Surprise Suprise!

I was told we'd get an inch of snow overnight... no big deal. However, we're up to eight inches and it's really COLD! It's beautiful though, no doubt about that. Maybe we'll get to see some sunshine tomorrow to set it all off in blinding snowy sparkling splendor! I'd like that. I've had the itch to make a snow angel all winter and just never did. I wondered if I'd remember how and I wasn't crazy about the idea of getting all cold. But I threw some layers on and went out and planted myself and played in the powder fine stuff just long enough to make an angel and then get back inside by the fire. A photo and a change of clothing later and here she is with grass on her skirt. 

I'll sign off the way my friend Deb does:
Light and Laughter,
-Carmen Rose

Sunrise in Studio B

I took this a few mornings ago. I don't know that I've ever seen the morning sunrise do something quite like this but I ran for my camera when I saw it. This pink hued light with shadows from the vases in the window and the light and the kitchen table... I thought it was a moment of light well worth sharing.
Grace,
-Carmen Rose

More Glass

Hand Painted Art Glass coming out of the studio now:
Non toxic glazes, dishwasher resistant

This is a series of straight shapes in orange, blue, green, magenta and purple.
Hurricane: $26
Bud vase: $22 (sold)
Decanter Lg: $42
Hurricane: $27
Decanter Sm: $28

Three vases in lime and emerald green, purple and orange.
Large: $36 ~ Med: $29 ~ (Small: $19 - sold)

Set of Cylinder Vases in green, turquoise, blue and purple.
7.5 inch: $26
9 inch: $29
10 inch: $32

Wine Glasses

hand painted classic wine glasses with pearl accents.
Set of 12 - $180 - SOLD
Would you like to commission a set in your colors?

These are hand painted wine glasses. The glaze is non-toxic and there is no glaze on the inside of the glass. The glaze has been thermo-hardened and is dishwasher resistant... which is a nice way of saying that they'll be fine in the dishwasher as long as you don't do that too often. I spin on the glaze and texture using a pottery wheel, no two items are ever the same.

Still Warm from the Kiln

Here are some of my latest experiments in the kiln. I love the streaks in this one, so much color!
Warmer colors in this one and I like the long slender look.
Another long slender one, I love the graceful curves in this one and the play between clear and opaque glass.
I left a batch in the kiln last night cooling their heels. I could hardly wait to get them out and see what the heat had done to them this morning. Here are the rest of them.
I'm back in the hand painted glass studio today so the dichroic glass will need to wait a bit. I really do enjoy the play of light and color in this media though. No telling what the kiln will do to a piece. Each day is a light and color adventure around here.

*Pendants are $20 each, shipping is free for orders over $100!*

New Favorites

These are the latest ones out of the kiln. I'm learning some things and the experiments continue. I like these organic shapes and the layers of color and shining colors in the dichroic glass really tickle me. I am coming to realize that this work covers my favorite things about creating: color, light and beauty. This media has all that plus the element of the unexpected because you never really know what is going to happen once you close the kiln door!
My adventures with fused glass continue. These are my current favorites, at least until I see what comes out of the kiln tomorrow.

Pink is one of the harder colors to come by when shopping for glass jewelry so I did these four at the request of a friend. They really to play in the light. I am also going to need to do some research on how to photograph them because it's not easy trying to capture the light and movement these things have in person. I wonder if it can even be done.

*pendants are all $20 each and orders over $100 get free shipping! So order now for everyone on your Christmas list!!*
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Another Bathroom Facelift

Our small bathroom had a bad case of ugliness so we gave it a little facelift. Nothing major, we didn’t move any of the big stuff.

