A fun afternoon painting pottery

Just got back from a hugely enjoyable few hours spent with the hubby and Harry. We followed a lovely lunch on the Barbican with a visit to ClayArt.

ClayArt is a fun place where you can go and paint your own pottery. There's loads of different blank ceramics you can choose from, from pretty and decorative ornaments, to practical teapots and plates. Once you've painted your design, they'll glaze and fire it for you to come pick up in a few days.

We decided that as it's our son's first Christmas we would take advantage of their range of Christmas Decorations and make something that will be a lovely keepsake for the future.

Luckily for us, being midweek it wasn't too busy, so we could take the time to relax (and I could be a complete perfectionist) whilst we decorated our ceramics.

Here's what they look like pre-glazing:

Front

Back

I wanted to make the stocking look quite traditional but with a handmade touch, and I think the dots and stripe design help give it that look. And I had a go at doing some writing, which, as you can see from the smudging, is harder than it looks :)

I have to admit that whilst my husband was painting his, I was a little dubious of his design, but by the time it was finished, in my opinion he'd definitely given it a bit of Fair Isle treatment. Very on-trend (and I'm sure completely accidental).

Can't wait to pick out the glazed versions. Unfortunately for impatient me, we have to wait a few days.

Let me know what you think of our decorations, and share any of your own designs. I sense this could be a regular crafting venue for me...

x