Oh how times flies!

Life has been really fun and exciting lately, not that any of you would know since I have been completely M.I.A.  So sorry about that!

Here’s an update:
Last month, Eric & I bought a new house! I didn’t really talk much about it because in this real estate market, it’s not a sure thing until you’re sitting at the closing table. I just didn’t want to jinx anything! It’s a newly renovated 1940’s ranch in one of our favorite intown neighborhoods of  Atlanta. When the original owner had decided to move out, an local designer bought it and transformed it entirely. He must be the last “flipper” in the real estate world. He took down walls, totally renovated the bathrooms and kitchen…and basically turned it into a new house.

We took one look at it in photos and immediately knew that it was meant to be our house. We went to look at it on a Saturday and made an offer the following Monday. In all, it was on the market for three days. Throughout the entire period of negotiations, I was a nervous wreck  that someone would try to buy it out from under us. Thank goodness we had a very patient and reassuring realtor…more on her in a bit.

We moved in a few weekends ago and have been incredibly busy turning this house into our home. We are fortunate that everything on the inside of the house is top-of-the line, ready-to-go. (In fact, it took us a while to figure out how to operate the microwave…and I still think it’s smarter than me) But, there is just SO MUCH to do…order window treatments, buy a washer and dryer, install shelves, hang artwork, etc. Our to-do list somehow gets longer each day….and I simply couldn’t be happier.

The outside of the house has required a little more sweat equity. While in negotiations, the inspector recommended we get an arborist to examine the red oak tree in the front yard. Sadly, what he thought were just a few dead limbs actually turned out to be much worse…the tree was very sick and would be coming down; either by a tree service or by a strong storm. The slope of the lot positioned the tree to fall away from the house. We knew as tragic as it would be to take down this magnificent 100+ year old tree, it would be far more tragic to see it come down and hit a car, neighbor’s house, or worse. So, the tree who we named “Big Red” came down…and left us with a HUGE pile of mulch.  We’re tackling it, one wheelbarrow at a time, spreading the mulch in beds around the yard. It’s a slow-going process but I’m realizing how much I enjoy yardwork…even the manual labor part of it!

So, needless to say, my tools lately have been rakes and shovels instead of glue guns and knitting needles. The scope of my “creations” will be changing for sure.  This new stage in life has inspired me to take upholstery classes, start a vegetable garden, and I think we’re even going to design and build a work shed/art studio in the back yard. I’ll keep you all posted, for sure!

In the meantime, here are some photos of the work-in-progress. We are simply in love with our new home.

pansies & a church pew

main living area (dining room table coming soon)

our favorite room in the house

Um, yea...that's a wet bar. Totally ridiculous.

our little patio

lower backyard

upper backyard (I've got one word for you: POOL)

Finally, I do not possess enough positive words in my vocabulary to describe our realtor, Kate Burke. She should teach a course on how to be a powerful negotiator. She’s that good. What’s even more impressive was her complete objectivity. Regardless of the price of the house we looked at (and we looked at a LOT of them) she remained driven to find the best house for US. She would be the first one to point out possible ‘cons’ on the higher priced homes as easily as she shared excitement in the lower priced homes. There was never a doubt that she was sincerely looking out for our best interest. She’s totally fabulous, and someone I now consider a friend.

So, if you are looking to buy or sell a home in Atlanta, you gotta call her.

Kate Schneider Burke
Dorsey Alston, REALTORS
404-441-5283
kateburke@dorseyalston.com

necklace-making nirvana

not your dad's tacklebox...

I'll be honest, I had no idea where to start...

so I started in the center and worked my way out

making some progress...

I actually liked the way it was turning out!

The finished product! (Not as lovely as my friend, Laura...but I was pretty happy with it!)

I really like the necklace and I even got a few compliments on it…but the hours that it took to make it gave me an appreciation for why the price tag was so high on the one that I found on Etsy!

My sister is getting married this weekend!! We are all so excited and I’m pretty thrilled to officially be getting a brother. He’s totally awesome and immediately fit right in with our family. There are a lot of traditions built into weddings, but my sister and her fiancée are really making this experience their own and I’m really looking forward to all the unique touches and individual features their wedding day will include.

They are also a very humble couple and were pretty certain they didn’t want any parties or showers or the obligatory gift-giving….so, we simply threw them a surprise engagement party! And yes, we showered them with gifts! We are a sneaky bunch, when need be…

I saved all the ribbons and bows so I could make her a bouquet for the rehearsal, but I knew I wanted it to be unique. So, instead of pulling out a paper plate and creating a big mess o’ ribbons I decided to make roses out of each one and fashion them into an actual bouquet. There are countless blogs and video tutorials out there with instructions on how to do it, so it was actually quite easy. And I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Here are some photos of the process:

We had dinner with the soon-to-be Mr. & Mrs. last night and I gave my sister the bouquet. She really liked it and it made me happy to be able to create something for their big day.

