Mud Splat: Behind the Scenes of the Weigel Family & Plays With Mud

Today's sweet surprise

2008-07-21T20:58:00.003-04:00

Look what was in my mailbox tonight!!

My incredibly talented friend Tonya (and her artfully-inclined son) made these adorable note cards for me and I can't wait to use them! What a nice surprise ... thanks again Tonya!!! :)

Oh, and if you're in the paper crafting mood, check out Tonya's blog and her recent tutorials on gift card holders. It's never to early to start handcrafting some holiday gifts!!

friday's wishing list

2008-07-18T14:49:00.009-04:00

How adorable is this little print from Valentina Design?

If we have a little girl, I'm wondering if I could design her room around this print? Or this one? Or what about this one with the dapper little owls? I just can't decide on one ... I guess I should buy them all! :)

What's on your wishing list right now?

Creative urges

2008-07-15T21:28:00.004-04:00

{apologies on the poor picture quality - the lighting in the basement is really quite bad}

It's been such a busy couple of weeks all around. The "day job" is extremely chaotic, we've been trying to rent/sell the house, and continue unpacking, rearranging, and keeping up with daily life. Oh yeah, and a coping with a little morning sickness to boot.

Last night I was finally able to get into the studio for a couple of hours, but it was to finish some LONG overdue orders. Luckily, these gals are all friends of mine, and they rock, so they've been very patient with me. And not that filling the orders wasn't fun ... it was ... but I've been craving some clay time. My sketch book has page after page of designs and ideas that I want to put into products, but I haven't had the time.

Tonight, after dinner, playing with O, a much-needed haircut, a fast jaunt into the Teeter, and a quick load of laundry, I was able to get downstairs and roll out some slabs. We haven't moved the wedging table down yet (that's where I prepare all my clay), so I used my slab roller to wedge. Wasn't the best, but I got the clay manageable enough. Tonight was all about playing. I've been toying with the idea of actually drawing some designs on clay, and I'm really not a good drawer - I can sketch, but not all that well. But tonight, I didn't care. I used my underglaze pencil (which I'm liking even more after tonight), and sketched out some very basic flowers onto scrap slabs of clay. I really like the texture of them, and how organic they seem. I'll play around with some glazes and underglazes on them after the bisque firing.

So that's that. I only spent about 45 minutes down there, but it was enough. For now. Or at least until tomorrow night when hopefully I can play some more. What about you? What's been the creative (or not-so-creative) urge lately?

sweet Lola Jane

2008-07-15T15:04:00.004-04:00

Welcome little one. We can't wait to meet you!!

Basement transformation

2008-07-08T07:02:00.000-04:00

So this weekend we finally tackled the basement. And while we were hoping that Candice Olson would come knocking on our door and HGTV would generously decide to fund our basement design, alas, we were on our own.

Here is the before video (in two parts since Flickr will only let me upload 90 seconds at a time) of the boxes and random mess that has been there since day one of the move in.

Stay tuned for the progression and see how the studio starts to shape up!

Happy (belated) Fourth of July!

2008-07-07T09:37:00.001-04:00

DSC01479
Originally uploaded by Paula Weigel

Owen cheeses it up for his close up. Kevin is holding the popsicles I made for the holiday. They didn't quite come out right, as you can see from the picture. It was good fun anyway.

Owenpalooza!

2008-07-01T14:39:00.011-04:00

Sunday, Kev and I dedicated the day to Owen, and dubbed it "Owenpalooza." We felt really guilty that he has been slighted during the move, and the two words he hears most recently are "stop that!"

So we headed off to the park first thing Sunday morning ... well, after stopping for breakfast at BK Lounge ... I know - quality parenting with our superb nutrition choices.

Owen had a blast playing at the park. We had never been there before, so it was fun to see him explore and check everything out. He mostly liked to climb up, and climb down, and not really do much while he was actually ON the equipment. Kev put him in the swing, and his expression was priceless. Soaring up into the air, I don't think he spoke for 3 minutes (very unusual for our chatty charlie).

After about an hour, he was ready to go. We headed home and changed into our swimsuits. Great fun for me ... I'm TOTALLY swimsuit ready. hahaha. We played at the pool for an hour or so, and I think Owen had more fun turning the showers on than he did in the actual pool. Yeah, we're not in a drought or anything ...

