For Annabelle’s 12th birthday, a family friend treated us to a lovely girl day. We went to a place local to us called The Mad Potters and we painted ceramics. If you’ve never tried ceramic painting, I highly recommend you find a place near you. It was such a special way to spend time together. Annabelle was the craftiest of the 3 of us, but any skill level can make beautiful painted pieces.
We got to pick out our pottery at the beginning. The prices were affordable and based on the sizes. (Everything is included in the price of the ceramic you choose.) Next, we were assigned the task of picking our paint colors. The choices were splendid and it was hard to pick which ones we loved the most.
Once we had the colors picked out, we set to work on painting. It required 3 coats of each color. The first coat took the longest and then it was a faster process. Reservations were for 1 1/2 hours and that was a good amount of time as long as we stayed focused.
Miss Meticulous was making me worried she wouldn’t finish, but she did. We also had the option to pack up paints and finish them at home if we did run out of time.
The paints are interesting because the colors don’t look anything like the samples we chose. They don’t become vibrant until they’ve gone through a kiln. If you pick speckled paint you really get to be surprised with how it will turn out. (The chest of the owl will become spotted like the paint brush holder). So we left our pieces of art for a few days and picked them up at the end of the week.
They turned out above and beyond our expectations. We can’t wait to paint ceramics again. This would be a really fun birthday party (set a budget for party guests), field trip, or something to do on a rainy day. I most certainly could see myself doing this with a friend when the kids are in school.
I almost forgot to share our finished product. First of all, our friend Val was CRACKING up at her gnome. She thought he turned out terrible, but he was an endearing little guy. We ran into her when we were downtown picking them up. She was making a scene from her car, but we loved it cuz she makes us laugh with her laugh.
Annabelle of course made her piece a replica of her beloved black cat, Smokey. I loved how my owl turned out with the speckled paint. It was the most perfect shade of blue to go with my decor too. It’s quite cute with a tea light.
Local readers, I encourage you to reserve your spot at The Mad Potters in Brentwood. If you really want to make a day of it, there is MJ’s Café next door and a fantastic vintage shop to wander called A Vintage Wonderland. Don’t let life get too busy for a girl’s day out!