My goodness, where have I been? I’m so sorry for the silence on my end. Life has been extremely busy in recent weeks…but, there are a few wheels in motion which might lend themselves to a serious evolution of this little blog of mine, so please bear with me while the wheels keep spinning!

Realizing I never gave everyone the final update on my little pottery experiment…apologies for that!

I was able to finish the little pieces I had been working on. Love them! I will say that the glazing part of the pottery process is by far my favorite. Choosing color combinations and glaze finishes is such a task though! It’s just hard to choose. To get a feel for different combinations, I tried to mix it up and I’m glad I did. Now, when I am ready to approach the potter’s wheel again, I’ll have the finished product in mind.

Here are some photos of the last phase of the process…and of my cute little creations! Some have already been given as birthday gifts (partial reason for the delay in this posting!)

waxed on the bottom and ready to be glazed

the Wall O' Glazes

my little pots

not a bad first batch...ready to make more!

Back in December, my good friend Kathianne and her husband welcomed their first child into the world! Kathianne is one of the founding Crafty Chicks and even though she no longer lives in Atlanta, we wanted to do something special for her, and for her new bundle of joy. 

So I stocked up on little white cotton onesies, fabric markers and stencils and we all gathered at Brittney’s place for a night of ‘fashion design’. We shipped them to Kathianne and she was thrilled when they arrived. We made sure to use different sizes so the little one can grow into them. 

Here are some photos of the process and the finished products!

basic supplies

bloom, baby.

you're never too young to accessorize

good advice

baby bugs

perfect for a fasionista-in-training!

These would make a great gift idea/project for baby showers…just make sure to use fabric markers, which are non toxic. Happy designing!

I can’t believe it’s been more than three months since the wedding. It went by in a flash. All the more reason we are grateful for our photographer, Heidi Geldhauser with Our Labor of Love.  She captured the entire experience and we will forever have breathtaking photos to memorialize our special day.

I know I’m long overdue posting proper photos and details of our wedding day, especially since I documented every single bit of the planning process and the prep work involved. Well, I was waiting for a very special reason. Style Me Pretty, one of my favorite wedding blogs, decided to do a cover feature on us!

So here it is, our wedding day, in all of its sweetness.

Style Me Pretty: Georgia Lake Wedding by Our Labor of Love

I won’t lie; I’ve looked at it pretty much all afternoon.

And here are some of my personal favorites.

Words can’t express how proud we are. We pulled it off! Our vision became a reality and we were able to share it with our most beloved friends and family. It will undoubtedly remain one of the best days of our lives!

After being snowed in for a week, and then out of town for the weekend, I was really eager to get back into the pottery studio. So last Sunday, after spending the day in airports and on trains, I rushed in and decided to throw some pottery. It wasn’t that easy. I was tired and lacking focus and ended up getting pretty frustrated. My hands didn’t fit right, my timing was off, and the two small bowls I ended up with certainly weren’t my best.

A little defeated, I decided to return when I had more time and energy to really focus. I also wanted to give all of the bowls time to dry a little so I could trim them and get them ready for firing.

I went back in on Thursday with a new outlook and renewed patience. I’m still learning. It’s okay that I don’t really get it yet. Luba, one of the studio’s owners, comforted me by saying, “remember, pottery is a 4 year degree in college…it takes a while to learn.”  That made me feel a lot better.

I really need to practice throwing, and I will probably dedicate a Saturday afternoon to it. But, I want to move forward with the pieces I’ve made, so I can see the entire process thru to the end. I think having some cute glazed bowls will really help my morale.

On this week’s visit, I learned all about trimming and the tools and techniques involved. Using the wheel and an assortment of oddly shaped tools, I trimmed the rough edges and carved out a little foot on each bowl. I picked up this part of the process much easier and felt more confident by the end of the lesson.

Now, my trimmed bowls are sitting on the shelf drying out and I’ll go back in a few days to learn the next step, firing them in the kiln.

Here are some shots of the trimming process and my little collection of bowls!

locked in and ready to be trimmed

after a little bit of trimming

my growing collection

anyone need a paperclip holder?

I really love owls. If I were to collect something, it would probably be owl-related. Actually, I guess I am starting a collection… Eric recently brought home some cute owl-inspired gift wrap that he found at our local art store and my sister gave me this adorable ring for my birthday!

my new favorite ring

Before Eric & I got married, I had a tiny apartment in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta and a little brown owl lived among the big oak trees in the back yard. Some nights, I would sit on my back deck with a glass of wine and watch her fly around looking for little critters to call dinner. She would often perch on a chair that sat in the garden and look at me. I like to think she was as intrigued by me as I was with her. At any rate, she was little and cute and seemed like a nice enough owl.

