Our new home updates finally done!

In a previous post, I shared about the stove with the double oven I had ordered.  Unfortunately it never did not arrive.  I investigated a little more to discover that it may not arrive for a very long time.  One store told me that a company that manufactured parts went belly up.  Not sure how true that was but I do know that there is a serious appliance shortage and so I decided to get my money back and buy the first stove I could get my hands on -- as long as it had a convection oven.  So I had to settle -- and now I do have a decent stove that I can get back into clay production.

I also finished the other updates in our condo.  The kitchen is nearly done -- I repainted all the cabinets and added hardware to match the Ikea Cabinets I installed at the one end.  I plan to replace the countertops someday but will have to wait another year or so but am happy with it for now.  You can see the photos below showing before and after the renovations and see the huge difference.

Kitchen - "Before"

Kitchen - "After"

Kitchen - "Before"

Kitchen - "After"

We also had an electrician come in and change out all the light fixtures so everything is now more modern plus energy saving LED.  The track lighting in the kitchen is LED and a real improvement over the old fluorescent bulbs.

The last thing I had to do was repair the ceiling.  I purchased these cool ceiling tiles that glue up.  Installing them looked real easy in the video but were a bit more of a challenge.  After the first few tiles were put up I got the hang of it and even enjoyed the challenge.  I felt all the going up and down the ladder was great exercise until at the end while installing the last few pieces I had pulled a muscle.  It was quite painful and put me out of commission for a couple of weeks.  All in all, I feel pretty good about how it turned out and would definitely do it again if needed.  Below is a picture of the finished ceiling.

I also made a few more changes to my studio.  I discovered that the floors in our building are not that sound proof after replacing the old carpet with laminate flooring and using the highest grade under-lay.  The people who live one floor down spend a lot of time in the same room below and as it is my main working studio, I did not want to be an annoyance so I found this really nice area rug that was a perfect fit.  I also found the sheer curtain valance to hang on the window and now the room is cozier than ever!

I love the french doors that separate the studio from the dining room.  To make the room more private, I add this privacy film to each of the window panes.  Now if we have company I can close the doors to hide my work (and mess) without blocking out all the light.

And lastly, we added a new and updated light fixture for the dining room.  This piece is soooo cool.  It is a called a "Fandelier".  It is a chandelier and ceiling fan combined.  It comes with a remote control and when you turn the fan (3 speeds) on, the hidden acrylic blades above pop out and retract when turned off!  How cool is that?!

"Fandelier"

So most of our renos are complete and is nice that I can again focus more on my clay.  The other nice bonus is our condo apartment actually has it's own furnace and central air conditioning.  My mom and I both decided that it was really important for comfort.  It is paying off at the moment with our extreme heat wave this week.  We have had extreme temperatures for several days now and expected to stay that way for a bit longer.  Our area has actually broke records for high temperatures this time of year for all across Canada!  Tomorrow it is suppose to peak at 48 C  or  118 F!

Tomorrow I will share with you some of the items I have finally finished off in the new Pantone colors.  Stay tuned!

Inspiration using the Pantone Spring 2021 Fashion Colors

Wendy Moore (After the Monsoon) has been playing with the Pantone Spring 2021 fashion color recipes I shared which I find so inspiring!  This year Pantone has declared 2 colors of the year instead of the usual one and are Illuminating and Ultimate Gray.  I find these pieces that Wendy created are wonderful examples of this color combination and have real a summer vibe to them, don't they?

Pantone Colors Illuminating & Ultimate Gray
created by Wendy Moore

Wendy also created these cool flowers (shown below from her Instagram page) using all of the Pantone spring colors in different combinations.  These were created from various canes she made and really shows how all the Pantone colors of each season can mix and match within the group and create a unique balance in color.

Pantone Spring 2021 Fashion Color
created by Wendy Moore

So what have you been making with the Pantone colors?  I am busy working on some new pieces for summer and will share them soon.  We are in a heat wave at the moment so very thankful for our central air conditioning.

Custom Name Stamps from Shades of Clay

My custom name stamps arrived from Shades of Clay a little while ago.  Since my studio was still not set-up after moving I didn't get the chance to try them out until just recently.  The cool thing about these stamps is that you don't just get one signature stamp but can have your stamp made 7 different ways!  Here I have my heart logo in several sizes as well as my name.  It is nice to have the flexibility to use them in various ways.

The first thing I did was cut the stamp sheet in strips crossways to separate the stamps for easier use.  One tip is to be sure not to trim the edges as this gives you something to hold on to while impressing (see photos below).

I really like the tin that is included to store your stamps so they don't get lost as they are quite small.

One thing that amazed me was how they such a small stamp can give such precise results!

These stamps work great on the clay but I also intend to use them on my other artwork which I will share with you a little bit later.

Click here to order your stamps from Shades of Clay which is a limited time offer.