Thursday, November 30, 2023

Titanium Keytons

Hello my friends, and Happy Thursday! It's a cold one out there this morning with overnight temps around 20f. Definitely the kind of morning when it hurts your face and fingers to take out the trash. Still no snow on the ground, but that will change soon enough. 

I'm still scrambling around in the shop. I am done with milling Atomic Wedgies so now just have to grind them all and get on with some stamping, then tumble the daylights out of them before they go to heat treat. I will have to spend a day or two grinding in this next week.

Today I have some Titanium Keytons for you. These are anodized and stamped with a wide range of colors and themes. I do have a couple of plain ones left as well, just let me know.

Titanium Keytons will run $75 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for popping in and have a nice weekend ahead!

All gone, thank you so much!
 
 



Tuesday, November 28, 2023

More Cool Mugs!

Happy Tuesday! And a frigid Tuesday it is out there with temps only going to be reaching the mid 30's today and tomorrow, brrrrr...at least it will be sunny.

Today I have a few more mugs for you. Here are three beauties with a variety of themes and glaze colors. They are all 12 oz or better in size. Thanks for swinging by today and have a great week!

.................................................................................................

Mug#1: Shiny Blue Sea Monsters with sword stamp and compass rose inside. Spectacular flourish texture on the bottom! $65 plus shipping...

Gone in a flash, thank you!


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Mug #2: Frankenstein in Flames! Dracula and Castle stamps as well, $65 plus shipping...
Sold, thank you so much! 

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Mug #3: Large Rampant Lion Mug/Stein! The heraldic theme continues all around with Stone Castle on the back side and Knight's Helmet inside, $65 plus shipping...
Sold out, thank you again!


 

Monday, November 27, 2023

Stamped Mini Superbugs!

Howdy all,

Hope your holiday season is starting off great. It's turning colder here, but at least the ground is still bare...for now. I'm sure that will change in a week or two though.

Project Updates: I'm nearly done with milling on the Atomic Wedgies and hope to get the grinding done by next week. We'll see how it goes, but they are definitely going to be coming before Christmas. I'm not as sure about the completion date of steel Prybabies, but they are next up for milling. I'm running out of mugs and will probably only be able to complete a few more this year, but I definitely will be working on more mugs and cups over the next few months. Zircuti MikroSpikes are still on the bench and I'm about halfway finished for the grinding. Steel Tiny Tims with pry tips are almost done with the grinding and then will be heading to heat treat in a week or so. And I have some stragglers from various batches that I will be posting as well over the next couple of weeks, including some beads.

Today I have the rest of the steel Mini Superbug Tools for you. These are the stamped ones, and there is a wide variety as usual, but mostly smaller stamps as these are tiny tools with sparse real estate. I still have a half dozen plain Superbugs if anyone wants them, and also there are a few lefties available, please email me!

Stamped Mini Superbugs will run $75 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for dropping in today and have a great week ahead!

All gone for today, thank you everyone! 



 

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Some Tiny Mugs!

Hey guys, hope you all are gearing up for a great Thanksgiving! Safe travels out there. :)

Today I have a ton of things to do, but I thought I would slip in a super quick little sale...Tiny mugs are very fun to make and they are good for testing glazes or other design ideas, but they do take nearly as much time to make as a bigger mug. These cute little 3-5 oz vessels are perfect for an ice cube and a splash of whiskey or liqueur, or could be used for espresso, a very small portion of ice cream, as a bathroom/medicine cup, gift for a child, desk item, etc. They are just plain adorable all around, and this is generally a hard to find size. 

Tiny Mug #1: Wood grain texturing with fairy door, inside stamped with The Greenman. $55 plus shipping. 

 Sold, thanks so much!

Tiny Mug #2: This little cutie was an earlier piece from this fall, before I has worked out my little stamping regimen that I'm currently favoring. Therefore, it does not have an interior stamp, but it does have a nicely textured bottom, and the little mushroom images are very cool. I should definitely make another mug or two with this general motif. $55 plus shipping...
Sold, thank you again!   

Tiny Mug #3: Super cute little wood grain piece, with vintage truck inside and flame texture on the bottom. $55 plus shipping...

Sold, thanks so much!


Tiny Mug #4: Very cool amber celadon flames with rope banding and compass rose stamp inside. This one is a little bit bigger, maybe 5-6 oz. $60 shipped...
Sold, thank you once again!


 

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Mugs Round Two!

I'm back with yet another mini batch...earlier packages from today are all picked up and on the way already. ;) I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and safe travels!

Mug #1: Big Blue Dino with heavy lizard skin texturing. This one is about 12-13 oz and has the sweet denim blue glaze. $65 plus shipping...

Gone in a flash, thank you so much!




