Clayton Hill Studio

Posted on August 3, 2017 by claytonhill

Murrini, Funshine & Pups

I used some of our 96 murrini to make a couple of pendants. They’re cute (!) and they proved to me they are fire-safe/stable. So – check for cane listings in our shop and on our FB page!

And, it’s that time of year! Yep – Sangria Weather. So – I made up a vat, um … batch! Yum!!! Our pool deck vines (trumpet, honey suckle and some purple flower – NOT wisteria or clematis … ?) are doing great – creating the ‘living roof’ I’ve been shooting for …

It’s also coming up on THAT time …Time for our pups to move on to their new homes. Sad smile I will miss my love-bugs! (Look at that FACE!!!)

But – I can’t be too sad … Today is our oldest’s birthday! Hugs & Kisses, Baby Girl!!! XOXO

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Posted on July 29, 2017 by claytonhill

We did some pulls …

Our first vitrigraph pull of the night … coe96 turquoise:

We got some gorgeous cane/murrini. But – we had a crazy amount left-over in the vit pot … I mean like 1.5-2 inches. Since I knew I wanted to do another pull, we crash cooled the pot in cold water. It made a BEAUTIFUL ‘hunk’ of cracked glass:

And, cracked it was – when we ‘encouraged’ it out of the pot, we got this … about 2 pounds of puddle/frit chunks! It’s okay, though. I will do SOMETHING with it. And, our 96 cane supply is growing: [I will be listing the cane on FB and in our shop soon!]

Moving on – we did a coe90 pull, too (I know – two in ONE day!!)!. I love, love, LOVE it! I’ve named this cane/murrini ‘Blue Lagoon’ … Smile

I also put together a couple of future pendant tiles, using my murrini. I’ll map out pendant shapes and cut them up next week:

And, I did a smaller (3/4 inch) tray of penDots … Those colors are moving along NICELY! One more shipment of hot colors coming! Oh, I’m gonna have me some fun!!!

But first … time for a bit of sleep and a weekend of ER nursing fun!

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Posted on July 27, 2017 by claytonhill

Amazing!

I got a wee bit side-tracked today. My new phone arrived – and I had some learning to do. Samsung Galaxy S8+ … Oh My Goodness … I love it! I’ve been taking pictures, pictures – and more pictures! What an awesome phone camera!!! Little to no photo-editing to correct colors or lighting needed … WOW!

Here’s one of my ‘Chef’ spoon rest:

And some of my pendants:

I’ll be spending time creating listing for the shops. Look for unique and beautiful jewelry at great prices soon! We’re also pulling some vit cane. DH and I did another coe96 pull, and I’ve got a few more lined up … So, look for more murrini cane to join the shop, too!

I received a few new hot glass colors, and made another small batch of penDots. I’m starting to realize taking notes might be a good idea … Maybe. We’ll see … Winking smile

I will leave with my first-ever S8+ picture … of the beautiful Chloe Cowbell, of course!

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Posted on July 19, 2017 by claytonhill

Pulls, Puddles and Pool Time!

DH and I continue to play with the vitrigraph kiln, making murrini cane and stuff. We had a repeat pull tonight, and I learned the value of the bubble-squeeze (along with a more controlled ramp up)!

We’ve had some 20+ pulls, and we are learning with each one! But – that’s a lot of vit ‘remains’ … I’ll be cleaning those up to play with puddle pieces. I’m also running out of storage space, so I ordered a rolling bakers rack (half rack, actually). I’m hoping to start in on some coe96 murrini cane soon!

I’m working on a new spoon rest design. How cute is that? I’m going to make a matching night light and ‘tea bowl’ …

Leaving with a photo of the Cowbell – who is learning to love the pool. We’ve mastered the raft and we’re making baby steps with dog-paddling. Who knew the rolly-polly-gal could swim?!? Winking smile

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Posted on July 14, 2017 by claytonhill

Momma got her Flock together …

Yep! We got all four of our kids together (along with my sister, brother-in-law and niece, my dad and stepmom, my grandpa and my mother-in-law) for a family dinner. I’m a happy girl! The twins turn 20 in just a few days, our oldest will be 25 in a few weeks, followed by our oldest son turning 23 in just a few short months. Add to it, our youngest son will be leaving for boot camp all-to-soon … Definitely time for a family celebration and hugs from my babies! No group-shot family photo to share – but here are the birthday babes:

And then I played in my studio. I am revisiting penDots, so I made this batch of cabochons – thus HAD TO order a few new hot glass color combinations … DH and I had a vitrigraph pull this week, as we continue to play with color building and layering, stacks and pull results. This pull wasn’t what I had expected, but it was learning. So, ya know – a good experience.

Somewhere along the line, Miss Cowbell has discovered duckweed (from our pond). Why she loves it? I have no idea … But here she is sporting her green goatee! Silly Chloe!!!

