Have I ever mentioned that I love garage sales?
Yeah, I do. I love the thought of finding useful or just plain cool stuff for very little money. While my wife is spending our kid’s college fund on cute clothing and toys that “she will love when she gets older” I’m scrounging for old kitchen utensils, textures, tools or oddball items that I can use in the clay studio.
Exhibit A
garage sale cookie cutters
Cookie cutters
Cost: $0.75
Use: I can use these little guys to make simple (cheesy?) slab ornaments… which make great presents. Or I might use them to add some interest to mugs. Coincidently, these cookie cutters are sitting on a lazy susan that I got at a garage sale last year for $1 and which works well as a banding wheel/turntable.
Exhibit B
light and whiteboard
Whiteboard
Cost: $4
Use: I’ll  use it to write myself notes about glaze recipes, things I want to make, how much clay to use for certain items, etc. Whenever I write things on a paper I immediately misplace the paper.
Exhibit C
Fluorescent Light (in the photo above)
Cost: $1
Use: I only have one tiny window to let a little sunlight into my lair. The ceiling lights are fine but I’ve always thought I could use some more light in a few dark corners. Maybe it will come in handy if I start shooting video of my process like a lot of other pottery bloggers like Doug and Keith.