Fresh Out of the Kiln

Safari Candy Dish

Ladybug Soapdish

Blu Butterdish

2 more days till Christmas!

Christmas Tree 2011

It snowed!
 The Christmas tree is shining bright and I'm ready to celebrate the coming of our Lord.

I wish you and yours the most blessed holiday season!!!

Always,

Stephanie

centerpiece

mantel

New Pottery @ m u d d y p o t t s

 I've been away too long and have missed spending time in my studio!

This last week I have been working away on new pieces, getting those last minute

 Christmas presents made and ready to wrap.

Here are a few new pieces that were added to muddypotts today!

Purple Cosmo Vase



Lotus Soap Dish



Mocha Ice Planter

p u m p k i n t i m e

yum

I've been wanting to make pumpkin bread ever since I brought home a new pumpkin spice candle. The other night I could smell it while I was sleeping. So of course, the next morning I jumped at the chance to start baking. Why not? It's fall! I love this time of year! Leaves change and fall from the trees, the air gets a little crisper, and I feel the need to bake and start sewing again.

Well that morning, I baked a banana bread and ended up making three loaves that week plus two dozen cookies and homemade cinnamon rolls. This week I slowed down a little to 2 loaves of bread (pumpkin) and one dozen cookies. Here are a few pointers from someone who is always learning something new in the kitchen:

1. sometimes substitutions do NOT work out as well as you think they might

While I was making the frosting for my cinnamon rolls, I found that I didn't have confectioners sugar or half and half. So I substituted regular sugar and whipped cream instead. After I poured the concoction over the rolls, they were soggy! So back in the oven they went.

2. even though you can substitute applesauce for oil, it doesn't always taste as good

I made some cornbread the other night to go with our chili. Since I'm watching what I eat more carefully, I decided to substitute brown sugar for regular sugar and applesauce for oil. It wasn't that bad, but I must admit, I like the normal recipe much more.

3. finally, if you are in doubt that your baking pans aren't exactly the right size, measure them. Don't assume unless you want a huge mess in your oven!

*burnt pumkin doesn't smell as wonderful as unburnt pumpkin

Quiet Sunday

Yesterday was the first snowfall. Even though most of the snow has melted, it was a sure sign that my favorite season of the year is finally here! I love those still brisk mornings where frost covers everything. The silence that blankets the mountains. Sipping hot tea and making delicious soups that make the house smell so good....and of course, shopping on ETSY! Here are a few of my favorite pics from this mornings front page.



Extra Thick Cozy Cowl by mgbdesigns



Adjustable Journal Bandolier by cleverhands



Green Curly Mulberry Long Scarf by zuzusworld

A Hike to Remember

These pictures were taken last year and the year before up in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. We love to hike and ride our horses on the Rainbow Trail. This summer there was a terrible fire that wiped out so many beautiful trees and bushes, leaving very little for the wildlife that lives there. Today I went for a hike and this is what is left...

Be thankful for what you have, for you never know when it will be gone...

IKEA in CO



STYCKE



Aren't these the coolest shades?
 Our brand new IKEA opened last month! 

My girlfriend and I went shopping yesterday and I couldn't resist the shade in the middle. I'm a sucker for yellow and it was perfect for one of the lamps in the studio.

my newly dressed lamp

Nu News + Something Cool Just For YOU!

Dandylion Vase

Another month has passed and again with only one post to speak of. But instead of dwelling on what I haven't done, I'm going to focus on what lies ahead...

For starters, I have a group show coming up in September at the 3rd Street Gallery in Westcliffe! I'm very excited to be working with four very talented artists. I will be exhibiting my sculpture. A few older pieces will be there, but I will also have a few new ones too. One is in the kiln as we speak!

It is the start of a new school year and for some, just another semester to chalk up. I for one will be taking a couple more classes towards my MA, but...I have decided it is not so important that I have to put my life, my family, and my art on hold. Therefore I welcome the new semester with a fresh outlook and look forward to learning more about myself and others every day.

With that said, I am offering FREE SHIPPING on one of my personal favorite ceramic pieces, the Dandylion Vase.

Wishing everyone a beautiful day with lots of smiles and butterflies!!! =)

~samos
...

summer time

silly bird

Has it been almost three months since my last post?

 I took a little sabbatical from blogging, facebook, twitter, and making art.

When finals were approaching last semester,

 I decided to isolate myself from the outside world and focus on my current goal...

school

and then I had a surgery.

small plates

Now that I'm on the road to recovery, I'm back in the studio and throwing up a storm!

 I'm currently working on a dandelion plate set that will be shipping off soon and then some bowls are on order. Oh, and did I mention my upcoming show in September? I'm also working on some new sculptures that I'm very excited about!

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

fruit obsession

Here's some of the fresh fruit and veggies that I bought today for my new juicer!