 Mug #2: Lightning Texture with ancient Winged Lion stamp inside. Green celadon, about 11 oz. $65 plus shipping...

Sold out, thanks again!

 



Mug #3: Crazy Egyptian Mashup Mug with Camel, Palm Tree, TRex and Pyramid stamps! Green celadon glaze, and a bit smaller at about 10oz. $60 plus shipping...
Sold out, thank you very much!
 


 
 

BigShot Cups! :)

Howdy Folks,

Yup, couple more for ya... :) 

These are BigShot cups, without handles. Ranging from 4-7 oz depending on the cup. Nice for evening whiskey, medicine cup, bathroom cup, desk organizer, etc. Sweet little cups that give me a chance to test glazes or stamp combos and use up left over chunks of clay.

BigShot #1: Large cup, about 6-7 oz. Cool textures, paw band, and French Bulldog inside, denim blue glaze. $50 plus shipping.

Sold, thanks again!




BigShot #2: Sweet Vintage Truck with Largemouth Bass stamp inside! Classic rope band and flames. About 4-5 oz. $50 plus shipping.
Sold Out, thank you!
 


BigShot #3: Frankenstein, Dracula and Castle. Always a favorite theme of mine and many more related images will be coming. :) About 4-5 oz, $50 plus shipping.
 Gone in a flash, thank you so much!


 

A Few More Mugs!

Hi Folks,

Well, Happy Thanksgiving week! I hope your plans are going smoothly and the weather cooperates for all of you who will be traveling. Should be a fairly reasonable week for most of us.

Today I have a few more of my one-of-a-kind chunky stoneware mugs for you. These are great fun to make, and I really appreciate the many kind words I've gotten about them. I will be making plenty more of these this winter, so lots more will be on the way over the next few months. I also am planning to do a large kitchen magnet project before the holidays, so stay tuned for those in a regular sale format.

Mug #1: Smaller piece, about 10-11 oz. Spectacular ancient Winged Lion image, Stone Castle on the back and amazing Jolly Roger inside with cobblestone texturing and lightning texture on the bottom. Amber celadon glaze. $65 plus shipping.

 Sold Out, thank you very much!

 
 
 
Mug#2: Wild mashup of Bulldog, Vintage Truck and flame texturing  with Compass Rose inside. Denim Blue lightly variegated glaze, and about 12 oz. $65 plus shipping.  

Sold, thank you so much!

 



 
Mug #3: Movie Monster Madness! Frankenstein, Dracula and Stone Castle inside with awesome skull texture on the side and bottom. Green celadon glaze, about 12 oz, $65 plus shipping.
 
Sold Out, thanks so much!
 


 

Monday, November 20, 2023

Plain Steel Mini Superbugs!

Howdy Folks,

I'm back again! It's a lovely but rather chilly day out there today with sunny skies, and it is supposed to briefly touch 40f...This afternoon will be the perfect time to button up the last few outdoor tasks before the colder and slightly messier weather sets in tomorrow night. I still have a couple of bushes to trim and a few leaves left to blow.

Today I have a few dozen CPM 154 Steel Mini Superbug tools for you. I have always liked this particular captive bit tool design, and in this updated version I have given them a broad main pry tip, my classic  small rear pry/screwdriver tip, cap lifter and 1/4 bit carry system, and with an overall length of 2.75 inches they are basically the tiniest package possible for all of these functions. This group today is without stamps for all you plain vanilla lovers out there. :) A second batch with stamps will be coming very shortly. There are no lefties in this group, but I will have a few lefties available in the stamped group.

Unstamped Steel Mini Superbugs will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for stopping by today and hope you have a great holiday week ahead!

All gone, thanks again everyone!
 



Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Fully Loaded A51 Titanium Prybabies!

Hi Everyone,

Well this week may be the end for the mild temperatures as we head into the bitter cold months. Tomorrow and Friday might get into the 50's, but then it's all downhill from there. Luckily almost all the leaves are finally off the trees so if it snows heavily we will be much less likely to have power failures.

Not too much else to report on the various projects. I still have a bit of work to do on Steel Tiny Tims and Stubby Steel MiniBars but they will be relatively quick to finish once I get the grinding done and finish up the preparation for heat treat. Steel Atomic Wedgies are next up for milling, and then a big batch of 3v Steel Prybabies will get milled following the Wedgies. I need to get going on the rest of the Zircuti MikroSpikes in the next week, and I still have some more work to do on another Timascus tool which I would really like to finish before the end of the year....mug and cup making is going to slow down because they take a lot of my time and I need to shift focus to tool projects, but there will be a few more coming shortly. Right now I am almost done sorting and packaging the first wave of steel Mini Superbugs, so those will be coming up next in both plain and stamped versions.