Last year, I learned about a friend-of-a-friend who heard a ruckus in her kitchen one night…when she went to investigate, she discovered a large owl had flown down her chimney and perched on her blender! Animal control was able to remove the bird safely, but as the photo she took shows, they aren’t nearly  as cute when you find yourself in the same room with one.

NOT an ideal owl encounter

Anyhoo….our good friends, Jesse & Holly, are expecting their first child…any day now, actually. We are in the midst of a winter storm (yes, here in Atlanta) and the roads are a mess, so I hope the little one can hang in there for a few more days! The parents-to-be recently released photos of the newly completed nursery and it is absolutely adorable. Their neighbor painted a big mural on the wall; complete with a little family of owls perched in a tree. When I saw it, I knew that I wanted to make something for them and for their owl-inspired nursery.

I fetched a piece of poster board from my studio and using simple shapes cut out of card stock, I constructed a little family of owls perched in a tree. Here’s a step by step look:

cut shapes

a tree branch

papa owl

mama owl

baby owl

a little family!

As soon as this city thaws out, I’m going to take a trip to the art store to find the perfect frame. I hope they like it as much as I do!

My oh my. I can’t believe that I am this excited after just one lesson. I will say that pottery on the wheel is really challenging; you have to use a lot of upper body strength and be forceful with the clay, but you also have to be really gentle. It will surely take me a while to figure out the balance of it, and learn my own techniques, but already, it is totally awesome.  I can’t wait to go back to MudFire for more instruction!

Really quick, let me just say how adorable the studio is. I walked in last night and was instantly charmed. Artists were scattered around the room working on their individual projects, but engaged in friendly conversation with each other. Music was playing and there was a little lounge area and big potted plants sprinkled around. Shelves showcasing pieces of work, in all shapes and sizes, reached all the way to the ceiling.  It was warm and cozy and inviting. This place truly is a community.

My wide eyes must have alerted the staff that I was a newcomer, so I was greeted pretty quickly and assisted with the initial paperwork and then I met my instructor, Stephanie. She looked about my age but told me she had been a member of MudFire for 5 years, so I knew I was in good hands.

We went over the basics; the wheel, the tools (my good friend, Kathy gave me pottery tools as a birthday gift, so I came prepared!) and then I was given my very own 25 lb bag of clay. Wow.

She sat at the wheel and demonstrated a few key techniques…a big part of learning how to throw pottery is learning how YOU best fit the wheel, the way YOUR hands are most comfortable handling the clay, and really just getting a feel for it. She had me work with my eyes closed at times so I could really recognize the feeling I was looking for. It was SO cool.

There were moments when I felt I really wasn’t getting it, but she talked me thru it and let me find my way. And you know what? I made three bowls!! Okay, okay… she pretty much made the first one, but the other two were all me! They might be a little lopsided, but I think they are precious. I even got a nod of approval from a girl sitting nearby, “That’s your first bowl, ever? Wow.”

That totally made my night.

They have to sit for a few days to dry before I can go back in and trim them, which I plan to do next week. And, while I’m there I’ll practice throwing some more…I have a massive bag of clay to get thru!

Here are some shots from last night:

my clay!

Stephanie working the wheel

my first pot!!

e.Claire's creations!

I have a long way to go. But already, I’m intrigued and inspired and just can’t wait to get back into the studio. Stay tuned!

Happy New Year, everybody!

As a kid, I tried to imagine what the future would be like. I always assumed that by the year 2011 there would be flying cars in every driveway and robots in every home. I’m sure there are plenty of engineers and researchers working to develop both…all in good time, I guess.

Personally, I’m working on developing some inspiration for myself. With the wedding three full months behind us and with the busy holiday season also a happy memory, I’m looking ahead and I’m eager to see what 2011 will mean for me.

I want it to be a year of discovery. I want it to be a year of growth. I want to learn anything and everything that I can. But, I’ve been having a hard time finding some direction. As a student, I am very curious to see if I can master something; if I can learn a skill. But often, once I’ve mastered the skill, I find myself looking for another challenge…which means I guess I haven’t yet found ‘my thing’; the one craft that challenges me to really dive in and explore.

So, in the New Year, I’m determined to find my niche. And I’m getting started right away. I received a membership to a local pottery studio for my birthday from my amazingly thoughtful and supportive husband.

Located in Decatur, MudFire Studios is a pretty unique concept. Rather than signing up for a series of classes, your membership is an all-access pass to all of the tools, equipment, glazes, firings, and lessons!

I’m heading there later this week for my first lesson and I am really excited about it! I will document the discovery process, like I did with the sewing classes I took over the summer. So, stay tuned!

If you’re local to Atlanta and want to explore pottery, check out MudFire Studios. Maybe I’ll see you there!

MudFire Studios
175 Laredo Drive
Decatur, GA 30030
phone: 404-377-8033
fax: 404-371-1554
www.mudfire.com