Thor's Hammer Ceramic Ornaments

I am not the greatest ceramicist in the world but I do love making things.  So I decided to make some Thor's Hammer ornaments for my Etsy Shop.  Mjolnir has become very popular with Chris Hemsworth playing a very hot Thor so normal people have become more aware of the Norse myths. The ornaments I crafted are ceramic and designed to hang in the house or on yee ol' Yule tree.  Since I cannot draw I ordered some very nice stamps from Highlander Celtic Stamps.  The stamps I ordered were unmounted to be flexible on clay and did have a nice deep etching so the patterns were visible once stamped.  I have another set of Celtic symbol stamps but these are only good for paper and are to detailed for pottery.

  

I do believe the stamps turned out nicely giving a good pattern to the hammers.  I must try with some different glazes.

Owl Pumpkins

So it is now September which means October (aka HALLOWEEN) is almost here.  So since I love owls I was wandering the internet for fun things to pin to my Cute Hoots pinterest board when I came across owl pumpkins. 

Of course Martha Stewart has some of the most interesting.










Another fascinating take using sunflower seeds can be found at Better Homes & Gardens

For traditional carving here are some links to interesting owl patterns:

• Zombie Pumpkins - this one is a bit difficult, you need to be a member to print but the site has many unique stencils.
• Fantasy Jr easy owl stencil
• Celebrating Halloween has an owl in a tree plus some more interesting ideas including a Ganesha pattern.
• A scary tree with owl
• If you don't want to carve a pumpkin use some stick on's like this one from The Cute Little Shop

If you find a really good pattern and have talent you can always use the fake pumpkins found at craft stores and keep a good pumpkin year after year.

More fun with ceramics

Well I've been having fun with cookie cutters and ceramics.  My best friends son recently did a tour on a NOAA ship tagging sharks, right during shark week too.  So I had a shark cookie cutter and was making ornaments for Gryphonwyck on Etsy and made some ornaments for them.

They turned out ok.  The octopus is kinda wonky looking though.  So I also made some druid charms, a few more Cthuluments, and some Auburn ornaments for friends.  Now if only stuff would sell so I could justify making more, agghh.

I am continuing to train for my half marathon.  So far still only doing about 3 miles cause it is hot as heck around here and I refuse to run at 6 am.  Not a morning person.  But Halloween is coming up and the costume stores will open soon so I can put together my outfit and as it gets cooler I can run longer. 

Off to do house work and I will leave with a big WAR EAGLE since my orange cat posed on a blue rug today:

Cthulu-ments

Ah the joys of Lovecraft, and what could be better on your tree than some Cthulument.  I do like the way Lovecraft has created the Cthulu mythos that has spread to so much of our lives.  Most recent spotting for me was of course Warehouse 13 episode with the tentacle monster.  So I decided I needed some ornaments for my tree with a Cthulu theme.

I took ye old angel cookie cutter, since he does have wings, and created my ceramic lovelies.  I did not particularly care for how the Jade Moss glaze flowed, the two on the bottom.  The blue gray stoneware did a bit better with black in the accent areas.  I think I will try again and create some with arms and use a green glaze next.  Of course while photographing my creations for etsy I did receive some help from my cat.

Gotta love the critters.  Currently it is thundering so one of my dogs is cowering under the desk.

So don't forget to celebrate the holidays with the Elder Gods, or they might eat you. For sale at my Etsy shop Gryphonwyck

Disney Princess Half Marathon

Continuing the training for the half marathon.  Still running about 3 miles at a time.  It is so hot here it is harder for me to go further.  My full time job and karate take up so much time I need to squeeze in some more running time.  Once it gets cooler than I can run after work, right now its just to hot.  Made my hotel reservations, staying off site where it is cheaper so will see how that works.  Hubby is going so he can drive and cheer since he is not running (to many knee issues).  The next phase is COSTUME. Once it gets closer to Halloween I should be able to find some ideas.  Still planning on being Maleficent, so far most people are princesses, I wanna be a fairy princess, whee.

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2013

Yes I did it, I am officially registered for the princess half marathon. 

Step 1: get off my lazy derriere and jog more.  I admit I am doing around 2 miles at time right now so I really need to step it up.  Lets see if I can do at least 3-5 this weekend.  I did a half in 2011 and one in 2010 so I know I can do it, just need to stop being lazy.

Step 2: get my outfit, I still plan to be Maleficent so black and purple are the way to go.  Should be able to find some ideas around Halloween.

Step 3: Enjoy Disney and all the fun people, whee.

Karate Pisces aka Fish of Fury

While wandering through Barnes & Noble came across a felt zodiac book, Zodiac Felties.  It had some really cute ideas so today I did the pisces one.  My friends who were shopping with me that day happen to be pisces and are some of my karate buds.  So I decided to make some "Fish of Fury"

As with all projects the first thing you do is move the cat out of the work space.  I copied the fish page and cut out my patterns in black and white instead of the recommended liliac and tangerine.  My fish are fighting, not fruity.  Originally I was going to use some leaf sequins that I had on hand but that didn't look to good so I went with black netting.
Mine don't look quite as good as the illustration but they are a nice group of fighting fish, fishermen beware.  I would recommend if you have the paperbck version to blow up the pattern a bit, these ended up a bit small.
Overall a cute book with a nice take on the zodiacs.