collect the moments, one by one

happy sweethearts day!!

2012-02-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! XO, Etsy from Etsy on Vimeo.

we hit the big 100

2012-02-09T23:36:00.000-08:00

according to blogger this is our 100th post! feels like an accomplishment, considering the infrequent rocky start this blogging experience began with. Just had to share my little milestone :)

We've had a couple productive weeks in the studio and I wanted to share a few lil peeks n sneeks. This is all greenware, while the clay still has chemical moisture in it & can be easily recycled by adding water...

a real man mug stein! this baby is going to hold a lotta liquid.

platters

twistie handle teapot

this little guy is a miniature espresso shot mug - tiny!!

and for anyone wondering what the canvas color "paint" is on this miniature... I'm going to share one of my secrets that comes in very handy, especially in a studio where the electric heat boards can cause quick and uneven drying (that nobody wants!) I use a wax resist to seal in all the moisture when i am attaching my handles and added details. the wax prevents any cracking or separation - even when the thickness of the pieces you are attaching aren't identical, or when one of the two is a little dryer. It is my special weapon when i am working against time.. or forget a mug drying out in the open lol

And you can see I use it on almost everything!! It is def. my (foolproof) special trick o the trade! and woot woot for more newlywed mug sets, easter baskets, and citrus colored coasters (trying out new slip colors before doing a custom teaset.. thought it would be best to know what the glaze fired colors are really going to like like under my clear glaze!)

after tonight they will be bisque fired and ready for glazing!

Jared and I just got home from Denver after a night with the Miller & Hammond Fams - great to see everyone and we got to enjoy some of our favorite take-outs for dinner (Abo's pizza & taste of philly) and went to a sweet piano concert, Jon Schmidt!!!

I have been a lover of piano music my whole life, especially his refreshing modern rock approach to the instrument. It's really lovely how he arranges his original pieces and mashes up some of his pop song favs.

and after tonight I think Jared favors Cello music to the piano :)

I'm ready for a double shift tomorrow and some breaking dawn being released at midnight!! Twilight Saga Anyone?!!?! I have watched all the movies this week in preparation, i'm psyched lol

goodnight all

hugs & love

xoxo

Nuggets Game

2012-02-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we got to go to the Nugs Vs. LA Clips at the pepsi center!!! We had been looking forward to it ever since we got the tix for Christmas (thanks mom & dad!!!) Our seats were amazing & we got to bring Zach & Nicole with our family 4 pack, perfect!! I had been contemplating for weeks which jersey I wanted to get from the ladies store and picked Gallinari when decision time came - he just got signed for a 4 year contract, woot!

me & nicole - we both got Galo jerseys! in opposite colors :)

nice & early before the crowds!! the energy was really amazing, almost a full house

the boys, jared & zach

Tim Tebow was front and center!! Rocky was so cute and excited; he got him to sign a football and punted it into the stands. pretty cool stuff! only thing that would have made the night better is a Win!! we were neck n neck the entire game, but couldn't pull it off the last couple of minutes. Excited to see the re-match in Cali.....

I'm pretty stoked on going to bed after my double today... the plan for tomorrow is to wake up early and make a supply run to denver before work!! I have been a bit of a slacker and put off some much needed shopping; we need clay, glaze chemicals, and a couple of special slip colors for a custom order i am very excited about :) Wish there was a ceramics supply store right down the street sometimes.... haha I have friday off this week and I am looking forward to spending the whole day in the studio, yey!! I think my next post shall be about all of our new creations.. can you say studio sneeks n peaks?! yess.

goodnight friends,

xoxo

the happenings

2012-01-22T06:07:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to get on and post about the haps around here for a while now... here's a little catching up for January seems how my last post was all Christmas!!

Jared Just finished his 3rd week back to school, His Kiddos will be finishing their 2nd trimeseter in early Feb. He's already getting ready for the next trimester experimenting with projects at home.. He wants to have his kids MAKE the paper for their sketchbooks!! I have never tried making paper from recycled paper, but i know the look of it is really cool especially when you get different colors in the mix :) He has a bunch of old printmaking supplies - 2 boxes full of old stretcher bars probably used for screen printing. So he's going to have the kids turn them into screen trays for creating their paper. I wanna come to his class lol

He has also been finding time to work on a new watercolor series. He is taking Dr. Seuss stories and appropriating them in his own way..

I Love these!! And the Dark little details..

He has Also Gotten out in the studio with me this week! It started with our project on MLK monday - we purchased a slab roller with our sale money at the end of the year!! and it came shipped in 4 separate boxes. lol we did a team build on the beast and I can't tell you how amazing it is to finally have this piece of equipment!! It is different than the ones I have used in the past, but It is really easy to use & adjust the thickness for slabs. Not like the roller at UNC where it almost took 2 people to remove the long and awkward shams you had to stuff under the table. I love Ours!! And Jared is finally able to get to his platter making business :) He's been creating new designs with colored slips and playing with the idea of making plate sets! It's very exciting stuff. Oh yea, and we got a new Stool too!! I makes throwing and trimming so much more comfortable. My back is very happy.

aint' she a beaut?!

kisses

my new best friend

a perfect dusty paw lol

We have been enjoying some really nice weather.. haven't seen snow in probably over a month now. But the wind has been relentless. Kinda scary actually - the first week of Jan our neighbors had a 35 ft. pine go down in their yard. They were really lucky it didn't come through any rooms in the house, just the attic. All I have to say Is I'm thankful it was blowing south that day...

Mother Nature is one powerful force!!

We have also been enjoying football and Nuggets - our NUGS are doing amazing right now on the road!! so Happy they have been playing fantastic team ball and winning games!! We are so excited to go the clippers game in t-minus ONE week!!! Woot!

And Lets re-cap what an amazing playoff game the broncos had vs. the steelers!! Tebow made some really great passes, our defense kicked but oh and OT?! NO BIG DEAL!! the one and only play was incredible, I think we were on a high for the rest of the night after that win :) It was sad to get killed by the patriots, but I can't wait for next season!

I have been a busy beaver working on some fun new valentine's day stuff!! Just opened the kiln yesterday and have been photographing, uploading, and editing for the etsy shop. There are some heart mugs, quote mugs, keepsake gift tags, and of course new hooters :) One of my favorite new designs is this adorable swirl candy with heart shaped wrapper, awee

pop on over and check out our new face lift!!

I am on the Hunt for new shows this season, and organizing all of our business info from last year... taxes time came too soon lol

happy Sunday to ya'll!

hugs & love

XOXO

some special moments...

2012-01-06T23:07:00.000-08:00

with very special people! I was so lucky to have the time off from work that I did - we got to see all our close family for christmas. It was so fun & I wanted it to last all week :)

I love both of our families so much it was hard to split up the time, but I realize we are incredibly lucky to have them so close together.. commuting between festivities took us only 35 minutes.

had lots of fun with these Hammond cuties...

miss paytie pants

Laney and grammie (she was all smiles!! such a cutie!!)

we opened lots of fun presents, played with them, had a delicious prime rib dinner!!! watched basketball, played games, colored pretty pictures and had lots of laughs..

so happy to see this girl!! it isn't very often but i love my lil carlee. and guess what?! she's going to be home in colorado all summer! that was some exciting news :)

we found out my robe was a children's size! lol all moma had to do was cut a little off the sleeves and it fit payton :)

and for the Butler clan!! We had fun hanging out, watching awesome movies & going to The movies - saw MI: ghost protocal, which was sweet!! and got to meet Dave's new girlfriend who came with! ate delicious breakfast casserole, monkey bread & pizza, watched the nugg's first game of the season - they kicked butt - and enjoyed some christmas traditions around the yule log and festivus pole :)

bees was very relaxed

boys all got nuggets hats :)

pups!

lynn & I

this pic is actually from thanksgiving.. isn't it a cute shot of the boys, all legged crossed?! and not really enjoying the picture taking? hahaha

I have to say I am one happy girl. I have some really amazing people in my life and am so grateful to be a part 2 wonderful families. It makes my heart feel a little swollen :)

and my favorite of the bunch happens to be my best friend and the most amazing hubby...

It was such a blast to spend time with you on your winter break. you make me smile every day, and are the most fun to be around. love you Jer.

xo yellski

if you are feeling any of the feelings i am, you want december back.. the magic, the love, that special time of year :) I think i am being a bit sentimental because i took down all of the decorations today.. even though i was thinking to myself i had just put them up lol! hope your holidays were just as sweet, hugs & love

XOXO

Thank you 2011

2012-01-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

for being a year full of love, fun adventures, and happiness! You gave us many beautiful memories that will be cherished the rest of our lives, and new opportunities that will continue for us in the new year. It is with joy we say goodbye to you, and embrace 2012!

love, Danyelle & Jared

Happy new Year!!!

I have some holiday photos to share, soon! but i'll leave you with this lovely new year song..

<a href="http://timcoons.bandcamp.com/track/good-days">Good Days by Tim Coons featuring Renee Swick</a>

6 dyas till christmas, it's official

2011-12-19T22:52:00.000-08:00

don't believe me? check your calendars!

I know, It's almost here!! I'll be able to relax as soon as I have the last of my ceramics orders in the right hands... nothing like firing right up till the last minute :) Jared is officially on break too!! They had a winter party on friday and he got lots of fun goodies from his kiddos. it's kinda obvious he's loved... and somehow they knew he liked pepsi?! lol

Had our last show of the season last weekend down in broomfield, which i did without Jared (his A team boys had their tournament! and won 4th place :) but I wasn't short help.. My mom and Shanda came to help me haul our setup!! So sweet of them to sacrifice their saturday morning..

It was a great show, and for a really good cause!! The birds of prey received %5 of all sales, and they do amazing work rehabilitating wild birds so they can return to their homes.. they had an "educational team" there on both days of birds that have bad enough problems that they cannot go back into the wild. very cool to see, and be a part of!!