Today I have a small batch of Titanium A51 Prybabies for you. These are all stamped and anodized in my usual wide range of images and colors. I do have three left handed ones also if anyone wants to email me for them.

Stamped and anodized Ti Prybabies will run $80 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for popping in today and I hope your week is going great!

Sold out, thank you so much guys!
 



 
 

Friday, November 10, 2023

More Mugs!

Hi Everyone, and Happy Friday! Also Happy Veteran's Day tomorrow for all those who have served. :)

It's chilly and raw out there this morning, having rained a bit yesterday. It's cloudy and gloomy at the moment but the sun is supposed to make an appearance later this afternoon. I still have a few leaves to blow and a few more outdoor tasks to complete before the winter months and later today will probably be a good time to tackle them.

I just got the steel Mini Superbugs back from heat treat, so am in the middle of doing the final finishes on those over the next few days. Tiny Tims are almost ready to send out and I will try to get them going out to HT next week. Not too much else to report today, but things are moving along well.

Today I have a few more mugs for you. I've gotten such nice letters and comments about the ceramic projects, and I really appreciate it! I'm glad people are enjoying their mugs and I hope to keep them coming, as well as some other ceramic items. ;)

First up today is a super cool mug with movie monster theme...Count Dracula on the front, a castle stamp in the middle and Frankenstein on the other side. The Mummy is stamped inside and it has that cool pebbly texture on the bottom with a band of stars around the top. About 11 oz capacity. This one will run $65 plus shipping.

Sold, thank you so much!




 
Mug #2 has a dino theme with T Rex, palm tree and pterodactyl stamps, woolly mammoth stamp inside with wave line texture on the bottom and classic rope style banding. Also 11 oz capacity and it will run $65 plus shipping.
Sold out, thank you again!
 


 
Mug #3 continues with the nature themes...cat tails and a lovely dragonfly decorative band with dragonfly texture on the bottom. Has several mosquitoes as well and a cute little frog stamp inside. 11 oz capacity and this one also will run $65 plus shipping.
Sold, thanks so much!



 

Tuesday, November 07, 2023

Some Ceramic Mugs!

Hi Folks!

It's another overcast day here in New England with the sun peeping out briefly here and there. Weird how this year has been so cloudy and rainy so much of the time, but hopefully the weather pattern will eventually change and we will get some sunnier days next year. In the meantime, most of the leaves except for a few stubborn oaks are finally off the trees and I've been cleaning up my yard and gardens in preparation for the snowy season ahead.

So I've been trying to figure out how best to approach the mug sales. Mug making is a slow going process and full of unseen pitfalls... These vessels are finished in small numbers, and in fits and starts. The studio that I belong to has at least 50 members and there are many other people who are also trying to get things fired in the limited amount of kiln space, and before the holiday craft sales ramp up. So far they actually have been getting a lot of my stuff through which speaks to the efficiency of the friendly staff there, but I just never know how long it will take to get things done. 

The firings are done in two stages. First there is the low temperature bisque firing where the pots are completely dried out and partially vitrified but are still relatively soft, similar to a clay plant pot. The bisque allows you to handle the piece without breaking and are porous, so that you can then apply the glazes. I apply iron oxide to the bottoms and then wipe off the highlights to bring out the texturing. Next is the glaze firing and that goes much higher in temperature to fuse the clay into a vitrified semi glass object. The glazes are actually a special type of thin glass that is formulated to adhere and fit to the clay body. They are tricky and easy to mess up when applying.  

People have been emailing me and asking for certain custom things. I'm sorry but I simply cannot do any custom requests for people. I make what I make, and these are the pieces I have to offer. The list of reasons why I need to work this way is long, but here are a few of them...

Clay shrinks a lot during firing so I keep thinking I will end up with larger mugs than what I start out with. A big mug that looks like it will be 15oz ends up being 10oz for instance by the time it is done. I cannot them make too much larger because I am rolling out slabs and bottoms by hand and assembling them rather than wheel throwing. I'm making them this way because this is how I can do all the crazy textures and stamps which would be nearly impossible if they were wheel thrown. Well, the slabs vary in thickness by a lot since I'm doing this with a rolling pin on an old cutting board and it's all done by eye. So some of these mugs are ending up quite heavy already...if I were to make a one quart mug that ends up at 20 oz when fired, you are talking about something that finishes up weighing around 2 lbs! It ain't happening, lol. Now, I am trying to make more pieces that will end up in the 13-16 oz range, but that is probably going to be close to the comfortable limit for this particular hand building technique.

Another thing that comes up is color. So far I only have found 3 or 4 of the studio glazes that will break nicely on the texturing and stamps and are also somewhat transparent. No doubt I will eventually have more colors, but for now I can only work with what is available to me and what will look good on heavy texture and stamps.... 

