The results of the day...

Hi Everyone,

We're done with BOHs for the day and here are some of the results. Janice and Karen came over and kept me company for the day. Karen tiptoed through my scrap clay bin and got creative with the castle. I wish she would come over more often as she really does have a talent for seeing art in what I consider unsalvageable. I made some more monsters and added leaves to a tree that I had considered not worth finishing.

Karen also completed the penguin finding just enough of the right colours in my clay bin. The googly eyes make him very cute. Karen also made the teddy bear on a blanket BOH, again using mostly scrap from my bin. She says she's not good at miniatures but I think she's mistaken because the teddy bear is adorable. Karen's final result isn't finished yet. She's making a hot air balloon BOH using a tiny glass Christmas ornament as the topper.

At Guild this weekend we learned how to make Donna Kato swirly striped beads. I didn't make beads out of my creation from Guild, but I did think it would make a perfect candle for a cupcake. And, speaking of cupcakes, the flag on the mountain BOH is from cupcakes from Canada Day. Karen made the little climber, complete with quilted jacket.

Janice, as usual, did her beautiful work on more artistic BOHs. These two sets of BOHs are from Janice. It's amazing to watch her in action and somewhat humbling. There's not a whole lot that Janice doesn't do well. We're hoping she'll do a tutorial on how she does her lids. I can never even think to make lids like she does.
She's also very talented with detail - note the cute little sea turtles on the bottles that she did. There's quite a difference in Janice's pile of scrap clay vs my piles. She's always been very precise at segregating her colours, so these bottles are all made out of scrap clay, according to Janice. We sometimes hate her, but in a good way.

Two other clayers joined me in spirit by making BOHs today. I find that touching and again I'm reminded of how wonderful the clay community is and how fortunate I am to be a part of it.

We listened to the Sarah McLaughlin CD that my friend, Renee gave me. A litte of her spirit is passed on in these bottles.

My husband had left for the day to allow me my time with my friends. But when he came home he presented me with the following stone. I hadn't thought I had needed a memorial because everything is in my head and my heart, but when he gave this to me, I realized how perfect it is. It's now in our front garden, next to a rose bush that I had planted in memory of a friend who died years ago. I'll be able to look at it and say hi now and then as it's very close to my car.

All in all, I can't think of a better way to have spent this day and I can honestly end this with my usual...

Cheers (okay, and maybe a few tears, but they're good tears),

Sandy