How a toad finds a garden home

In anticipation for the 2009 toad and frog house season, I spent and afternoon creating a charming animated short on how a toad finds a home. Perhaps toads don't really have newspapers, real estate, VW beetles, banks or use snails for currency but it certainly is an amusing tale.

Using an Elmer's Glue Bottle for Slip Decoration

For years I have been using a fine tipped glaze bottle for my slip application and decorations. For just as long I have been immensely frustrated when the tip gets blocked and expels a giant blob of clay slurry all over my design in 30 second intervals. Of course, it's my own fault for putting up with it as long as I have as well as forgetting to purchase a slip bottle when I am at my ceramic supply store.

Just the other day the heaven's were singing when I spied a near empty Elmer's glue bottle in the closet. The light bulb above my head signaled that this container would make a good slip bottle. I rigorously cleaned the container with hot water, my small sponge on a stick tool and a hooked wire to clean the difficult top edging. I also removed the orange plastic top and cut off the inverted "Y" white plastic tip to permit more slip flow. Taking a small drill bit I enlarged the opening of the orange cap from the underside out. Mixed up a nice smooth red clay slurry, filled the Elmer's glue container by way of a funnel, closed it up and squeezed to my hearts delight. No more giant slurry blobs on my designs or toads. My toad house production is going to get a lot easier now.

The only question is how to keep the slurry in the container from drying out since I removed the inverted "Y"? I decided to pour in 1/2 inch of water to keep the slurry moist and found a thin piece of copper wire to set in the hole. The sitting water will not mix with the slurry so long as I don't vigorously shake the container and a fair amount of the water can be squeezed out before the next use.