I'm afraid I simply cannot make another cup just like this one, but with blue glaze instead of green, and please use this stamp here and add a fairy door, and can you make it 20oz? Yikes! :D All of these requests will quickly take all the fun and spontaneity out of it I'm afraid. And you guys have only seen a fraction of the wild textures and amazing custom stamps I am wanting to use! We're talking aliens, UFOs, fishing, ancient Heraldic symbols, skulls, hot rods, bigfoot, tiki style hula girls, movie monsters, dogs, etc! I have lots of great nature themes and florals coming as well. Every time I pick up the latest batch it is like Christmas. :) 

The other difficulty I wasn't anticipating was how to post these. They are all different, slow to make, different sizes, different prices, etc. It all can turn into a logistical nightmare. I could set up a shopify store for instance, but that quickly turns into a pain, and is another cost, more paperwork, etc for something that already is taking up a tremendous amount of time and money. Email sales are greatly enjoyable for the customer interaction, but can be a little slow and awkward because folks are understandably busy and can't get back to me right away sometimes. I get into a problem though with sending pictures, and then someone else wants pictures too, so if I send the same pics to the second guy the first guy might get back to me a day later and the cup is already sold. That's not the best way to go about it for sure...man, all this stuff is waaaay trickier than I realized! :)

So, here is what I decided for now and we'll see how it goes. I will post a few pieces at a time and with separate buy now buttons for each one. This is the easiest way for me to do it at the moment I think, even though paypal just changed all of it's buttons and I'm having to figure all that out on top of everything else... Once I get going, if the pieces sell immediately then I can maybe post a second or third group the same day. These sales will be interspersed with regular tool sales, and they will continue for the next few months at least. So no worries, I will be making lots and lots of these cups and other items and you will definitely get a chance to have one, it just might take a while to make it happen.

Lastly, I still haven't figured out the best way to ship ceramics internationally, or the cost to do so. They obviously cannot go into a flat rate envelope (unless I include a tube of super glue for your "kit" mug, hehe). For the time being I am going to have to say US sales only please, but I promise I will look into it and see how I can safely and cost effectively ship internationally. 

 ***All of these pieces are dishwasher and microwave safe, with lead free and food safe glazes!*** 


Thank you so much guys! That is it for today, but I will have more very soon! :)  

Here we go...Mug #1 is a beauty. Featuring a cool grassy field texture, it has a lovely classical style band around the top and stunning pebble grain bottom. Hypno swirly stamp inside. The glaze is Grassy Green Celadon. This piece is just about 11 oz and will be $65 plus shipping.

 

 Sold Out!


 
 
Mug #2 is slightly smaller at about 10 oz. Features a rich dark Shiny Blue glaze, with heavy wood texture and a fairy/hobbit door. Inside stamp is a Loch Ness Monster, and the bottom has a wavy line texture. A great smaller size for tea or cocoa....will run $60 plus shipping. 
Sold Out!


 
 
Mug#3. This is about as large as I have been able to make so far at 15 oz, so could be a nice beer stein as well as a coffee mug. Grassy Green Celadon glaze, with super cute French Bulldog stamps on the front, back and inside. The bottom has the same spectacular flourish type texturing as the lower part of the mug, and the dog paw prints around the decorative top band really make this one in my opinion. I have a similar mug with English Bulldog that is slightly smaller also if anyone wants to email me. This big mug will run $65 plus shipping. 
Sold Out!


 

Friday, November 03, 2023

Steel Mini T-Bones

Hi Everyone,

It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks but I am back...we're having our first colder weather of the year finally with a frost two nights in a row and a dusting of snow, which has now completely vanished, but I'm sure more will be coming soon.

I have been picking away at the projects and finally got the steel Mini Superbugs off to heat treat, so those will be coming back in a week or so. I'm almost done grinding steel Tiny Tims and will get them off to heat treat next week. Atomic Wedgies are about to get milled, so hopefully I will get them out to heat treat this month. Zircuti MikroSpikes are on deck for grinding and those should go pretty quickly once I dive into them. I have numerous smaller batches and misc remnants that I will be putting up once I get back to sales mode which I am trying to do in the coming weeks...mugs are underway but are proving to be very slow going which is what I had feared. I will only get a dozen at a time every week or two as the kilns are shared by many other people. So regular sales are probably not going to happen anytime soon, but I'm happy to hook people up with whatever I have as it comes in. 

Today I have some steel Mini T-Bones for you. These were languishing half finished on a shelf for a couple of years and I just got them done recently. Three wrench sizes, 3/8, 7/16 and 1/2 inch. Makes for a nice handle for your key chain and could be an impromptu self defense tool in a pinch.

Steel Mini T-Bones will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for popping in, hope you have a nice weekend, and stay tuned for a bunch of sales coming up in the weeks ahead! 

All gone, thank you so much!