Thank you to everyone who came out to see and support us & the cause!! we love you <3

AND best part was getting to spend time with these cuties..

we went and saw christmas lights, had dinner at their church christmas party, and saw santa!! It was fun getting to hang with the hammond fam, they know how to have a good time :)

and this weekend was full of bronco fun! Jared found awesome slippers that are just too much fun, they make me feel like a real fan. All i need now is a Tebow jersey! haha

we went down to longmont to watch the game @ scott and amanda's house - it was fun the first quarter, until things started looking pretty bleak for our usual 4th quarter come back. bummer...

Still a good fun time with all our friends :)

looking forward to having my man home this week, even though i'll be at kenny's every night. including christmas eve! jeesh, i'll be happy when Christmas gets here!! can't wait to see the fams and enjoy some holiday cheer, yea!

hugs and love

XOXO

happy anniversary Halpert!

2011-12-03T19:39:00.001-08:00

Jared and I figured out this weekend marks the 1 year anniversary from when we got Halpert!! Crazy to think this little guy has been with us a whole year, and grown so so so much. I love looking back at his baby pics and seeing what a sweet pup he was...

and still is!!

we love you booter!

I wanted to try some Howliday pup portraits, didn't work so well. At least not getting both of them in the same shot haha. I felt bad putting these guys through the torture of "dressing up"... but they were so adorable, even if it wasn't the most fun in the world.

sooo cute!!

And we've been getting a little festive around the house. it is december after all!! The snow we've had this week just put me in the mood to decorate. I added this gorgeous wreath to our decoration collection this year, It looks so pretty on our door :)

It's beginning to feel a lot like christmas, and It's making me so happy!!

Also, Elf is one of the funniest movies. so glad we watched that tonight :)

sending love,

xoxo

happy thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T12:10:00.001-08:00

there is so much to be thankful for! (everyday of the year!) I'm happy to be spending time with Jared and the fams, enjoying delicious food, company, and being reminded of all the goodness in my life. Hope your thanksgivings are wonderful :)

XOXO

as lynn would say, "eat too much!"

I agree.

oh yes, also have to share our fun from last week. givin' thanks tim tebow style!! @ applewood arts in loveland

haha

he's certainly inspiring lots of people, we just like how he plays football!! keep winning games for the broncos timothy richard.

back to back

2011-11-16T21:50:00.001-08:00

is the story of our little kiln. 4 glaze firings in 2 weeks, pfhew. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to be creating so many wonderful things!! that are going out into the world and becoming part of people's homes, cupboards, moments, morning rituals... It really is something that makes me so happy to think about. and I can't tell you how thankful I am to be passionate about what i get to do every day, makes life wonderful.

that said, we had a super time at our lil holiday show in Greeley last weekend. This fantastic lady did an amazing job putting it on and getting the community out!! Jared and I had a fun day together, Ate DP dough cookies (warm and melty out of the oven), saw old friends!!, and sweet ones that came out to support us (Thank you!), and picked out some extra special gifts.. I can't wait to give them :)

Display is in tip top shape, all lighted up and ready for Applewood this weekend!!! I have heard nothing but great things about this show (and its' size) and I'm really excited! Visit their website for all the info Here...

Until then I'll be getting jared's custom order out the door (the glazes and designs came out perfect!), and organizing/pricing all the new cuties coming out of the kiln :)

I'm so thankful for Jared, and all of his help. His weeks are long and hectic with school, parent teacher conferences, and basketball yet, he's still giving up his weekends to come help with shows :) How I love him, and his heart of gold.

Jared and I decided we need a netflix account, which has me dreaming of my que and all the flicks i've been wanting to see. perfect timing if you ask me... I'm about through our DVD collection since putting the old tv in the studio! (and been through the entire series of BigBang theory thanks to Shanda and Chad) what better way to spend cold winter evenings?? I'm really excited :)

hugs & love

xoxo

Our belated halloween

2011-11-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

Late halloween is the best ever! We originally moved it back a weekend so all our friends would be in town and able to come, but turns out... party prepping when everything is 75% off is amazing!!! We got some fun decorations, made sweet cupcakes, and I had some fun homemade pumpkins too :)

getting crafty with modpoge & paper is good for the soul :) and also meant no gross pumpkin guts!

Jared and I made our costume from thrift store finds this year, we were Jesse & James of Team Rocket!! pokemon villans :)

yup, I painted my hair for the night!!

Scott & Amanda were hippies

Zach & Nicole

Batman & eskimo Princess

Jordie aka Ash Catchem

(also a pokemon character)

Fun fun night & I think we might try and snag a fog machine for next year!! yea!

I had a 9 hour shift today at Kenny's.. which was a fun time with all the regulars that come in on wednesday :) gotta say i'm pretty beat and looking forward to getting into bed :)

OHYEA!

Only 3 more days until our first Holiday show of the season!! Come and See us Sat. Nov 12 @ the Atlas theater, Greeley from 9-4. It is a fun cozy show with live music, treats & drinks, and over 40 colorado artists. I love the theme they are tagging for this show "Occupy the holidays"

so true ;)

I'm so excited to deck the halls!! And get a lil christmas shopping done early too. maybe we will see you this weekend :)

goodnight!

hugs & love

First Home Game of the Season

2011-11-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday was Jared's first home game! I was so excited to see his boys play, and one year later they were looking pretty fantastic. They ran their plays really well (and made the baskets too!) and ran different defenses while the other team tried to break through - I was impressed with how far they have come :) It was close in score through the whole game, and on the 2nd to last play the boys lost focus on defense and gave away the lead. with 1.8 seconds left Jared gave them a inbound play and they almost got a shot off before the buzzer. SO close.

It is frustrating to watch them come so close to a win! But as long as they are having fun, that's all that matters. even though winning feels pretty awesome :)

It's so great to see Jared coaching, he does a great job with the boys and you can tell they all love him. watching them play made me realize the small hole the nba has left in our lives... *sniffle* i miss our nuggets!! but life goes on, and jared and I think we'll be watching more college ball this season :)

Anyway, i'm happy i got to watch this game. since i won't be making it to any of his games this week... my work shifts are pretty identical to the game schedule, bummer. because it was so fun to watch!!

hugs & love

xoxo

Creme Brulee! & one massive clean up

2011-10-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

A project I've been dedicating a lot of time to the past 2 weeks has been a very special custom order. I was so thrilled that our head Chef at Kenny's steak house wanted to add creme brulee to our dessert menu, and wanted me to make custom ramekins for them! They came out brilliant & I can't wait to see them with creme brulee, on tables!! Very exciting stuff I tell you.

Being part of a small non-chain restaurant has its perks, and is a place I feel lucky to belong to. For almost 4 1/2 years now.. woah!

Here's a peek of what Jared spent a good part of the weekend doing... collecting branches and cleaning up our yard. So proud to have a man that likes taking care of business & doing a good job!!

Crazy what damage the snow can do!! We still need a couple of trees removed by the side of the house... but those will wait for another day :)

Happy hallow's eve!! Doesn't really feel like halloween for us, yet. We plan to celebrate next weekend with friends... so stay tuned for our amazing costumes :)

hugs & love

XOXO

Snow day & our new bed

2011-10-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

sometimes I don't realize how busy life is... until it s l o w s down for a bit :) Jared has been doing some of his last projects of the trimester with his kiddos & Coaching his BBall team, Game ONE tomorrow!! Good luck bulldogs :) Kenny's has been picking up with every week, holiday season is right around the corner!! And I have been thinking about the ceramics biz a lot, Very happy to have the etsy shop keeping me on my toes and plenty of shows around the corner!! sometimes I think i need to find an off switch for this job haha! It can be hard to go from work mode to just Home mode. But I am learning :)

Today was a nice reminder to take advantage of home time, Especially with Jared having a SNOW DAY!! We got over 6 inches last night of heavy wet snow, and it didn't let up until mid-afternoon. It did quite a bit of damage to all the leafy trees, and caused a few power outages in our neighborhoods. We were very lucky to still have electricity! The Dogs loved the snowy yard, Bees especially loves to run (and eat) snow. so cute.

Also have to share our new amazing bed (my new favorite spot!!) We are both very happy we got a King Size, now everyone has their own space on the bed!! even though the pups still like to lay right on top of us when they need some lovin' lol It gives "Comfortable" a whole new meaning and we are sleeping like babies :)

Sleepover anyone?! we gots plenty o room!! haha our bed is the besssst.

I have been fighting a little tickle of the throat and sinus pressure. Positive thinking, airborn, and hot tea is what I am hoping will do the trick. So it's early bed for me tonight! This is no time to be getting sick, ew.

Hugs and Love

XOXO

things that are making me happy right now..

2011-10-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share some little things that have been making me smile lately...

Jared's excitement about his boys basketball season starting next week!

Getting to bust out my heavy duty wool socks this weekend, it was chilly and amazing.

also picking out old sweaters and boots from my closet to start wearing again!

on that season changing note, all of our yard plants are turning beautiful autumn colors

pretty, huh

having friday night off with my man and going to see some fab. greeley art shows.

someone else who is a clay enthusiast buying the pugmill from our studio, which created a whole new kind of storage space and possibilities!

sweet potato chips, my new obsession. along with marscapone & black raspberry jam grilled sandwiches, YUM.

our sweet sweet pups. you knew they'd be on this list...

(a lil side story... Jared trimmed some straggly looking branches off the trees today and Halpert was in heaven collecting them and putting them in his stick chewing spot... he looked absolutely hilarious dragging branches as long as him into a pile lol)

making pretty things in the studio, like whimsical christmas trees, doilies from mom's cedar chest (i am in love), and custom groomsmen steins

(Jared is doing these steins for an awesome guy who found him on etsy, they are going to look amazing when they're finished!!)

thinking about halloween and how awesome our costume idea is this year... need to start thrifting for some of the pieces to our ensembles, note to self.

waiting for a marvelous book to arrive that I ordered online.

and making a new list of goals and to-do's for this week, It's going to be a good one :)

A big thanks to everyone who came and visited and helped us last weekend!! Littleton was a huge success and It's because of all of you we get to do what we love, thank you! We are happy to have the month of October off of shows, we were both starting to miss our typical weekend routines. lol sometimes it feels like we're just a couple of old married people... er, wait a second. :)

hope everyone has a great week,

hugs & love

xoxoxo

Giveaway @ Freckled Nest!