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Posted on July 7, 2017 by claytonhill

Pool Time, Dinner and the Cowbell …

Dinner with the (high school) girls, along with a bit of pool time this week, and – Oh, life is good! [Thanks ladies!!!]

My kilns are cooking (photos to come), and I’ve got my next vit stack ready. Shooting for an ocean/water scheme, and I’m hopeful we can have our pull before heading back to work this weekend. We’ll see …

Meanwhile, Chloe is working on getting over her fear of the big pool. It appears all we needed to do was add steps (- which I love!)! Here she is, testing it out … ♥ my Chloe Cowbell!!!

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Posted on July 4, 2017 by claytonhill

Cane, cane and more cane

We had a fun vitrigraph cane pull last week. I finally got around to chopping, photographing and listing …

Then I played around with a couple of mixed bag options … I like it! I’ll be listing a few in our shop, so keep an eye out!

Our coe90 cane selection is growing, and I love it. I have a few more color ideas I want to play with … But – tonight we’re doing our first coe96 pull. Yay!!! And, playing with frit in the pot. It’s heating up now, so we’ll see! [Fingers crossed!]

I’ve been slumping some projects along, too. Our poppy plates turned out neat. And, I love this ring dish …

Speaking of weekends killing me – thought I was gonna implode this last weekend. Coworkers … Good golly! ‘Nough said!!!

Moving on … As promised – a couple photos of adorable, squishy faced love!

Happy 4th of July, Ya’ll!!!

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Posted on June 28, 2017 by claytonhill

Cruisin’ Through Summer …

I’m still playing with my reverse enameling and stamps. A few more to finish and I will have a major coffin load of spoon rests & dishes. Tonight’s progress:

I was painting while heating up our vit kiln for this brown/tan pull. Oops! Having said that … SOMEONE (DH) was right there with the kiln and never bothered to look at the temps [Grrr!]!! So, she ramped up to 1700 degrees. We have always used some cut glass pieces (i.e. two 2×4 inch pieces side by side) in our stacks. I believe this crazy-high temp, combined with the few cut pieces, created an air bubble early on that prevented any concentric rings throughout the entire pull. Hmmm … interesting! Sad smile I’m a little bummed, but learning is learning!

Moving on … We had success in the kitchen. It’s called ‘Million Dollar Spaghetti’ – certainly not low-cal, but definitely yummy. Our photo is before baking, and before the mound of cheeses (cheddar, muenster and parmesan) were added to the top during the last 15 minutes of oven-time. We tweaked the recipe with more cheese varieties, summer squash, fresh tomatoes, and a few spices. (I would add spinach/kale, ground sausage and mushrooms next time, too.) Of course, we ‘rounded’ the meal out with Pioneer Woman’s “The Bread” … I had to!!!

Found a traveler at the (far, far away from the house) end of our driveway recently. I had just been talking with a (hunter) co-worker about turtle soup … I’ve never had it, but I’m curious about it. Anyway – DH took one look at those claws and said “Ummm … NO!!!”

Leaving with the ‘Queen of the Rock’, as she wasn’t going to let Victor have all that glory … Miss Cowbell! Winking smile

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Posted on June 21, 2017 by claytonhill

Summer Lovin’ …

DH surprised me tonight by suggesting a vit pull. Aww … Thanks, babe! So – we did. It’s Bullseye aqua, teal, steel blue, emerald green, powder blue, warm white and clear. I’m happy with the results!

And then, I stole a few hours for enamel projects … I love the cat & dog spoon rests. We’ll see what the kiln makes out of the ring dishes (especially the Día de Muertos Mr. & Mrs. on the far right) … I also cut up one of my crackle poppy components, added a strip of coordinating tapestry glass, and stamped a poppy image for reverse enameling … Oh my! So many areas to go wrong. [Fingers crossed!] Time to get a kiln or two going!

Leaving with a quick photo of our Victor, who took a minute to pose as he soaked up some rays while eyeing his domain … Handsome Boy! Cute puppy pics to come, and I’m hoping for a bit of pool time soon!

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Posted on June 17, 2017 by claytonhill

Happy Father’s Day

So, my dad and grandpa got Amazon-love … Umm, without cards! What’s up with that??? Where are the ‘gift notes’ Amazon?!? [Horrible daughter/grand-daughter hangs head in shame …]

DH bought himself a gift (a pneumatic tire changer-thingy), along with my father’s day gift (an XT glass tile saw – thanks, Babe!), and his own (surprise) Amazon gifts … along with this: [Alas, also no card … I’m awful!!!]

Yep … it’s four bottles of hand soap. Ummm … home-made hand soap!!! It’s soft for the skin … And, DH LOVES it!!! Here’s the pinterest link for anyone that wants to give it a try …

And, just because I know he needed it … I ordered this shirt for him. Awww … Winking smile It’s at viralstyle.com, if you know someone that needs one too!