Home for a 4 hour nap (yes, 4 HOURS!! hurrah) and then an Owen-inspired dinner of pizza and ice cream. Cause we've only had pizza for 5 out of the past 7 nights with the move and all. Kev hid little mini M&Ms in his ice cream so it was a special surprise when he found them.

Tuckered out, Owen collapsed into bed and slept pretty well, considering all the fresh air (and sucrose) we had pumped into his system throughout the day.

My Latest Project

2008-06-27T11:53:00.002-04:00

Arriving January 21, 2009. :)

I'm it!

2008-06-25T20:40:00.002-04:00

Since we've been moving and in crazy chaos mode lately, I haven't had much time to update. I did get tagged by Miss Tonya for a fun trivia post so here goes ... (sorry for my tardiness in the game!!)

Ten years ago: I was living in Charlotte in a historic home in Elizabeth with 3 other amazing gals. We had a blast! I was working as a copywriter during the day and a waitress at Rock Bottom at night. I had just started taking pottery classes with my friend Amy. Who knew?

Five things on today's to do list: Hmm ... since it's kinda late I might include tomorrow's list. Watch SYTYCD; check email; unpack from NY trip; find my cat; brush my teeth. Ok, so that's all gonna happen tonight. And I'm a little worried that I haven't found Abbey since I got home ...

Snacks I enjoy: Um ... all of them! Cheetos are my favorite chip-like snack. I can (and usually do) eat the entire family-sized bag in one or two sittings. Red Hots are my weakness for candy. And chewy SweeTarts. And chewy Sprees.

Things I would do if I was a millionaire: Are we talking millionaire as in having one million dollars or several million dollars? Cause I would treat it WAAAY differently. With just one mil, pay off our current house and put most of the rest into an account for Owen. We have enough crap so I really wouldn't want to buy anything else. Several mil? Pay off my house and the mortgage of my family members so none of us would have to worry about it. Then quit my job and do Plays With Mud full time! ;)

Places I have lived: Hendersonville, Arden (outside of Asheville), Atlanta (for a summer with my mom), Charlotte, Virginia (can't remember the town - I lived there for like a month and wussed out and came home), Charlotte again, then Fort Mill. And here I stay ...

Since Tonya tagged Tricia and Tricia tagged JennyO, I'm almost tapped for bloggers I know. So I'll tag Mimi, Lisa, and Kim. Although last time I tagged Kim she bailed on me so this time I expect much much more!! :)

Finally: arts & crafts!!!

2008-06-20T15:54:00.007-04:00

So I've been sitting on these pictures of this project that I finished like a month ago for my cousin. It was inspired (no pun intended) by Jennifer Stewart's class at Inspired 2008.

I used Jennifer's example of painting the fencing white and antiquing it slightly using a brown ink pad to start.
For the first panel, I printed out the baby's weight and length, cut them into circles, mounted on blue paper and used an eyelet to attach to the dark blue background paper. I used coordinating papers for the background, and cut little images from the birth announcement as embellishments. Then I added some buttons and a rhinestone to fill the space.

The middle panel includes the photo that the parents sent out in the birth announcement, mounted onto blue cardstock. I used little letters to spell out his name on the bottom.

The last panel includes his birthdate with a "welcome home" piece. I used a calendar stamp for the image, then dotted around the actual date. Ribbon embellishments, rhinestones and buttons complete it.

I thought this would be a nice way to celebrate the arrival of Reid and for the parents to keep a unique copy of their birth announcement.

capture: owen funnies

2008-06-13T10:19:00.006-04:00

***Because I can't find the time to journal, scrapbook, AND blog, I'm going to use our blog to capture little moments of time and memories that I would like to scrapbook later. I apologize if these little snippets are of no interest to anyone but me ... but it will keep me sane!***

SCENE
Yesterday, driving home from Grandma's house

CONVO
Mom: Owen, what would you like for dinner tonight?
Owen: Parker milk (this is the Horizon Organic milk in individual servings that his cousin Parker drinks).
Mom: Well, you can only have Parker milk if you've been a good boy.
Owen: Good boy.
Mom: Were you a good boy today?
Owen: Ask Grandma.