2011-09-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hi all, Happy Friday!

Just wanted to share a giveaway that ArtHaus is a part of! We are contributing a Hooter owl mug for one lucky winner that will also be getting a lot of other special stuff from some very creative peeps :)

head on over to Freckled Nest to find out more!! and Thank you for all the sweet comments, we are feelin' the love :)

About to start loading up the Element for our Show this weekend... Excited to be part of Friends of Littleton for our 2nd year! Come See us Tomorrow, Sat. Oct. 1st at Ketring Park from 9-4.

hugs & love

xoxo

Happy News!

2011-09-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to come out with any details until it was an official done deal... As of tonight, Jared and I are in a Gallery In Loveland!!!

It is the Lincoln Gallery in the old downtown part of loveland, cute little spot that is part of the downtown Art Walk every 2nd friday of the month. We are super excited to get the exposure and chance to sell our work :)

Couldn't be more thankful that the director, Jeff, made the motion to vote us in and get our work up! pretty awesome stuff :)

We celebrated at Old C's tonight and had some delicious pizza and pasta! about time for bed after a long monday...

hugs & love

xoxo

belated birthday, broomfield, and bliss!

2011-09-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

hi there! wow has it been a busy week. a lot to share.

but first, a belated birthday shout out to my hubby, the most amazing boy. It was fun to watch you turn another year older and i love how young at heart you manage to stay! yes, he got a nintendo 3DS and pokemon video games :)

love you <3

We had a booth at Broomfield days this weekend! It was fun for me to spend the night with the Hammond fam. and also really great to be 5 min. away from the fair...

Also had some really nice visitors throughout the day...

lil miss laney

Gma & Gpa Robinson came down from Cheyanne (on their way to Iowa) to spend the day with everyone. It was a total surprise and so nice to get to see them :)

The booth has kept evolving and I am really happy with how it is looking. We try to keep the colors simple and classy, and the taller shelves make displaying mugs so easy. It was also our first weekend with the square card reader!! How amazing is technology?! Pretty awesome to be able to accept credit cards with my phone :)

The crowds were also really great! We met a lot of nice locals and also had some returning friends stop by :) A big thank you to everyone for your support!!

(We're excited to be going back to Broomfield for a holiday show in December!)

Poor Jared got into a minor accident on his way to help me out at the booth, luckily he was just fine, not too much damage to his subaru, and it wasn't his fault. The people in the accident were going so fast they managed to get him and another vehicle involved. Darn it. (His car is already in the shop and Lynn let him borrow her ride for the week.. so sweet!) It can be so frustrating when other people are in too big of a hurry and driving stupid!

he's a real trooper. Still made it to the fair and made the best of the day!

We headed down to Arvada after the show to do some birthday celebrating with the Butlers! gotta love Rus & Jer in their fedoras, cute.

It was so nice to have a lazy Sunday at the house, eating yummy sticky buns, hanging out, and watchin' football.

It is back to school for Jared tomorrow & I'll be hitting the studio! only 2 more weeks till friends of littleton :)

hugs & love
goodnight xoxo

A Lil Studio Peek

2011-09-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, I looked at my calendar and realized that time is just flying by... fall is practically here and i am trying to prepare for the holiday seasons! They aren't going to sneek up on me this year. I found some wonderful medallion doilies from a cute little shop on etsy, and have been turning them into snowflake ornaments! I have some other keepsakes in the makings but will share depending how they turn out... is our show in october to soon to be selling Christmas tree trimmings?!

They don't have their clear glaze yet, or pretty ribbons, but I am so excited about how elegant and wintery the doily looks :) yey!

I am going to be doing a glaze firing with some exciting new pieces - as always, sharing will be determined by how awesome glazes come out. But i am really crossing my fingers for a good batch!! Look at our goofy puppy. his ears make me smile :)

******************************************

Jared had these waiting for me when i got home from work the other night... 'just because' flowers, aren't those the best kind? sure makes me feel extra special :)

He's the sweetest.

hugs and love

xoxo

A denver day

2011-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

SO glad I got to see my little Carlee Bear! She came by Colorado before heading back to School in Rexburg, Idaho.... after spending the summer working in Arizona. The Girl is miss independent all over the place :) We decided to see what the fuss was all about at the new Ikea store by Park Meadows - quite the adventure.

It was almost a furniture overload... But everything was so practical and useful! Perfect for small spaces and little homes. Carlee is designing her dream kitchen out of Ikea and I am daydreaming about converting our whole house... lol. daydreaming! I see why Shanda has been shopping there for years now :)

Moma & Bearie

hugs and love

xoxoxo

Lovely little Labor day Weekend

2011-09-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hi All! Hope your weekends were relaxing and fun!! We certainly enjoyed our 3-day weekend :) Got to hang with friends and fam, take a few adventures, and sleep-in, yey!

Jared and I drove up to Estes Park Sunday to check out their downtown art show. It was HUGE! It attracted a lot of people, and traffic! Think we may sign up for a booth next year ;) Best part was watching a glass blowing demonstration in one of the galleries on the main strip. The Guy (Dave) had his studio set up in the back section of his Gallery and made a platter from start to finish. Quite the process... and amazing to see someone work with HOT glass!

also grabbed an application for an Estes Art Gallery... doesn't hurt to try!

Today was some awesome fun at Coors Field! Watched the Rockies play the AZ Diamondbacks with the whole Butler clan :)

Lynn & Me

Jared, Gma & Gpa Butler (from AZ! rooting for their team away from home), & Rus

We had some sweet seats, in the shade with a great view!

Couldn't have asked for a better weekend, love getting to do fun things with the people we love!

xoxo

Accomplished

2011-08-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

Not only was this one of my biggest ceramic accomplishments, but it was also an incredibly flattering custom request. I was thrilled to have this order from a sweet etsy customer and even more thrilled to see the result all neatly stacked :)

pretty tasty lookin' ;)

happy to have them in the post on on their way!

backyard

2011-08-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a nice Sunday outside this weekend; glazing in the studio and working on the yard! Jared put in a beautiful little rock porch area, which he likes to call his "Rock Garden", and it is fantastic. A much needed change to the dirt patch that was a real eye sore. He is even more inspired now to do a path to the side gate, and possibly expand by the back door! yey for pretty riverbed rocks and backyard Zen. Bees had a blast playing in the hose. she loves chasing after the stream! it was cute to watch her play, and get some brother love after :)

this is one of my new fav. pics of the two of them, so cute.

we are firing the kiln like crazy getting prepared for Loveland Art in the Park this weekend!! here is a lil preview of some new beauties you can expect to see :)

for more info on times & location, visit the show's site here. and we hope to see you there :)

Hugs and Love

xoxox

today....

2011-08-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the post office, and put a very special package in the mail.

Today I hoped that work would go by quickly.
Today I dreamed of having our new wedging table! (Jared bought supplies at home depot today)
Today I forgot the clothes in the washer.
Today I heard "I like your banana" haha
Today I read some craft fair applications!
Today I watched the first ep. of eastbound and down, season 2. hilarious
Today I said "Thank you so Much"
Today I believed that I can make all the pots need to, If i work hard.
Today I felt A huge relief when my broken window was replaced.
Today I wondered If i would get sent home early because of the power outage?
Today I bought a tank full of gas.
Today I cleaned up a massive creamer spill.
Today I was me.

We Heart Greeley

2011-07-31T22:56:00.000-07:00

Seriously. this weekend at the Arts Picnic was amazing, and we are so so thankful for everyone who came to see us! We love the Greeley vibe, all of the people are so kind and warm. we really felt the love <3 and the Heat! It was about 95-97 degrees all weekend. pfhew. i can't tell you how much we are loving our swamp cooler right now!!

Even though we got off to a rocky start (literally, we had our back window break on the way home from friday evening set-up :( it was still a great weekend! And we are so pumped to get back in the studio before Loveland Art in the Park, only 2 weeks away!

hugs & love

xoxo

Viva Las Vegas!

2011-07-28T00:52:00.000-07:00

that's right! Vegas BABY. Jared took me out to Sin city the day after my b-day and we had the best time. We flew in late Sunday night and the strip was a sight to see, all lit up!! It was also 95 degrees at 11:30 p.m. crazy hot!! we seen a lot of the fun strip sights and walked.... a lot!

our hotel! the Excalibur

Mario!

Another Huge B-day present... (wow i'm spoiled!) Rusty and Lynn Got us Show tix!! We we're so excited to see the Cirque de Soleil show LOVE - I am a Beatles fanatic and couldn't wait to hear the music and the show. It was Unreal, the entire experience. From the Stage to the costumes to the music and our amazing seats!!! it was unforgettable!

(i asked to take a pic with lovely Rita meter maid but she said i couldn't.... )

It was all so amazing :) thank you lynn & Rus!!

we also got in some relaxing at the pool, which was SO hot... but beautiful.

(i forgot my pool hat at the hotel, so sad. I loved that hat!)

our last night on the town we did a little gambling - It was a rush to sit and play blackjack in the casinos! i loved it - probably because i had a little lucky streak ;)

overall, incredible trip. we stayed up all night on our last night (we had an early morning flight) and we happy to come home to the dags & a nice long nap! thank you thank you thank you to everyone who made our Vegas adventure Amazing :)

Glacier Gorge

2011-07-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

So, we have some very outdoorsy friends. Jared's bestie, Zach is a serious hiker and plans out lots of trips - taking different members of the "hiking forum". (In order to be in the hiking forum you have to go on one of his hikes and be inducted... nothing too official really, just a very exclusive facebook group for hikers only) Everyone we know has been on one of Zach's hikes, except us!! mostly because the outdoor adventures require waking up at disgustingly early hours, long winding car trips (yes i get very carsick) and a days worth of hard physical work. We finally decided to put all these factors aside and go along on the Glacier Gorge expedition, 2011.

The group: me, nicole, zack, tyler, landon, jordan, jared

Felt amazing to be up in the mountains surrounded by b e a u t y. It was breathtaking at some points especially around the lake.

