Friday, April 25, 2014

CUP CAKE


Whistle Creek

“CUP”

Cakes


 
Mix together 1 box of any regular cake mix with ½ to 1 box Angel Food cake mix. ( The Angel Food provides the lift )

Put 6 TBL of your mix into a Whistle Creek Individual Baker or Soup Mug. Add 4TBL water and stir. Microwave 1:15

Let cool slightly and top with Icing, Yogurt, Fruit, Pudding, or Whipped Cream.

 

 

 

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

My third Leg Revealed



In my last post, I hinted at the construction of some new booth furniture. This happens every spring and the set up is still evolving. Basically, I wanted to replace a 5 ft shelf that I usually ran along a side wall with a smaller shelf that sets up parallel to the front of the booth but still allows plenty of room for entry. The question of booth furniture comes up pretty often on the web so I thought I would put together a pictorial how to just in case some of you are getting tired of all this reading. For best results, you will need a table saw and a drill press. You can do it with hand tools but you will work harder and you will not be as accurate.  I decided on a 4 ft unit that has two sides. Six inch shelves on one side and eight inch on the other, with the frame hinged in the middle for easy folding and set up. I prefer Red Cedar for my shelves. They need no finish, they are light and stiff and they make the van smell great. I was able to cut down the shelf boards from my old unit for the eight inch side. These are one inch stock and really stiff. For the six inch side, I bought 1/2 inch thick cedar fence boards. they will be holding mugs so they don't need to be as heavy as the other ones. The frame is made of a 10 ft cedar 2x6, an 8ft 2x4 and 8 3/4 " dowels.. Have the lumberyard cut the 2x4  at 48 " then cut the 2x6  into two 60 inch pieces.

Make sure you 2x6's are exactly the same length.
Strike lines where you want to put dowels for
shelf supports. Rip each into 3 equal pieces.
 
Make a quick fence for the drill press. The line on the base lines up with your
drill bit and your layout lines for dowels. It is much easier to match two lines than to try to find a line with the point of a drill.
 



 Drill all holes on the front and back posts 1" deep. The center post, you drill about 1/2 "
from either side so you don't go through. Don't let shavings pile up behind your work.


 
 Use a stop block to cut your dowels .Less measuring and they will be exactly the same.
Shelf width plus depth of both holes.
 
Dry fit it together
 
Smooth any sharp edges.
 
Check for square often
 
Brush some glue in each hole. I do one leg, insert dowels then do the other one.
 
Clamp it all up and check for square. Repeat for the
other side piece
 
 
Simple frame squares it up and supports the sides.
Notching helps keep the wiggle out. I bored 3/4 "
holes for dowels through the side of the central frame and into
 the horizontal rails. You could use countersunk lag bolts.
 
 
no mortise hinges hold it all together. bend your hinge pins a little
and hang them so the heads are up. keeps the pins for falling out.
 
Finished Frame
 
 
Finished unit
 
 
Folded frame.
 
 
 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Opening Day

Hey everyone. Happy Easter, Ishtar, Passover or whatever you have been celebrating. I've just been celebrating being able to work outside without a jacket. I've missed you but it has been awfully busy around here. May 3 is opening day. No, not the Reds, show season. Cincinnati Clay Alliance has its club show on the first Saturday of May every year. 60 Clay artists on one street ! I always do well there. Last year I did twice what my next best show was so I need a bunch of stuff. When you make tableware, that means 8 to 12 place settings of each glaze plus serving pieces, corner pieces, etc. I'm done with Green, Black and Shino but I still need Blue. Busy Busy . I bisque fired and threw through the cold months, well , when I could force myself outside I did. That led to a huge pile of bisque. Orders late last fall led to me being out of most colors of plates and I can only fit 2 on a kiln shelf then fill in with other low stuff. This train of logic lead to the conclusion that I had a ****load of firing to do. The last 3 weeks have not found my kiln cold. Load , fire, unload, load....I have had to do a bisque just to have enough mugs to fill some 6" high spaces. If I do all plates, I run out of shelves halfway up. It's all a big jigsaw puzzle anyway.

 I've also been working on a new shelf unit. It is almost done and I am including a teaser picture of some partially completed parts. Next time you stop by, I hope to have full instructions posted. It is a slick design. Oh yeah, The Subaru returned home after a month in the body shop. Total damage was about $11,000 on an $18,000 car but it looks good and drives fine. The Ford Escape from Enterprise was fine but I'm glad to have my own car back. There's no place like home. Have a great day.


Pile O' Green ,at least that's what I'm hoping for.

Greens ,Blacks, and some tests

She's Back

What the?? Why the third post?