Time for heavy lifting

2008-06-12T16:45:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted this week cause we've been busy with the new house. We closed on Tuesday and had the painters and some other contractors come for various tasks ... installing the security system, turning on the cable, etc. Leon from Carolina Clay was kind enough to come down and dis-assemble, move, and re-assemble my kiln in the basement yesterday as well, so she's at the new space. Big hiccup however: the 220 outlet the builder installed is a 4 prong and my kiln uses a 3 prong. Pickles!

We started moving some boxes into the basement yesterday and are slowly migrating down. I'm hoping we'll have our furniture there this weekend. In the meantime, here's a photo the hubby just sent over of my favorite feature in the new house (besides the basement of course): the coffered ceiling in the living room. Looks like the painters just finished ... hurrah!!

shine on little buddy

2008-06-06T08:50:00.003-04:00

shiner
Originally uploaded by Paula Weigel

Can you see it? Poor little guy fell on the stairs this week and got a nice shiner on his left eye. This comes right when his other forehead boo boo was just starting to heal. Is it somewhat telling that his shirt has a super hero on it???

Have a great weekend everyone ... hope it's safe and fall-free! :)

Inside the studio: clay and texture and orders

2008-06-02T11:04:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of pics from the past few weekends where I've been playing with some new forms and new textures. I have some new vases going into the kiln shortly ... I'm so excited about the new designs!
I use my Great-Grandmother's doily (I think she actually MADE this doily) for texture on my small plates. And the rolling pin came from my mom from a yard sale (right?) many many years ago. I felt a little odd using antiques for my pottery, but they weren't getting any use sitting on a shelf.

My staple supplies: slab roller, apron, and Starbucks!

Storage for other supplies, including wax, underglazes, forms, and sponges.

An order I completed and shipped last week for wedding gifts. I hope they like them!!

Father's Day Promotion

2008-05-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

I'm running a special on my website from now until the end of June. Buy one Postag and get a second one free. That's right: FREE!! Buy one for you and one for your Dad (order by June 10 to get it for Father's Day). He'll think you're swell.

New fabrics on the website

2008-05-28T15:42:00.009-04:00

If you've purchased from me before, you know that I like to name new products and new fabrics after my customers. So head on over and check out the new designs I have available for belts, headbands and ponytail holders. And if your name isn't on a fabric yet, don't fear. I have a running list and you're probably up next!

Making sense of the mess

2008-05-27T10:58:00.002-04:00

In my plight to pack and organize at the same time, here's a peek inside the studio at part of my fabric stash. "Part of" being the key phrase here. I have yardage and bits of pieces of patterns all over the place, so I used gallon size plastic bags to store it all. Each pattern goes in its own bag, complete with remnants and scraps.

Fabric ... done! In the new studio, I'll have a vintage (read: hand-me-down) dresser that I'm repainting and plan to store the fabric in the drawers. Now if I could just figure out how to deal with all the paper ...

deleted track from American Idol's finale ...

2008-05-21T14:47:00.005-04:00

we'll wait to enter him into the contest until he can sing without taking his shoes off

Inside the studio: Repurposing

2008-05-20T07:02:00.009-04:00

Getting ready for the move, I have been slowly going through the shelves and the drawers and all the boxes of STUFF we've accumulated over the years. The studio is probably the worst. I have trouble throwing anything away, knowing that I'll probably be looking for just that little 2" scrap of paper the day after I toss it. But, we are budgeting and KW and I are issuing challenges to one another on who can save/not spend the most. And I will win!! :)

So since I must have an adorable studio at the new house, and I can't spend any money to do it, I thought I would start looking at all my tools and supplies in a new light.

I had these little paint cans from the hardware store, and while they were functional, they weren't pretty to look at. I took some coordinating scrapbook papers that I had, measured to size, and glued them around the sides of the cans. Then I created little round stickers in Photoshop to identify the contents. I saved the file so I can use it for other supplies in my studio, and have that and the color scheme be the unifying elements. I mounted the sticker onto cardstock, punched two tiny holes in the top, and tied it around the paint can. I intentionally didn't glue it to the can, because I have a fear of commitment and know that I'll change my mind on its use one day.

