Hulk

ha ha, hopefully they are not still trying to move it 6 years later :-) 

If y'all are still out there on this topic, I have the exact same model.  Still works really well and I actually kinda love that it's heavy as heck.  I don't even have to secure it to anything and can put alot of heft into it.  Anyway, if the person still has it, I'd like to talk more!  They're hard to find.

Unloading a kiln later today,  my husband will have to unload it for me still on lifting restrictions.   It is so hard to stay out of my studio,  I have two more weeks to go.   Denice

I like when photos are provided--helps me learn things myself.

When looking for answers it’s very helpful for all of those who try and help or contribute to a post to have a rough idea of the original poster's experience or knowledge base in regards to their question. 
If a member has been posting here for a while we can get an idea of their experience and try and tailor our replies to reflect what we surmise to be their knowledge / experience level. This is really hard to do with new members or those who post infrequently! 
We all try to be as helpful as possible but the answers can, at times, be more confusing than the questions. Mentioning your experience should get you more relevant answers than us overloading information but we can’t do this without an idea of knowledge / experience.
Including as many details as possible, photos if relevant, and knowledge / experience relevant to the question being asked will hopefully aid everyone is both giving and receiving their questions and comments.
Thank you

I'm sure I sold a thousand plus items in last 3 weeks at all my outlets and most where xmas gifts so Mayby I can say yes I did get some ceramics out under the tree this season. My guess Is I brought a lot of happyness to many on this the 25th day of Dec. Its always a good feeling  around this time .I feel I'm in a happy business.

Yep!
Two family members have birthdays, one xmas eve, t'other xmas - they get ceramics, again!
...and my entry to the family gift exchange is ceramics, again!
Donations to local charity fundraiser, local developmentally disabled workcenter, ceramics this year.
Bike shop that supports our bike team got some mugs.

I got commissioned to make a couple of things for friends for their family, but most of my fam has what they want from me already. 
 
I got to make a couple of fun commissions for others though. One lady got three stacking sets in different colours, one for each of her daughters. My favourite though, was a sugar jar that one of the sweetest boys I might have ever met was getting for his boyfriend for their first Christmas in their new apartment. 
 
I have some bowls that haven’t been selling as well as I wanted them to that I will take down to the Drop In Centre. They have a transitional housing program, and are always in need of cookware and dishes to supply a kitchen with.

It was sad but I have accepted that life doesn't always come out the way you think it will.  You have to accept the bumps and turns in life and find joy in other moments,  I have the memories of past Christmas and that is enough.   I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and appreciates every second of it.      Denice

Ho boy, did I ever!
First off, my family is still in what I call "special request" mode.  They know I make pottery so I will get a few "special requests" per year, I save up these special requests for Christmas.  My uncle requested back in the summer a stash jar, so I made a big one for him:

And my step mom wanted a vase, so I made her one:

My mom asked for a water dish for her watercoloring, which for some reason I forgot to take a picture of.  My dad got a pipe he had been bugging me to make. 

Throughout the year I often will throw some mugs or cups and then (especially in the summer) not get handles pulled and onto them before it's too late, so I save them up and make candles out of them.  So these are lavender citrus soy candles, 8 ounces each for a 48 hour burn time supposedly, I've never actually kept track of how long one has been burning, but yeah they work great and are a super quick, cheap and easy project to use up some of those random vessels.  A word of caution though, if you make these and sell them as part of your business you'll need to buy either a special candlemakers liability policy or a BOP policy that covers candlemaking, and be sure to research what youre doing so you don't end up making fireballs instead of candles.

We don't exchange gifts anymore,  I found out that my sister in-law threw our gifts away every year.  I didn't ever give that many pieces of pottery as gifts,  I will make a piece upon request.  My son and his wife send a list of what to order from Amazon for them.   Denice

Nope not this year. After 47 years they do not need anymore clay items. I did give some ceramic fish to nephew for hous warming gift for his new house last October if that counts?

Yes, I donated to the church next door for their auction, berry bowl with base dish, two sponge holders, batter bowl and two spoon rests.  
 
best,
Pres

Yep!
Two family members have birthdays, one xmas eve, t'other xmas - they get ceramics, again!
...and my entry to the family gift exchange is ceramics, again!
Donations to local charity fundraiser, local developmentally disabled workcenter, ceramics this year.
Bike shop that supports our bike team got some mugs.

Hi folks, I haven't seen anything new in the QotW pool so I will once again take it on. I was just thinking this Christmas Eve about the pieces I have made over the years for family and friends. This year, I had heard so much about sponge holders and spoon rests that I decided to make some of my own. So I did up around 20 of each for Christmas this year for the nieces and nephews. I also made so heavier floor vases after the one that I made for my wife, Sue.  
So I"ll ask : Did you give Ceramic objects for Christmas this year, 2019?
 
Have a Merry Christmas folks,
 
best,
Pres

I’m not doing anything in the studio this week.  I’ll go back in after Boxing Day. Imma hang out here and be opinionated  

I’m in a similar mode as @neilestrick. My studio is officially closed for the holidays, but I want to tweak one of my glazes before starting up with production again in the new year. Wouldn’t it be nice if the right answer is in the first line blend? Too optimistic?

Test tiles. My shop is closed for the next 2 weeks, so I'm going to focus on getting some things done that I haven't had time to do, like running glaze tests. I make my tiles by throwing a 3 pound ring at the edge of a 13 inch bat, then decorating it with underglazes and cutting it up into about 25 tiles.
 

To make the "bead popper",  
1.   screw the "plunger" completely out of the chap stick cylinder  
2.   Turn the plunger over and force it back into the tube while turning the knob at the bottom. If you line it up with the screw at the center, this  will allow you to draw the "plunger" back down into the tube.
3.   Screw the little plunger back far enough so you see the top of that center screw.   Then  take a sharp xacto knife and cut off the extra part of the tube so the plunger is even with the top part of the screw and the tube.
4.   When using, start by spraying  a little Pam inside the tube with the plunger retracted in the tube, cut the small  beads  from a slab of clay and push the bead out by screwing the plunger to the top of the tube.   
Note:  I smooth the top edge of the bead when it's pushed just beyond the top edge of the tube. The bottom edge is finished when on the straw  (pictured in my original post.)   
When making the larger beads, retract the plunger and stuff clay in the tube making sure you keep the screw centered as you fill the tub with clay.  
 Hope this helps.

Been making many of these coffee pourovers on commission.  I'm just now starting to get good at them after making 50.  I threw the parts for 10 more on Monday and am still waiting for them to get to leather hard.  Everything slows down this time of year.  If I turn a space heater on to speed things up, they dry too quickly so it's a game of patience.  I can only make 10 at a time because 1) that's as many as fits in my kiln and 2) that's as many as fits on my drying racks.
The customer is launching a website in January so I'm stocking up and making enough for the launch.  They are in Canada and that has been an issue with shipping (unless the new trade agreement is passed soon), but I may end up drop shipping them directly to US buyers, so I might need to up my fee if that's the case.
Here are some recent ones as well as a few glaze tests on them:

Made a "bead popper" from an empty Chap Stick tube.  Automatically centers the hole in the bead.  

@Callie Beller Diesel
I just saw this. Love! Perfect color and slip work. Very nice.

Aye that!
...thinking short and stout ear/handle that faces up and a bit in, cylinder four inches or so tall, small enough around to fit in 300g cups, will experiment with drainhole sizes and patterns

Hulk borrow tea steeper id

@Hulk make sure they’re deep enough. I tried some last year that were more bowl shaped and looked cute, but were too shallow.
 
Don’t do this: