Vintage Lace Mugs
I love painting pottery. As a therapist, I recognize that this is a very mindful activity and it has been a healthy coping skill for me in the past. However, I also go to the "do it yourself" pottery shops and it never quite turns out the way I had hoped. My friend, Ericka, and I painted pottery for our birthdays this year and there was a nice woman who worked there who took pity on us. She showed us how to make Vintage lace patterns. They're pretty hard to screw up. This was a relief for us...
You start by first cleaning your pottery piece with a damp sponge. Afterwards, paint three or more coats of your base color, allowing each coat to dry in between. The mug's base color (my creation) is black and Ericka's base color (the wine goblet) is brown.
Select a piece of lace that will fit on your project. You could also do this with any flat surface. I think I will try a set of plates next time. Hold the lace in place and paint one more coat of your base color over the part of the lace that you wish to use as the pattern. Once this dries, the lace should be securely in place.
After this coat has dried, begin painting the contrasting color over the same part of the lace you just painted. If you choose to make the base coat a dark color and the contrasting color a lighter color, this coat will be barely visible. I chose a Victorian pink for my contrasting color whereas Ericka chose an olive green. In order to get my pink to really show up, I painted at least five coats of the pink onto the lace, making sure that each coat had time to dry before beginning another.
Once you're sure that the paint has completely dried on your entire piece, gently peel the lace off. The pattern design should be raised slightly. You're now ready to fire your piece! Our turned out quite well and they were really easy to make. It's a great idea for people who think they can't do a design or aren't "creative enough" (although I believe that everyone is creative in one way or another). I welcome your comments/questions -- it just takes a moment. Has anyone else tried this method and had similar/different results? Enjoy!