We also ran into some conditions that were a little scary - there was too much snow to make it up to the falls without the right equipment (ice picks lol)... most of us were in old tennies with no gloves or poles. Safety first!

It was hard work, especially coming down on the snow! but so much fun, lots of laughs with amazing people :)

Today's Status: Sore.

hugs & love

xoxo

Studio Peeks

2011-07-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

My man has been a slip-casting maniac lately. not only pouring and combining different pieces, but making his own molds too! in the last couple of weeks he has made a samuri sword, 2 spray paint cans, and a nintendo control panel, old school. lol

these are some new designs i am working on for wedding gifts! I am in love with the idea and hope they turn out super cute :)

we had a fun 4th of july weekend spending lots of time outside, in the studio, under our new umbrella and watching fireworks at windsor lake :) hope yours was just as swell! xoxo

hugs & love

T o a d s

2011-07-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

guess what we've been finding in our yard?! yup. toads! The arrival of toads must mean that the snakes have decided to hit the road. yesss! I am terrified of snakes and we have been dealing with them in the yard since may... so happy there are signs that snakes are disappearing lol

We have been very busy.......... enjoying summer!!

it is so nice to having jared home, i love how much time we've been able to spend together :) here are just some of our highlights so far..

garage sales on weekend mornings

re-watching "The Office" from season 1! Such a funny/amazing show

sleeping in :)

eating late night sonic treats

seeing some amazing movies:

X-men first class (i loooved, a little more than jared)

Super 8 (good story and the kids were cuute & hilarious!)

Transformers 3 (Rocked even more than the first 2, even though megan fox was replaced... and it is also in a tie with jared's favorite movie of the year so far, bridesmaids haha)

spending fathers day with the hammonds & millers

Yardhouse with the Butlers

playing outside with the pups

getting my ceramics in to Doug's Hang up!! it is a great gallery space in downtown Greeley, where the owners are all about supporting local artists. it has a lot of great work including some past UNC students art, like me :)

working on fun projects in the studio!! jared has been a slip casting maniac creating 3 new molds for making lots of spray paint cans and samauri sords... i know, i can't wait to see his creations come to life either.

getting our new kiln!!!!! big thank you to michael lemke

it is an amazing used kiln that is HUGE. it literally fits our current kiln inside of it. amazing. our next task will be obtaining parts to convert it from a 3 phase kiln to a 1 phase so it can run off the power outlet in our studio. feel so lucky to have a new kiln :)

I am also rearranging in my craft room to accommodate a floor loom! UNC recently updated all of their equipment and needed to move some older looms. So happy my old professor called and asked if i would claim one! gladly :) it is in great condition, just needs a few pieces and some other weaving tools before i can start dream weaving away!!! I am going to try lace weaving, yes.

also there is a glaze kiln that is just about the right temp to open up, time to see some new beauties!

oh yea, and my fun little sewing project

new living room curtains :) i fell in love with the fabric and got it for %50 off! love joanns and my coupons.

Sorry for lack of photos in this post, kinda lame. I need to bust out the camera more! next post will be full of pics :) hope your summers are swell, Hugs & love xoxox

love love love...

2011-06-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

To everyone who came to see us at taste of foco! it was an amazing weekend for us, full of sunshine (we were so lucky & thankful!) good art & music & food, and MANY LOVELY FACES!!! we love you all thanks for making it a memorable weekend! The support we get from all of you means the world and we wouldn't be doing what we love with out you, truth be told. XOXO

Creative Spaces; Art Show

2011-06-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Jared just enjoyed his first real week of summer, Yes!! Although he has been out of middle school since may, he was the visual arts teacher for a 2 week long summer camp at UNC. He worked with very talented kids that were passionate about creating art & preforming theater. He had a lot of fun getting dirty doing clay projects with his kiddos but it was also a HUGE challenge to complete the "clay process" in 8 days!! (I can hardly do that in a time crunch at home..hah) He managed to help these kids convey some really intellectual ideas in the form of clay. I got to see it all come together at their Art show last Friday. Pretty amazing what they created and how it came together as a whole:

these kids are in 8th and 9th grade too! can't imagine how fantastic their art will be in a few years, incredible :)

Taste of Fort Collins

2011-06-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Less than a week away until our first show!! Taste of Fort Collins is next weekend, i can hardly believe it!! feels like we've been getting ready for a month, and it's finally here! I've been putting together lots of little details and am excited to see it all come together :) some things you can expect to see...

new collapsing stands! sexy huh

adorable tags! and wrapping to match ;)

fun cards with our show schedule, very summery

new mini cards

and lots and lots of owls :)

We really hope to see you next weekend!!

Sat. the 11th from 11am-9pm & Sun. the 12th from 11am-8pm

Located at Civic Center Park, Old Town Ft. Collins

there will be lots of other vendor booths, a Kids Zone, Live music, Food, Beer and more!! for the full details visit the TFC website here.

hugs and love xoxo

oh sweet nothings

2011-05-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

i can't even tell you how much i am looking forward to summer weather... it has been a week full of rain, wind, hail and storms in colorado. ugh. it got my mood a little blue, but things are looking up after rain flurries today! I WANT SUMMER! heat, sun, long days :) i love and want all of it!!! Even though i was depressed with our weather, the yard loved it. our dirt patches are transforming into lush green growth!! i will have to post before and after pics when we are ready to take down the fence, it's really incredible! (but not quite ready for pup traffic yet)

Jared officially did his end of year check out today! He came home and introduced himself as "summer jared" lol I know he is really happy to have completed his first year teaching - and looking forward to summertime bliss! Also found out he will be going back next fall and taking on more classes - he will not only have his 7th and 8th grade art but also a 6th grade tech. class and his own homeroom group of kiddos. pretty exciting stuff :) For now he is getting ready to do a summer camp through UNC called creative spaces - it is 2 weeks long and the kids will be doing collaborative clay projects! couldn't be a better medium :)

one of jared's students gave him an end of year treat, how sweet is this cake?!?

pretty cute stuff if you ask me!

I have been in the studio just about non-stop. i reorganized and cleaned, mixed three glazes, did 2 glaze firings, and threw a batch of pots... in the last week :) and i am so excited to show off some pictures taken with my new graduated vinyl backdrop!! it is makes every shot look a little more professional, it is just what i needed to kick up our pics a notch! 30 bucks well spent on our professional image ;)

i still need to work on the lighting and framing.... but it is a start :) can't believe our first show is less than 3 weeks away!!! and even bigger news; I am applying to get into madison and main gallery the first week of june! i wasn't just talking goals last month... I'm doin them. makes me a little nervous, but in a good exciting way :)

we wish all a happy beginning of summer! life is beautiful <3

hugs & love

xoxo

studio peek

2011-05-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

hi all! just snuck out to the studio with my camera to share some of the exciting stuff going on in my little creative world :) I have been trying to get back to some of the themes and techniques i used in my exit portfolio - mostly lacework! I kind of took a break from this tedious process but realize how rewarding it is to see the beautiful effects...

these still need to be glaze fired, but lace is def. making a come back on my pots! also tried some new glaze recipes that come out brilliant!

i love the rustic burnt around the edges look - has an old feel to it! and this little wall piece came out with wonderful detail & glaze

yey! i will be making many more of these to sell at our craft sales this summer :)

I am also very excited to be doing my first giveaway through a wonderful little blog, the Ive Twines! Bethany did a great little review about ArtHaus Ceramics and featured some great pics of our stuff. you can still enter to win an owl mug or magnet set from us over at her blog. here is the link to check it out :) thank you Bethany!

Graduation was a blast last weekend, i was so happy to see all my fam and celebrate! way to go chad! Gma and Gpa Robinson had the chance to make it up to severance to see our little place which was wonderful :) We also got to spend mother's day in in Arvada with lynn, rusty, and david! Managed to fit all of our family in one weekend, love it when that happens :)

lil miss

buff stadium

the graduate

Jared carrying payton to the car.. they were so cute and silly together. def. on the same level lol

and this pic looks so cool - taken by shanda on her iphone! (i want one)

well that's all for now, hugs and love! xoxo

yay for may

2011-05-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

hard to believe it is May already! but we are so excited for summer :) only 3 more weeks until Jared is done with school!! and we are celebrating friends and family graduating from college this week!! So happy to have the day off on friday to go to CSU's graduation ceremony to see chad walk - Grandma & Grandpa Robinson will be there along with mom & dad, can't wait!!

Jared's last track meet is on friday too. the season went by so quick! I got to go watch him coach at Eaton last night, so cute to see how much the kids love him. he has a little following that walks around with him :)

I was very excited to get an e-mail confirmation last week that we made it into the Taste of Fort Collins!! It will be our first show this summer on June 11th & 12h :) for all the info and to see what all will be going on here is the link. the pics they have are amazing & i can't wait to see what it's like!!

I have been messing around photographing pots for summer cards with our show schedule - they are still yet to come as we wait to hear if we get accepted to a couple more big ones :) but i can't help but show sneek peeks of the cute pics lol

(i'm in love with these watermelon tumblers)

for now i am preparing to get my butt kicked at work this weekend. HOw is it that graduation & mother's day fall on the same weekend?! 2 of our busiest days of the year, and i'm bartending.. wish me luck ;)

hugs and love

xoxo

project: Grass

2011-04-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

that is what i am calling the operation going on in our backyard lol. project grass is 100% jared's labor of love for all of us, mostly the pups. we went to the home depot and got all of the supplies to fence off half of the yard - and 'even grows on pavement' grass seed. we'll see about that :)

2 more days and we should see grass starting to pop up!! (i hope it does!)

xoxo hugs and love

spring is in the air..

2011-04-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

and it is making me so happy! I love this time of year when everything starts to perk up and feel alive again. we have the most gorgeous trees in our yard and they are blooming like crazy. there was a little rain storm last night which turned everything a bit greener :)

my hubby is adorable. he got a new toy this weekend and was like a little kid putting it together. (think i might need a nurf gun so we can have missions together lol)

(is the backlight on this one epic or what?!)

he happily struck up as many poses as he could think of. great photo shoot.

