Hello little blue crab!

A couple of weeks ago, I met a few friends of mine for Ladies’ Night at the new paint your own pottery place here in town. 

After a little painting, some munchies, and a bottle glass of wine this little guy came home with me.

Hello little blue crab!

Seriously. Painting with my girlfriends was so much fun. Look at all the fun pieces you can choose from!

But sometimes it is hard to come up with your own ideas.

People – That’s what Pinterest is for!  I simply pulled up my “For the Home” board there I found this cute crabby fellow.

Now wait a minute… It’s confession time.

That little blue crab was the first painted plate. Of course, I didn’t take pictures during Ladies’ Night Out. So I begged a friend to go back to the cutesy Paint Your Own Pottery Shop with me to recreate it.

The first step was to choose a piece of pottery. The small square, sushi plate was an obvious choice.

Then you will need to pick out the paint colors you would like to use. To make it easy to choose,   there were samples of each color on the wall. The shop even had a selection of paint “pens” for you to write on your piece.

Your first step is to paint the entire plate with three coats of white.  Painting the front and back with several coats of white will give the plate a finished look when it is fired. Next draw out your crab onto the plate using a pencil.

Luckily I can free hand pretty well but if you don’t feel confident in your drawing abilities here’s an easy trick:

Take a print out of any object, shade the back of the paper with pencil, flip the paper over to the front, and trace the outline of the shape. When you lift up the paper, you will see your outline. Easy peasy!

The next step is to fill in your crab with a medium blue. Once the base color has dried apply different layers of colors. Based on the original painting I used orange, green, baby blue, and a darker blue.

Layering the paint on top of each other was my favorite part.

An almost dry brush with a little bit of blue was used to add a washed effect to the background and edges of the plate.

I’m not sure if it was the wine or the food but I think the first plate looks better. The second plate looks like I was a little loopy. And I am pretty confident this little blue crab is not anatomically correct.

Oh well. It was great fun. (Both times)

Check your local area for a paint-your-own-pottery shop. Make it a fun Girls Night Out!

Now… who wants a hand painted little blue crab plate for Christmas?

I’ve got an extra one just for you! 😉

 

 

I love to share my projects with these fabulous blogs:

Get You DIY On {A 16 Week Fall Party Challenge} @ Just a Girl and Her Blog, Inspiration Monday Party @ I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Too Cute Tuesdays @ Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Pin Me Linky Party @ Diana Rambles, What I Whipped Up Wednesdays @ Sugar and Dots, BeBetsy, It’s a Party @ A Creative Princess, Southern State of Mind, What we love Wednesday @ Soda Pop Avenue Work, It Wednesday @ The Blissful Bee, Give Me the Goods Monday @ Rain On a Tin Roof & So Much Better with Age, Shine on Fridays @ Young and Crafty,  Inspire Me Tuesdays @ A Stroll Thru Life, Savvy Southern Style, Home{work} Wednesdays @ Atta Girl Says, Crystal and Co. with The Mommy Club: Share Your Resources and Solutions , The Chic and Crafty Linky Party with The Frugal Girls & Share Your Creativity Saturdays with Aimee at It’s Overflowing.