Then I went a little crazy and decided EVERYTHING needed to be covered in lovely paper, so I started pulling out some of the containers I had been saving ... even an Enfamil container from over a year ago that I have been holding on to ... just in case. Now it's a darling little house for my hair clip findings.

www.flickr.com

Have you repurposed anything from your craft stash lately?

Saturday Strawberries

2008-05-19T08:45:00.004-04:00

We met our friends at Springs Farm this Saturday to pick strawberries for the first time with Owen. We've been meaning to do this for several years ... even before we had O, but never found the time. The boys had a blast, and we got to feel good about ourselves for reducing our carbon footprint, supporting a local business, and being locavores for the day!! Hurrah us!!! :)

Website & Pricing Update

2008-05-14T09:21:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note that the prices on my Forever Vase have increased slightly due to a change in Priority Mail shipping this week. If you're local and picking up, this doesn't affect you at all. Price is $30 / price + shipping = $41.

Happy Saturday!

2008-05-10T20:31:00.003-04:00

What a great day! Although it was super hot, this day turned out to be so lovely. I slept in until about 7:00, hung out with the family for a bit, then hit up some yard sales ... it's been at least a year since I've even been to one! I scored a Making Memories embellishment set and an unopened pack of cardstock sticker quotes for fifty cents total!! I almost felt a little guilty about it ...

My friend Amy invited me to go with her to the Pottery Guild Barn Sale today, and so I picked her up after the yard sales. We went to Carolina Clay to get some supplies, then off to the sale. There were so many amazing potters there today, and it was really inspiring to see so many different styles represented. The really cool thing about potters is that they are so willing to share information. I shopped for a bit in Amy Sanders booth but didn't get a chance to talk to her; her work is so beautiful and her booth was packed the time we were there. Greg Scott has his super cool work for sale as well, and we chatted with him for a bit.

I purchased this amazing tray from Sylvia Coppola of Duck Creek Pottery in Indian Trail. My picture doesn't do it justice, because the inside of the tray has almost a verdigre quality to it. I also had the pleasure of meeting Amy Manson of Amy Manson Pottery in Charlotte; she is doing these beautiful image transfers which I've been studying lately, and she was kind enough to share some information with me.

Since we were somewhat in the area, we decided to hit up The Penguin for lunch because I love their fried pickles, but the line was out the door so we grabbed a table at Thomas Street Tavern. Food - great; service - super slow. Our waitress had the entire pub it seems, and bless her heart she was running all over the place. But it took us almost two hours for lunch, in the heat and sun, so we were exhausted and ready to get home.

The family went to 5:30 Mass tonight and while Owen was much better than last Sunday, he was still the banchee in church, so it made for an eventful service. All in all, awesome Saturday for Mother's Day weekend. It's supposed to rain here tomorrow, so I'll be using some of the clay I bought today to make some orders and some new products I've been sketching.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms ... I hope it's a great day for you. Anyone have any fun plans???

mad organizational skills

2008-05-09T14:40:00.009-04:00

Check out my son and his penchant for having things in just the right place ... (I should have shot this in aerial view).

After dinner last night he lined up his almond muffin, deconstructed box of raisins, sippy cup, cluster of raisins, and cup of water. All in a row. Anytime I would hand him something else, he needed to line it up with the rest. A boy after my own heart ...

And speaking of organizational tools (a favorite topic of mine), a friend on a forum pointed out this cool new line of office supplies from Staples. Here are a couple of other organizational goodies currently on the wishing list:

Neat Receipts - who doesn't want one more gadget to organize their life?
Start Here Adhesive Pockets - cause I have way too many notes tucked in notebooks and in my purse.
Daily System - I want the whole kit and caboodle!
Making my keychain a little more organized with these monkeys.
These would jazz up all my paperwork ... so cute!!

What are your favorite organizational tools? Got any cool websites to share?

capture: yoga class insight

2008-05-08T13:38:00.003-04:00

My instructor Michelle ended our yoga practice today with these words:
"Reflect on you who are. Who you want to be. It's all right there inside of you."

Scoutie Girl Give-Away

2008-05-06T20:46:00.002-04:00

The lovely Jan at Scoutie Girl has organized a fabulous giveaway of Indie designer goodies valued at $547!!! Right on! Head on over there and check it out ... and good luck!!