(jared's teapot)

Seems like all our free time is spent in the studio - love it!! we have been making about a kiln load a week - kickin' butt you could say. Jared finished CSAPS last week and it has been glorious! he put in over 65 hours doing all of the organizing, make-ups, and manwork behind the tests. so proud of him!! and happy he has more time on his hands now! His track team got snowed out last thursday which means a make-up meet tonight and another on thursday, GO BULLDOGS!

(mini sauce boats)

I found an old sketchbook from about this time last year and got really inspired by how enthusiastic i was about graduating and doing art full-time - It was really cute to "revisit myself" a year ago - how excited we were to find the severance house that had a studio!! how amazing it was to own our wheel!! and how i felt like i had everything in front of me to do anything i dreamed!! It was just what i needed to be reminded of how amazing my life is, and how blessed I am. Life is beautiful.

i was also moved by my passion - i lived and breathed my work and time in the studio everyday. that said i am rededicating myself to clay. and pursuing getting my work into a gallery! yey for new goals!! Jared has been listening to me talk about this for the past year and he asked me what i was waiting for. I said i wanted to be as good as the people who are in them right now. He told me none of them are my age, if i wait till i am 'as good as them' i will be waiting for 20 years. haha he is so right. time to stop being afraid!

can't wait to see what comes out of our glaze fire tomorrow! new designs & glazes!! eeek!

hugs & love

xoxo

fun little things

2011-04-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

some fun little pics of jared at work coaching middle school track;

i have to admit this meet was freezing cold and i didn't stay for more than an hour. haha some fan i am. it was cute to see the kids run and jared walk around the center of the track to coach them on at certain points. i could hear him telling his boys to pass the guy in front of them!!

I went to my first live comedy show last weekend - jared, david and i saw the Skalar Brothers at comedy works in denver. one word; hilarious! we are big fans of their podcast and to see them live in person was pretty cool. we had a great time!

cool project that you might like to do yourself; turn an old frame into a necklace holder! i can't remember where i saw the idea for this but it is so handy - no more jewelry lying around everywhere. it's also a space saver just hanging on the wall. all you need is a frame and some sort of wire, string, or cord to staple across. 30 seconds later you have brilliant necklace holder!

We have been busy busy (on top of work) in the studio. Jared has been making platters, mugs, and noodle bowls like crazy! gearing up for the summer craftshow season ahead, it's so exciting :) i've been experimenting with new glaze techniqes and fresh designs.... I may give a peak depending on how they turn out hah.

time to fire!

hugs and love

xoxo

(gotta love a little playtime in the dirt)

Honeymoon!

2011-04-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

it's about time eh? we've only been home for 2 weeks now... since the last post i have been avoiding my computer and catching up more neglected things - organization, cleaning, housekeeping all things that took a backseat to the wedding. i have been a complete spring cleaning nut! but clearing the clutter feels so refreshing, just what i needed :) almost feels as good as the oceanside sea breeze... haha not even close.

(our patio view!)

(the harbor)

(the first day there, had to walk down and get our toes wet)

we went to california for a our wonderful honeymoon !!! it was the best week ever. no work, no school, newlywedded right next to the oceanside beach :) We stayed in mom and dad's timeshare which jared and i agreed was bigger than our first apartment! haha we could have lived there easily. it would have been so easy. seriously. we felt so lucky to have a great place - close to the harbor, beach, public transport, grocery store, did i mention the beach?!

fountain in front of the Santa Fe train station

we flew into SanDiego wich was about 40 miles south of oceanside where we stayed. it was fun finding our way around without a rental; we caught a city bus to the train station and road the "coaster" train north. It was a gorgeous train ride - we sat in the upper level of the train and watched the ocean out of one side and the rolling, lush, green hills & homes out of the other side. (amazing sights for a couple of coloradans!)

we walked all over, saw lots of gorgeous sights, enjoyed the sunsets, played some basketball (in spirit of march madness and filling out our brackets), ate delicious bbq, had a blast at sea world, relaxed in the hot tub, visited the san diego museum of modern art, indulged in local cuisine, adventured across uncharted beach! and possibly took more pictures than (jared thought) was necessary lol

the lighthouse in the harbor lit up :) what's the deal with light houses?

on our way to the grocery store walking on the highway overpass

dunkin it!

like a stud.

sunset! the boats on the water were beautiful.

grillin'

the sea lion show at seaworld

sharks! couldn't believe how many they would put in those tanks together.

penguins!

getting sunburned waiting for the shamoo show.

thought we were in the splashzone, turned out we didn't get wet at all :(

the sea lions were comedians, def. my fav!

SUSHI! YUM

crazy big waves, we watched surfers take them on!

crossed a river to get back to the resort!

and climb these huge rocks.

our last night we went out for fancy italian :)

our server gave us newlywed tiramisou!

museum visit on our way back to the airport

jared got to see a real space invader!!!

as sad as i was to leave Cali, i knew we were coming home to our babes!! i was glad they didn't miss us at all - they were happy as could be at grandma butler's hanging out with uncle bandit.

It was an amazing trip, and i think i fell in love with california. maybe one day we'll go back :)

i'll be back soon with jared's track meet pics! goodnight, hugs & love xoxo

The most perfect day ever...

2011-03-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

There is a new addition to my list of favorites: favorite day of life (so far) - our wedding day <3

I can't even begin to describe how perfect everything was. it all went off without a hitch. blue skies not a cloud in sight. surrounded by our closest friends and wonderful family. it was almost too good to be true :)

i really don't know where to start.. i'm thinking it might be better if i let the pictures do the talking. If you want to see the whole lot (there really is a lot) you can head over to the website via this link. there is a button on the top menu bar "find a couple" - enter our info and you can see the album!

I am so thankful for everyone that came and sent their love, and to everyone who helped make this wedding special & beautiful! all our love

xoxoxo

my lady loves!

2011-03-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

saturday night was one of the best nights ever - right there next to my birthday haha. My mom threw me a "girls night" in denver with all my closest girls. I felt so loved being surrounded by all my favorite ladies, celebrating getting married!! we ate lots of delicious italian food at maggiano's (my absolute favvvvvv resteraunt in the entire world) and found out we got to take full size entres home for leftovers!!! i couldn't believe they give you double food for buying 1 meal - like heaven to my ears!! it was SO much. and so good.

It was a lot of fun getting to see michelle again for the first time in months! she flew out from oregon to be my bridesmaid and i am extremely happy she did.

Me, Cathy, and Nicole drove down form NoCo and had a riot laughing in the car :)

of course the fam; the mothers and my sister! who patiently waited for the notoriously late me. what do you expect?! sad to say but most days i run late for life... late = standard time... sorry!

I can't tell you how luck y i feel to have such loving friends & family! it means the world to me!

Jared told me today at his staff meeting the wedding was on the agenda. Paul (his principal) made a point to announce the marriage and honeymoon to the middle school staff :) very cute if you ask me!

aside from the last minute errand running i have been trying to sidetrack myself in the studio of course. wanted to share some of the latest glaze fired stuff! this was the first batch to be fired form the bucket glazes i mixed... most results were good and i found some areas for recipe tweaking!

easter basket!

hooters

my next post will most likely be post wedding!! YAY :)

hugs and love

xoxoxo

can anyone say, "wedding countdown"

2011-02-20T21:58:00.000-08:00

I can, but i don't want to!!! only 18 more days!!! I can't believe it :D time has just flown by this month, it is rediculous!

I am going down to highlands ranch tomorrow for one last dress fitting. my mom called up tonight fretting over cutting my dress (bless her heart) she wants to measure one last time before seriously altering it. can't blame her, would rather be safe than sorry this close to the big day! I have been doing some last minute things myself - like making the guest book :) i have been getting very giddy thinking about all of the loved ones we have coming, it is going to be so special to have them all there with us!

i have been putting off buying a guest book because nothing seemed to fit the idea of what i wanted... something more personal with space to write and include pictures. Naturally i decided to make my own :) what could be more perfect than a sketchbook?! nothing. haha the one i found was brilliant with lines on one page and blank space on the other. It is cute and exactly what i dreamed!

In other exciting news, our etsy shop has been open for 1 year on Feb. 28th! we decided to celebrate offering 10% off everything in the shop now through the end of the month. A little more premature news, we had an offer to be reviewed on a blog!! (i had to pinch myself) somedays It feels like we are the tiniest fish in the big online sea, can't even tell you how good it feels to have someone reach out and like our work :) I will be sure to keep you posted, just had to share my excitement.

The latest mugs from the studio:

an eclectic spring colored teacup set!

i will also be making some purchases in denver tomorrow - large chemical quantities for making big buckets of glaze! AWEYEA

hope everyone enjoyed the NBA allstar game as much as we did tonight! so sad to think this will probably be mellow's last week as a nugget :(

hugs & love

xoxo

oh yea, happy president's day!! (and day off from school!)

h a p p y F R I D A Y

2011-02-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

yey!! it's friday!! that means one day closer to sunday! (Kenny's is closed on Sundays, that's my reliable weekend day haha) but friday's are still happy :)

Last night was Jared's C-team end of season celebration. Him and the girls went out to Pizza Hut, and I got to come along. It was so much fun!! his girls were a roit, holiday in a glass if you will. they were giggling up a storm and telling the funniest stories. You could tell they really liked "coach" too, they said they were going to miss him and he should move up to be their coach all through high-school, so sweet.

(funny faces)

Varsity is playing their first tournament game tonight, Hopefully they win and continue playing!! (jared isn't ready for the season to be over yet)

I did a glaze fire on wednesday and was so happy to open the kiln yesterday!! we had a few really nice colors come out on our test tiles, i couldn't be happier.

matte colors - i like using matte on my stuff, not so much jared's style

preeeetty celedons! the one on the left is my fav.

yummy blue-green!

also got some magnets up and in the etsy shop today and a couple of cute piggies for shanda...

