Twitter friends.
On arrival at the event, Theo’s extremely bling car was parked right outside. We all had a good chance to mingle and the food and drink was flowing well! We were wearing badges which made it so much easier to ‘recognise’ people. Suddenly I spotted Theo walk into the room and was off like a shot when I noticed he was shaking a few peoples’ hands – I didn’t want to miss my opportunity of that!
Theo gave a very inspiring speech and talked more about the future for SBS, and also about the new SBS website which is a great opportunity for even more promotion for all winners with our own individual profiles and website links.
When I didn’t think the day could get much better, Theo then announced that there would later be an opportunity for individual professional photographs with him and we would all receive a certificate too! I thought the certificates were going to be the same for everyone but they even had our individual names and business names printed onto each one, AND Theo signed them all personally!
There were around 250-300 businesses at the event, so Theo had a lot of standing around to do during the photographs – I assumed we would be rushed in, snapped, and then rushed out to get everyone done in time, but Theo took the time to ask our names and asked me if I’d had a good day etc, and told me to make sure I ‘do’ something with my #SBS win
Such a lovely man!!
We also got a goody bag from Ryman’s – the leading stationary company who sponsored the whole event and who cannot be thanked enough for making it such a brilliant day!
If you want to find out more behind #SBS including how it started and how it is developing, visit the new official #SBS Website. If you have a small business and are looking for more exposure why not join in on Twitter and tweet Theo ( @TheoPaphitis ) a link to your website and a bit about your business every Sunday between 5:30 – 7pm. You never know, it could be your business he retweets as a winner next!