Vintage 1975 blue shower, blue vinyl floor with glitter in it. Can't believe anyone ever manufactured that stuff.
The light and mirror get the award for the worst things in the room. And the sink... well... it is what it is.
So I went shopping and when I got home it was time for the real work. First, that med cabinet was out of there, it had been installed way too high on the wall and I wanted it lower. Which wasn't as simple as it seemed like it should be. Never is.
Some fancy drywall patching, a coat of paint and the new light fixture installed and it's already looking like a different room. There he is, looking pleased with his work! And I love the extra space inside this mirror/med cabinet!
I put down a new floor, vinyl tiles go down fast and are pretty easy to cut if you have the right cutters. Hubby put the baseboard back down and that finished up the floor.
On the window I used a piece of vintage textile from my collection and it fits beautifully on the window. I hung it from a tension rod on clips and the hand work on it is a nice detail and a touch of color in the room. A new white shower curtain, and a nice new extra long towel holder. (curtain rod)
I painted the vanity "Italian Leather" and was surprised with how much I liked how it turned out. Removing the old hardware and patching the holes and some new hardware from the Restore and it's a big difference. A new GFI outlet and white switches and plates were more nice details.
We visited our friend John Sproul to make some bracketless shelves in his woodworking shop and for the price of a sheet of MDF we built some serious shelves. Hubby is putting the finishing touches on them after he'd attached them to the wall.It didn't take me long to fill those shelves after the paint dried. Three of my hand painted vases look great here, and a landscape photo taken from our front porch when we lived in the artist/witch's house. Of course there is a bowl of beautiful soaps. The fleur de lis are a theme with me, have been for a very long time. I don't know if that plant will make it there or not, I guess we'll see.

I found this great clock at Big Lots and it even has storage space inside which tickled me pink.

There are a few more details I will to attend to at some point in this room but for now I'm really pleased with how it is turning out.

Two finished!

This little quilt is finished now, I chose an orange binding and that went on rather quickly last evening.

I chose a brighter blue binding for this one, and did that one last evening as well. I debated for a while on how to shape the piece so I finally decided to give it this slight curve on the sides and a subtle wiggle in the bottom line. This is fun for me because all my life I've been sewing quilts in straight lines (except my first quilt which was a double wedding ring.)

I found this in my stash and decided to pull it out. I intend to machine quilt it when I get the chance but I'm not done with it yet. Those narrow borders aren't sewn on, so I need to decide how much white to leave. I think I must have done it that way to leave some space for quilting something interesting but I'm not sure my life goes at the kind of pace that it would require to actually hand quilt that border. So I'm undecided on that one. It might have to go back into the stash for a while longer.

The darker diamonds in this piece are all created from "crazy quilt" style scraps. So even though they "read" as fairly solid color, they are actually quite interesting up close.

I was in my sewing studio earlier enjoying the view. The weather has turned considerably warmer and the wood stove has cooled off and I had the sliding glass doors open. As I was standing at my sewing machine, Hope decided to see how things were looking outside.

She stood there for a few moments, looking beautiful and by the time I had my camera in place she needed to shake so her head so she became a blur. Then she decided to go explore until I called her name. So the second shot shows her coming to find out what I wanted with some wierd look on her face, but she is lovely creature and my constant companion. (Plus you can see them I'm still working at stripping that table as well.)

Studio B - Progress

The light... it's a vintage one we took from another room in the house. It was heavy and dusty but still very sparkly.

That's my man, he's so goooood!

And when he turned it on I giggled and hopped! I had to knot the curtains because I haven't hemmed them yet. There is still so much to be done but this is just SO much fun!

Studio B - Before

The first day I met my new Kitchen, this is what it looked like. This is the part we use to prepare food. You can't see the two pantys beyond the fridge on the right.
The room is 12 x 27 and has loads of cabinets plus two considerable pantrys. It's all on the South East side of the house which means lots of wonderful light and a pretty nice view of the yard and golf course beyond. It was all vintage 1975 but in pretty good shape considering. The cabinets on the far wall hide my art glass studio. I put a new finish on reclaimed glass and that's where it all happens. On the left is my soap making studio, all neatly behind cabinets. I'm crazy in love with this place, even as ugly as it started out! Don't miss that floor! It's really a highlight! (universal sarcasm font) Seriously though, I drop stuff and can't find it and the dirt and dog hair just doesn't show! Yeah, wouldn't want to miss this beauty: It's a Currier and Ives light, seriously! Yeah, not my thing exactly but it was well loved in the 70's I guess. We've got two of these lights down and one to go. Yay! Progress.
So five samples later... we settled on the top turquoise and the blue...

Both of the oranges could have been good but they were too close to the 1975 murky mustard that was on the wall. Tsk! They never really had a chance I guess. The woodwork is now white and maybe we'll paint the cabinets at some point, not today.
I'll post some "after" photos soon, but right now I'm going to go try my hand at community theatre with an actor friend of mine and see how that goes. It's a musical so this should really be an adventure!