OINK!

lol

Tuesday was a big day for Halpert, he got a big boy collar. no more running around naked. also purchased a leash. it's about time he learned to have a proper walk. Jared has been watching the dog whisperer and his wonderful techniques... We'll have to see if they work!

hugs & love

xoxox

sending love

2011-02-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

A little V-day shout out to all our friends and Fam; WE LOVE YOU!! And hope you had a wonderful valentine's day this year :)

Work kept Jared and I apart today, but in the Business of steakhouses, today was a great day to be working!! From lunch to dinner it was non-stop tables - and reservations kept my section full tonight. Saw lots of sweethearts and cute couples during my 9 1/2 hour sift :) And came home to the sweetest boy ever. he surprised me with a darling necklacce!

(i love bows)

okayokay aside form all the lovey doveyness and my being on V-day overload, we have been keeping busy. Which is good for me (leaves less time to stress about wedding stuff lol) and Awesome for jared - this is Sadly his last week coaching the girls b-ball team. Tomorrow is their last home game, hard to believe how fast the season went by!! It has been fun watching him and his games and meeting the girls on his team. I will miss it! and I know he will even more. Last weekend was especially fun watching his games - Lynn & Rusty came up to watch all 3 (c-team, JV, and varsity) games against mead. It was fun to have such wonderful company during the games :) University Ended it with a Varsity win!!

Jared will have a little bit of down time before his next season.... coaching middle school boys track!! So excited he got the position, and it is in his area of expertise. He was a medal winner back in highschool running for Rocky Ford. :) Exciting stuff!!

I have been keeping busy with kenny's, my bikram Yoga, and creating in the studio. I know i said i was happy to be taking a break from the ceramic business.... but in reality this is the best time for stocking inventory and creating for busy months this summer!!! I have been in the studio (despite the cold weather) working on vases, cassseroles, baskets, you name it.

my studio buddy :) he helped make vases for the centerpieces at the reception!

I have also researched recipies and chemicals for mixing new glazes - we are doing test tile batches this week to determine which ones we will turn into bucket size batches. Excitiing!!! I can't wait to see our results and start getting our bisque ware fired :) (yes, it's piling up)

I am Also awaiting a package filled with our new business cards... guess what they say?!

Jared & Danyelle BUTLER!

haha I am so excited!! to see how sweet the cards turned out (i got them from a really great printing company "MOO" that will do up to 100 different images on your cards!) and also to be a butler :)

Big Hugs and love

xoxo

Pup Portraits

2011-01-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

I am crazy in love with our dogs, and how darling they are all the time! They are the best pups in the world. I think jared can agree with me on that :)

can't believe it's monday already. time to work work work all over again! hugs and love to everyone

xoxox

some snippets of the last week

2011-01-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

where to start... hm. I know, wedding details! haha it has been on my brain and to-do list practically everyday the past couple of weeks and i'm happy to say i am loving every minute! Jared and I took engagement pics a couple of weeks ago. He was such a good sport smiling and posing, i couldn't have asked for cuter pictures! Chad was willing to come up and shoot them for us, thank you chad! and Shanda! they made a nice visit out of it and brought the girls to play and see the pups.

I have been putting together invites and crafting decorations and details for the wedding. (this is the part i love, getting crafty!) Also got to go down to broomfield to see mom & dad and sneak in a fitting for lynn's mother of the groom dress :) I am so excited to get married!!

Jared has been busy as ever. He is picking up as many sub jobs as possible, and continues to coach his c team girl's basketball team. I was able to watch him coach this last friday when they played at Kersey. He does such a nice job coaching the girls, he definitely has a different tone and demeanor with them than he does his boys ;) it's good he gets in touch with his feminine side being around them everyday hehe. they had a tough game with only 6 players to run the court. they work hard but he could sure use some extra subs the second half of the game!

Jared has also been working on a pokemon project in the studio (he had this idea back in November and has been dedicated to doing it ever since) he is going to carve all 150 pokemon onto cups! pretty ambitious project. but so far the results have been freakin' sweet!

he has been able to check 9 off the list so far, that leaves..... 141 to go!

Our pups have been crazy as ever. playing, running, wrestling, tug-o-waring, eating, sleeping... Halpert feels a little bigger everyday! and Jared informed me that i missed his first jump from the floor to the futon today! i'll believe it when i see it lol

i love it when they are sweet to each other :)

I went back to bikram's yoga today! thanks to my sweet friend maggie who gave me a month unlimited pass :) It really kicked me in the butt though, i can't wait to start practicing and get better.. YEY! i am challenging myself to go as many days as possible - wish me luck!

time for me to put this sore tired butt in bed,

hugs and love yall

xoxo

it's a brand new year

2011-01-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

holy crap. it's 2011!!

happy new year peeps!! hope yours was fantastic, we enjoyed the eve with many fun activities and pals. After a full day at kenny's i was the first to leave the dinner shift, which was nice. unfortunately our typical insane NYE crowd didn't show up with the below zero weather and snowy roads. but i was happy to get the tables i did and have a rather relaxing fun night at work :)

Scott & Amanda come over, so did Zach & Nicole.... with their Kinect!!! and we played sports, adventure, and dance dance which was awesome!! kinda made me want one too, its like your body is the remote and the camera captures everything you do!! it was hilarious fun.

We have been trying to soak up the last days of jared's break. he went back for in-service today. can't believe how fast those two weeks went by! also can't believe how all the wedding stuff is coming together! God bless my mom who is sewing all the dresses (even hemming mine) for the girls! she is an incredible seamstress and i'm so excited about the pattern she found. it reminds me of a vintage cocktail dress! i am in love. look at how brilliant my sisters turned out!!

and Jared has been scoping out tuxes online and found this classy chocolate colored one, fancy eh?! I am getting more and more excited for the big day!! eeek!!

I am pretty excited for a little down time from the ceramics business (although the etsy shop is still up and running! and getting more traffic than I imagined! many thanks to our online customers :)), it will give me some time to spend on other projects especially starting my new scrap book. i just printed out a years worth of photos, crazy! it scared me at first but i am getting pretty excited to do new pages and layouts :) and my goal is to try and write/journal more in my books.... we'll see how that goes. anything more than a title will be an improvement for me hah.

the couch is calling my name right now... we have had a hectic night with jared's car battery dying and me having to drive out and jump him, the pipe in our studio freezing :/.... it's time for puppy cuddling and nuggets watching!

xoxo hugs and love

Halpert meeting snow for the first time, so cute.

jolly holiday

2010-12-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

I feel so loved! I have an incredible family and am thankful for each and everyone of them! Jared and I had a great time this christmas... eating way to much delicious food, playing with nieces, watching movies and catching up on parks and recreation, trying to wii dance and laughing our pants off, playing with the pups, enjoying family, relaxing, giving gifts, and getting really sweet ones! i feel super spoiled...

(babies for the pups)

(our little tree)

(payton & halpert)

(freeze explosion tag)

(hammonds)

(wii fun)

we got a new TV and sound bar! i can't believe how BIG it is!! Jared and I decided it deserves a proper stand in our living room too, we are going to ditch the thrifted $5 nightstand for a real cabinet! it is going to look so so sweet! thank you butler fam :)

we also lucked out with some sweet new equipment from mom & dad. We now have a heavy duty dolly and fold out table for craft fairs! woo! i can't wait to put them to good use, they will make craft fair days so much easier!!

Jared also surprised me by fixing the dishwasher!! Isn't he the BEST!?! It is so nice to not hand-wash dishes for the first time in yyyyears. i am so lucky.

I love Christmas. It is my favorite time of year. hands down. the only thing I was left wishing for was more time. Splitting up the time between butler & miller families is hard but we were so happy to see everyone :) And we are daydreaming about being in SD right now, but it is back to kenny's for me and coaching for jared. The good times just go by so quickly!! I was a little occupied relaxing and didn't take as many pics as i should have. I need doubles from moms :)

Hard to believe It is almost 2011 and our wedding date is getting closer and closer! (March 10th!) it was fun for us to share our memories of getting engaged last year, crazy how fast it flew by!

and crazy how our littlest puppy is growing up right before our eyes. We are so happy that Halpert and Bees are getting along to be the sweetest friends, we love watching them play. (for hours!!)

Best Wishes for the new year! hug and love from all of us

xoxox

hello december

2010-12-05T22:44:00.000-08:00

holy moly there is so much to share. feels like the last two weeks and events went by so quickly!! lets see where to start.....

thanksgiving!! we got to spend time with jared's family and had an amazing turkey feast! we ate so many yummy things we had to nap into the evening, it was fantastic! Also got to go see shanda & chad, mom, and the girls in broomfiled for a fun filled day. we played littlest petshop and saw tangled! so cute. Jared and I also got to go see the nuggets play chicago! Jared won amazing seats from 104.3 the fan, we lucked out it turned out to be a close game, and nugget victory!! It was great to see the fams and I can't wait for more good times at christmas, yey :)

little laney!

miss petshop queen herself!

me & lynn

Rusty & jared

at the nugs game :)

Jared has had a crazy week picking up several subbing jobs at school - and on top of coaching his boys he started coaching the high school girls basketball C team. he was pulling double practices and games all week! i am so proud of him and how far his little team has come. they won another game too!! against a team that beat them earlier in the season, a very rewarding payback for the boys :)

this was my least week of regular class at aims and on top of finishing glaze on all of my pieces i tried to help out at the art club sale mon-friday. squeezed in a raku firing, started bartending at work and set up our show at the house! it was really rewarding to see all of my work come together friday night at our opening - some people from the community showed up but it was mostly our friends that came to hang out. fun night :) and we are open the next couple of saturdays as well (the 11th & 14th)

aims sale

show at the house

yesterday i did a show at the kress theater in Greeley which was so cute and fun, got to hang out with amazing crafty people :) and jared was at a basketball tournament with his boys. Spread out kind of thin, we are very thankful to have amazing friends that ran the sale at the house!! couldn't have done it with out Scott and Amanda's help, you guys are awesome :)

and the best news news of ALLL.. jared got me an early christmas present yesterday :D he showed up to the craft fair with a puppy!!!!!! we have a new little addition to our family! we named him Halpert, and he is already becoming the best of friends with beesley. he is the most precious puppy ever, melts my heart that is for surrrre.

there will be plenty more cute puppy pics to come :) but for now its time for bed and another busy week! hugs and love to all xoxo

gratitude

2010-11-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was absolutely fantastic. we had a stress free load with the new Element, there was room to spare!!! All the cargo space is unreal, YEY

6 tubs full of pots, 3 tables, 3 shelving things, 2 baskets, furniture dolly, 2 boards, and our chair. quite amazing if you ask me.

the show was in a very darling and cozy venue with guitarists playing all day long, and there were many crafty ladies with CUTE stuff. luckily i stayed busy enough to avoid shopping, too much haha.

jared sniffing the cinnamon sticks i brought for props haha

i feel so so blessed every time we have a successful show. Sometimes i feel like a lot of odds are stacked against the possibility of being a full-time artist (nowhere near that point yet folks!) but having so much support from wonderful people makes me feel like one day it could happen! My dreams just keep coming true, and for that i couldn't be more thankful. Big hugs to everyone who came to see us yesterday, it made my day :D

also have to share my new favorite pair of pots ever made, this little set came out of the kiln blushing lavender! i am s m i t t e n . lol

hugs and love xoxo

super awesome day!