I wasn't quite sure if juicing would be worth it or not, but let me tell you...if you don't make your own,

you're totally missing out!

Here's a recipe that I just made up and we're going to name it the Orange-ie Mango Juice.

Orange-ie Mango Juice

1 mango

2 oranges

1 peach

1 carrot

You're going to love it!

daydreaming...

love this!

maybe someday

cool ideas

All I want to do is play outside or make something creative! So I'll resort to daydreaming and share a few pretty things with you. 

You can find them on HERE.

KoiStudios: .net vs .com

Since 2005 I have had my website listed as koistudios.net. With much debate as to continue with my current host, I've decided to leave. I was having problems with my site and was not having any luck with customer support. In January I moved my website from WebHero.com to SquareSpace.com. I was able to keep my domain name and transfer it to SquareSpace. Well, last month, I was informed that my website wasn't working. Hmmm. That's strange. I was just on it. So I investigated the situation. Turns out that Webhero completely disabled my account even after I paid for another year for my domain name. Supposedly there is a $10 transfer fee that I was not informed of, and after a couple months, they just disabled my account. They didn't even send me an invoice to pay for it or no explanation. So two days ago, I went to WebHero and talked to a representative through live chat. He explained that I needed to pay $10 to transfer my domain name to SquareSpace. Okay, no problem. But here's the catch. I needed to give him my credit card information so that he could create a ticket. Um. Wait a second. That sounds a little fishy to me. I think I remember some where down the road that I'm not supposed to give out any bank or credit card information over the phone or internet. It's like common knowledge right? Or at least those rules you learn as a kid: Don't talk to strangers, look both ways before crossing the street...Okay, you get the picture. So afer a minute I ask him if I can just pay with my PayPal account since that is how I made all my transactions for my WebHero account. "Oh, yeah. I can do that," says Mr. Wayne. It will take a couple hours for the ticket to be created and sent to your email. I was informed that once the payment went through, the transfer of my domain name to SquareSpace would be immediate. YaY! Finally, my website will be up and running again as koistudios.net. Wait a second! Not so fast! This all happened on Friday and guess what? No email from WebHero, no ticket ever created, no response whatsoever. So this morning, instead of trying once again to deal with this company that is so difficult to work with, I decided to move on to another company. Since I am hosting my website with SquareSpace, they recommend Nettica. And now that I have made the big leap, KoiStudios is now a .com! I'm so excited! The new site of course won't be in effect until tomorrow. I guess it takes 24 hours, but once it is, my new domain will be www.Koi-Studios.com.

On a different note, I'm in the process of making something for my friend Robin. Can you guess what it is?

ready to bisque

Shabby Chic, Who Me?

Love Red Pillow

My spring break is coming to an end. In between research and writing papers, I brought out the sewing machine and made a couple pillows and a table runner for the coffee table. Not too sure if this is what they call Shabby Chic or not, but I like it.

lilly's and a new tablerunner

matching pillow

Planters for Spring

Tall Lotus Planter

Lil' Easter Planter

Little Buttercup Planer

Spring is HERE!

pink mini roses

It was brought to my attention last night that I have been ignoring my blog since late last month. And it's not that I don't think about posting, but in all honesty, who really wants to know about the mundane life of a returning college student? I'd much rather write about a new painting that I've been working on or the little pink roses that are blooming in my studio window. But then there is that time issue that most people deal with on a day to day basis. Where do I fit the time in to glaze those pots, stretch that new canvas, or sew that pillow that's been on my mind?

planters that need glazed

....and then BAM, there's Spring lurking through my oh-so-dirty windows! This morning while I was thinking about my next assignment I thought I would procrastinate by doing some online window shopping. I've heard of this really cool store called Anthropologie, but have never had the opportunity to check it out. So I hopped on over to their website. WoW! Super cool stuff! and so I was inspired to whip out the sewing machine and make a springy tablecloth.

adding rick rack

almost finished

complete with a beautiful bouquet of tulips

Well, I suppose I've been procrastinating long enough.

Back to work.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

here fishy fishy

fishy © samos 2011

I'm a little caught up with some work

and needed a little paint break.

 A friend of mine asked if I'd paint

her a goldfish & I jumped

at the chance to

releasesome

creative

juices!

What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit. ~John Updike

checking in

I had a quick minute before I take off to class. I'm still around, just laying low in means of blogging, fb, and twitter. This semester is a little full and I'm still trying to catch up on three commissions. A couple of them are almost done. Hoping to get some studio time in this weekend!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Drop me a line and let me know how YOU are! =)

Miss you ALL!!!

xxoo

samos

Lucky Bowls

I know I've been a bit absent these last few days, or has it been a week already?

Here are a few shots of a commission I just finished.

I hope everyone is staying warm! It was -28 here yesterday morning! Brrrr...