Another blast from the past.

Hello craft lovers!

While looking through old digital pictures the other night, I came across a lot of pictures of ceramic pieces that I had painted.  These bring back some wonderful memories.  I do miss painting!  Maybe I'll get back into it one day.

When I was working at Different Strokes, a paint your own pottery studio, I did a lot of custom orders.  I remember the first time Toby asked me about doing a custom order.  A customer had called to ask if something could be painted for her and Toby said to her "Probably, Kristie can paint anything!  Let me ask her  and I'll get back to you."  I couldn't believe it when he told me this!  But he had confidence in me and from then on, I did all the custom orders that came in.  Some of the pieces I'm showing you were custom orders and some are pieces that I painted for myself or as gifts.  I hope you enjoy them.

This platter was a custom order for a wedding.  There are markers that you can purchase to write on ceramic pieces that have been glazed and fired, then you 'bake' them in your home oven.  This couple was having their guests sign the platter to have for a keepsake.  It matched their invitations and theme.

This piece is actually a platter which I painted and drilled holes through.  The woman that ordered it wanted it for their winter place in Bermuda or somewhere equally as tropical.  She was going to have someone attach it right to the front of Poolside Villa #5.  She wanted tropical flowers and bright colors and that's what I gave her.  She loved the end results.  I wish the picture showed the detail and shading in the flowers better.

I made this plate for my niece's baby shower.  We all signed it at the shower with the markers that I wrote about above.

Know that baby shower above?  I made this plate for the baby from that shower, my great niece Sami.  Eric, her dad, is pretty partial to Curious George, so I made this for her, or him as the case may be.

The couple that managed Different Strokes, for a while before it closed, asked me to make this plate.  Toby said his mom was 'famous' for her deviled eggs and he asked me to design and make a plate that they could take back to Arizona with them.  This is what I made for her.  If you look closely you can see that there are several silly little chicks coming out of eggs where the eggs are to sit.  They don't show very well, but I'm telling ya, they were cute.  Wonder if she still has that plate!

This is a spoon rest that I made for myself.  I love it!  I also made a little cup and saucer set that match it which sit on the buffet in my diningroom.

Remember Eric, my nephew who loves Curious George?  I knew he also loved the Muppets, so I asked him who was his favorite, weeeelllll, he wouldn't give me a straight answer.  If you know Eric, you will understand.  He told me several different characters.  I was planning to make a set of dishes for Sami with Eric's favorite character on them.  I ended up making a much bigger set than I planned.  Animal was one of the favorites.  I also made Gonzo, Rolf, Fozzie Bear, Statler and Waldorf and Beaker.  I think that covers all the favorites, at least the ones I painted. LOL!

This is a set that I made for myself.  The little dish sits right down into the top of that center space.  I love this and really have to remember to use it more often.

I made this set for my great niece, Alexandrea, for her 3rd birthday.  She loves princesses, so I painted these for her.  Her sister has a set of dishes with the Little Mermaid on them and her cousin has a set with Tinkerbell.  I do have some pictures of the Ariel ones somewhere, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the Tink ones and they turned out so cute. 

Both the ceramic shops that I worked for closed before I got the chance to paint sets for the other greats, but maybe someday I will get that chance.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have enjoyed this little blast from my crafting past.  If you have a paint your own pottery studio near you, go give it a try.  There are so many fun things you can do with ceramics.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!