2010-11-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Just had to share some awesome highlights from both jared's and my day! Guess who won their first basketball game of the season?! that's right! bulldog victory!!! i was so caught up in the game it was crazy, they had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! the teams danced for the lead through the third and fourth quarters - and it came out as a 18-18 tie. that led to a 3 minute OT where the other team couldn't control their fouling! to our advantage, we made 8 free throw points, amazing!! i haven't heard the Bulldog crowd so loud all season! Jared was an amazing coach and inspired confidence in the boys, i was so proud :)

after the win all the boys went in for a cheer at center court, missed that but caught a shot with coach right after.

final score 26-18 we shut them out in over time!!

I have been busy busy planning and organizing for this weekend and our show at the house soon after. I was able to get in touch with the editor of the windsor beacon and couldn't be happier they are willing to run info on our Art Haus show at the house in Dec! Yey for spreading the word! Also get to go in to unload a gas kiln in the morning with many mugs, can't wait to crack that baby open!!

and there will be raku firing in the morning, :D i am so so happy.

love and hugs to all!!

xoxo

oh my stars

2010-11-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow of the season on wednesday night! it was fun to wake up to a winter wonderland outside :)

it is the perfect backdrop for crafting inside!! i feel like a little elf making holiday goodies haha! Was very happy to see these beautiful glazes come out of our kiln! used some good ole E6000 and they are now super star magnets.

snowy tree ornaments!

I love how they turned out, and couldn't wait to share! there will be plenty more where these came from at the Atlas show next weekend!!

xoxo

basketball and studio peeks

2010-11-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

hi all! hope you had a snazzy halloween, we did!! we had no trick or treaters, not a single one which bummed me out a little. but now we have a bunch of left over candies :) we had a costume party with our friends and it was a blast, jared was a chicken and i was alice in wonderland

his costume was a full chicken suit!!

His 7th grade basketball team has already played three games this season, their first one was last thursday and i got a couple shots of them.

it was a close game! they were a little scared of the basket the first half, but made a good effort to come back. they try really hard but have had some tough competition, i hope they can win their next game :)

i have been busy in the studio, trying to make a good amount of work before our holiday shows! it's so exciting they are almost here!! this is a new form, cupcake stand!! now that it's finished i am wishing i had a glass cover for the top. i want to make more with bigger areas for the cupcakes

pretty cute if you ask me :)

i'm also doing a glaze fire at the house this week with a bunch of new ornaments in it, i will be updating the etsy shop with new holiday stuff after the firing, yey!

happy weekend!!

xoxo

ooooh october

2010-10-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

halloween is almost here! crazy how fast october is flying by... I am very excited because i think we will actually have trick or treaters this year! I haven't gotten to hand out candy (obviously, there isn't a lot of traffic in apartment buildings ha) and i can't wait to see cute kids and costumes, yey! we decorated the porch :) purple lights! and a lil pup in the window wondering what i was doing outside.

i still need a costume though... i was thinking about going to arc for some great find/inspiration. any ideas? also. pumpkin carving is def. going down. it's going to be fantastic :)

i did a little baking a couple days ago; cheezy sourdough biscuits! they are delicious and even easier than the bread was, no rising required!

I have been keeping busy working in the studio and at kenny's - not a whole lot of anything new :) Jared is a busy man! he is about to finish a trimester with his kids and they are working on clay projects. He also Started coaching 7th grade boys basketball this tuesday! They even have a Sat. morning practice to get ready for their first game next thurs. they are just diving right into the thick of it! He does office work in the mornings and runs scoreboard for football when he can. He loves school and staying busy with all of the job juggling :)

i did a little photo shoot to get ready for advertising our christmas show at the house, just had to share how cute they turned out!

peppermint and cinnamon! gets me feelin festive lol

hugs and love

xoxoxo

sourdough bread!

2010-10-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

i completed one of my goals, yey! and it feels so rewarding to bake something form scratch - did anyone ever think i would make bread?! for the non believers, i was right there with you. i thought bread was something to be left for the experts. but honestly it was incredibly fun and semi-easy. it took 3 days to get the yeast and dough just right... but look at these pretty loaves!

are they perfect... nope! but they sure are tastey! and i have a full book of recepies to try different stuff. baking and fall go very nicely together, i am hoping to try a new creation each week. and i am also excited to reconnect with the sweet woman who gave me her cookbook. i think it's my turn to share... pots :)

hugs and love

xoxo

Amazing

2010-10-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

hi all! i am still on a fabulous high from our awesome weekend in denver - we got to spend time with family and also had great success at our friends of littleton craft fair, yey! thank you to ALL of our friends and family for your support :) especially one amazing lady we couldn't have done it with out...

my moma! she was with me at the buttcrack of dawn hauling everything in and stayed all day till we packed out. you are grreat!!

and i got to work with the cutest guy ever, he kept me entertained :)

we also got to come home to more exciting stuff.. we were invited to be at a holiday craft fair in greeley;

through a local artist that has brought us into a little artist community, thank you Kelly Cook for taking us in! and making us part of bluedoor :) i have a lot of excitement about the growing art scene around greeley and it feels fantastic to be a part of it!

onto the next projects and ideas to get ready for holiday season hustle and bustle!! i love the feeling i get when i'm working on new stuff - i am so ready to get extra cute for the holidays!

hugs and love

xoxo

ps stay tuned for a simple goal update, coming real soon!

coming soon!

2010-09-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

we are so so so excited for our fair next weekend, eeeek! (i might be a little more giddy than jared haha) and we have new stuff coming with us! we just cracked open our gas kiln yesterday and there were some real beauties. here are just a couple of peeks at our latest:

i have also been brainstorming new ways to make our booth as cute and customer friendly as possible :) i am excited to have our family there too! Can't wait!!

hugs and love xoxo

confirmed, we live in biker-ville

2010-09-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

we have been listening to the rumbles of motor bikes all day long. It is apparently the unofficial last "ride" of the season and severance is the spot. Our neighbors, Bruce's Bar, are having a massive BBQ and the overflow of bikes started creeping into our neighborhood. pretty amazing sight to see!!

i asked jared if he wanted to go over and check it out... he said no haha we would have stuck out like a couple of misfits!

instead we are enjoying some football and pizza, GO Broncos!!

birthday shoutout!

2010-09-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

to a very special 24 year old, who is the sweetest fiance ever!!

love you sweet, happy birthday!

studio sneeks and peeks

2010-09-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

just wanted to share some new whimsical 'alice in wonderland' inspired tea party pots!

they are still in the greenware stage and need to be bisqued & glazed - final product will hopefully be just as sweet! i am pretty excited about combining the goblet form with a handle, i call it, muglet! successful/awkward??

jared has been busy in the studio as well, but i haven't gotten around to taking pictures. one thing leads to another and suddenly i am wondering where all the time in my day has gone! we are certainly staying busy and trying to keep up pot production with our last fair of the season around the corner. We will be at the 39th Annual Friends Craft Fair in Littleton on October 2nd!

this may just be our biggest fair yet :) for more details click here.

have to say we really enjoyed the long weekend.. after working friday and saturday we got to go out with friends on sunday (also had some time to get crafty) and we went to windsor's harvest festival monday morning and spent the afternoon in arvada with the butler fam :) it was wonderful.

anyone else ready for fall? i totally am!

xoxo

my 4 simple goals

2010-08-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

as i was reading and catching up on lost online time yesterday, i ran across this participation post on a blog i look to for inspiration and a little daily dose of encouragement.. this girl makes following your dreams look simple and living a handmade life so whimsical - I get happy warm fuzzies knowing such awesome artists are out there living the dream :) any whoooo her post reads

1. choose simple goals that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis. choose things you may not otherwise get done, but that are not difficult to accomplish.

2. do not choose result oriented goals, choose activity oriented goals. for example.... instead of "lose 10 pounds", choose something like "eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day". get what i'm saying? positive actions instead of just the end result!

3. choose goals that are personal that you believe will truly make your life richer just by doing them! they can be daily, weekly or one time experiences.

4. choose a reward for each goal as it is accomplished! it can be a small or large reward.

5. blog your goals, each one as you achieve it and a big post when they are all finished before the new year! i'll be doing this too! links back to this post are appreciated.

i want to share some of my little goals that i am really excited about :) i took the night & day to think about ones that would be fun and rewarding for me, rewarding just to be doing them!!

1. learn to make bread!

I had a customer at kenny's about 2 months ago that had written a very well-known sourdough recipie book. we chatted into the afternoon and as she was leaving she gave me a signed copy of her book and a small culture of her yeast (that has been alive for over 100 years!!). i am no cook, but i do enjoy baked goods & i have always wanted to bake bread from scratch... and it sort of landed in my lap. i want to make time to use her recipies and keep the yeast alive!

2. Don't stop working out

i bought a month bikram yoga pass on august 5th and have been using it diligently! i have not been devoted to physical activity since highschool sports and it has been truly amazing dedicating myself to a minimum of 3 yoga classes a week. class is hard, long, hot and amazing!! i am growing muscles i didn't know i had and becoming flexible in ways i never thought i could. and i don't want to poop out on how far i have come being more physically active.

3. draw in my sketchbook more

i am no longer in 'class' mode if you will where i will have someone babysitting checking and grading my competency, ideas, creativity, and records of what i do... weird!! and i want to keep on keeping a sketchbook that is full of ideas writings drawings and growth.

4. continue putting the house together <3

i have been doing little beautifying projects around the house now that it is just jared and i here. and it has been so wonderful transforming old parts of our house into new 'homey'-us parts :) there is a lot of work to be done in the studio and most of all getting the gallery public-ready displaying our work. part of me wants everything to magically come together in a matter of days, but another part of me wants to take my time and enjoy every minute of creating our home. patience patience... is sometimes hard when i get too many visions and excitement!

a peek of our new blinds, fabric purchased with an amazing 70% off joanns coupon, thanks mom!

finding these goals has made me think about the little things in every day life that can become enriching mini goals... makes me wonder what is possible with a little effort and thoughtfulness...but i will not be getting carried away:) stay tuned for progress!

xoxo loves

we have internet again, thankgoodness

2010-08-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

it feels like it has been weeks since i browsed online!!!! it was almost giving me a nervous twitch. i think it is just because it has become such a huge part of my daily routine that i felt a little out my norms missing my blogs and etsy browsing. sad to admit, it was only 9 days i went without. and hopefully it never happens AGAIN! hahah

and it feels like i have loads to tell you all about, as if weeks and weeks of events have transpired!! I think i am exaggerating again. that's what happens when you loose the internet for 9 days! oh man. well for those of you who didn't know, we were living in severance with a roommate for the past few months. She moved out this month with the house feeling smaller and smaller with the 3 (plus bees) of us living here... and it is a completely new house with just jared and i! we are enjoying the space to spread out and i am loving getting to redecorate and nest more of our belongings to their rightful places :) and we have yet to design our new studio flow! it will be absolutely incredible to have the entire garage for the both of us. ( i can already see us making our messes in every inch of it lol)

It was a sad moment this past thursday when i found myself in the UNC studio for the last time cleaning up my area and packing my tools. (yes i did put it off till the very end of summer) it was sad for me to say goodbye to a place with so many good memories. but alas, life goes on! and we are onto new things :)

Jared stated school last week teaching his 7th and 8th graders! Loves it so far, and i think his kids are liking him too :) his last lesson included scenarios with justin bieber and lady gaga, how cool is he, right? And today was my first day at Aims Community College. It is the very affordable alternative to UNC where i will still have access to a Gas kiln, high fire glazes, a spray booth, and another knowledgeable professor. My landlady Sonya is the arts director and primary ceramics teacher - i can't wait to work with her this semester!

we had a booth at our local severance days this last Saturday!

sales weren't the best, but we were happy to show some local pride and let people know they had awesome new artists in town!

we decided that next year we need to get a booth with electricity so we can do wheel throwing demos for people!

there was also a car show right down the path from us, so cool. i don't know much about cars, other than my dad and gandpas would have really enjoyed this!

fun day. and we get to do it again this saturday!

we will be at the Boulder County Farmers Market. here are the deets for those of you who want to stop by and hangout with us!

The Boulder County Fairgrounds

9595 Nelson Rd.

Longmont, CO

hours: 8-2

we hope to see you there!!

while catching up on my blog readings tonight, i noticed a cool post by elsie at a beautiful mess - 4 simple goals. check it out, i will be back with mine tomorrow!

goodnight & sweet dreams xoxo

studio sneeks and peeks

2010-08-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

hey everyone, just wanted to let you in on what we have been up to in the studio :) Jared has been working on more sculptural stuff - this is his latest goose bunny on a tower of eggs!

pretty awesome and fantastic, he spent a lot of time making each and every egg! i think it is the perfect podium for a goose bunny, what do you think?

and i have been mixing up argyle colors.. yes, more argyle. I aM ObSEsSed!! lol

Also, for those of you who are interested in coming to see us at another event... we will be at

Severance Days on Aug. 21st

Boulder County Farmers Market in Longmont on Aug. 28th

very excited!!! along with summer winding down, it means jared gearing up for his middle schoolers!! he showed me his lesson for the first day with his kids, he is going to be an excellent teacher :) not a whole lot else is going on in our lives other than work work and making art. although, we have been grilling out quite a bit since we got our charbroil last weekend!!

jared finished construction around 10 o'clock, but of course we had to grill before bed haha! we are enjoying outdoor cooking, good stuff!! i am in for a night of drinking lots of water before Bikram yoga tomorrow, it will be my second time this week! kills, and feels so amazing at the same time :)

night night! xoxo

the best wekend ever

2010-07-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend was truly amazing! we had a blast being at the Arts Picnic and got a great taste of how much fun craft fairs are. hard to believe it came, happened, and is over just like that! we have to thank everyone who came and supported us, we would be nothing without you guys!! It was awesome being surrounded by family, friends, and support as we showcased our work. thank you :) and I will let the pictures do the talking...

so much love xoxo

it's that time again

2010-07-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

yes yes that is right it is all hallowed eve of the kiln opening! we busted butt doing over 10 hrs of glazing sun-mon and fired today, just in time for the arts picnic :) not sure what i'm more excited about... new pots?! getting to sell pots all weekend?!

both are making it impossible for me to be in a bad mood about my double today and the fact the I have to work all day tomorrow - and wont get to see how the kiln turned out right away.. i am still excited from head to toes! if i have time i will give you a preview of fresh pots that we will be bringing! but you really should just come to the Arts Picnic and see them for yourselves :) haha and come hang out with us, can't wait!!

xoxo

right in our own backyard..

2010-07-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

I noticed some lovely berries coming in on one of our trees the other day, what a surprise! we have a cherry tree in our backyard!!

recipe for cherry cobbler anyone?! haha i would have to wake up before the birds to get them - and get on a ladder... hmm. i will have to weigh the pros and cons here.

also have to share how cute my toes look right now!! Jared's mom Lynn took us out for a fantastic b-day pedicure at Zenails - OH MY GOODNESS - it was the most pampered i have ever been!! thanks to lynn i got the whole treatment and can't stop looking at my beautiful toes haha

my technician hand painted these little gems! I feel very spoiled :)

xoxo

sunny day

2010-07-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

sweepin the clouds away, on my way to where the air is sweet!

it has been a while since my last post, thought today was a great chance to update... hope everyones 4th was a little cooler than ours! well it wasn't all a dud. we got to work on clay all day, and just when we thought we were headed home for a fireworks show in windsor....

an insane thunderstorm hit. which would have been just fine other than it rained out the fireworks and got into the house through our bedroom window :( whoops. no damage just a soggy bed haha

this week has been just fantastic - kenny's, clay, jared, and ECLIPSE last night!!! we went with our friends zach & nicole and it was a fun double date night - team jacob anyone??

i think nicole and i enjoyed it a little more than the boys haha

some more excitement last night - we heard from shanda and chad that they went in for delivery around 6pm and had a beautiful healthy baby before the end of the night!! another cuteee niece :D and a lucky one too, Lane was born on 7/7/2010. I certainly don't want to steal any blog thunder but here is a glimpse from our visit today

so precious.

and to top it all off before heading home a lil chik chik fila! our fav

and again because i can't help myself some studio sneeks...

jared vapor glazing yesterday

more argyle :) am i a little obsessed? yes / no

watermelon mugs?! stay tuned people, hopefully we will have a gas load in another week :)

i am still a little awed at how amazing little babies are at the moment, can't stop thinking about how tiny and peaceful she was... what a miracle. hugs and love xoxo

treasure!

2010-06-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

jared, along with brad mike and dan, discovered and purchased 2 storage units full of plaster molds!! they spent over 10 hrs going through all 3,000 of them to sort out the good ones... lots of hard work, but considering it was only 80 bucks for it all, everyone got their moniesworth ;)

brad, amongst the molds

look at them all!

i think i might be the luckiest of them all, i was in class last week during most of the dirty work, sorting, piling, moving.... but jared still had his eye out for me and pulled out some really adorable cutesy molds for me :) he is the best!! i still can't believe we stumbled across such amazing treasure, stay turned for slip casting and new projects!

annnd, for those of you in the greeley area - we will be at marjie's java joint friday night @ 5 selling our pots for the opening show put on by diane richards :) would love to see you there!

hugs and love xoxo

a little bit of happy news

2010-06-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

hey everyone - just had to give some happy news about annual conference and how awesome it was! jared and i were so happy to be there, showing off our artwork, meeting lots of peeps, and selling a bundle of chalices! couldn't have done it without the sweet hook ups from rusty, thank you!! and thanks to all of his supportive friends :) It was great to hang with both of our fams and take a vacation from the studio (and kenny's!).

this was our setup, homemade banner and all ;)

and, handbuilt shelving unit, thanks dave! i thought it looked like a picture frame for the goblet sets, perfect.

more goblets

and a little more happy news... on thursday morning last week jared had an interview with university schools for a part-time middleschool art teaching position. . . . ... he nailed it!! and i am so proud and happy to say he has a job!! officially accepted the position yesterday :D he is like a real grown up now! his own classes and own curriculum ... own desk! He is super excited, and already telling me his lesson ideas. I am just as excited and happy for him!!

I am taking my last undergrad class this week, it is bittersweet!! I am sad that it is almost over, but happy to be getting that degree :) the class is PMC, stands for precious metal clay. It is really cutting edge jewelry technology - clay that turns to fine silver when it is fired!! i think i am in love. it is pretty amazing stuff and i am enjoying working with it (not as much as real clay!!). hard to wrap my head around it turning to metal after firing though.... we are doing 5 projects in the week long class and it feels like they are flying by, sadly.

fine silver earrings!! so cute! i did the wire wrap and everything ;)

during my jewelry affair the last two days i have missed being in the studio with jared and brad who are working hard on new projects! I am crossing my fingers to not get called into work and have a little free time for throwing tomorrow... I am having withdrawls! hah

hugs & love xoxo