We’re fired! (Take Your Kids to a Paint Your Own Pottery / Ceramics Place Soon!)

Yep, really.  The kids' pottery was sent to the kiln and fired.  And it turned out better than I expected- really a great before and after.  If you haven’t done this with your kids, do it.  I was holding off, waiting for my youngest to get a bit older.  However, with the power of grandmother reinforcement, even 4 year old boy attention spans are suited for paint your own pottery endeavors!  Here's what you may see when you go:

 

 

You don’t even have to have kids with you to go!  There were all kinds of chances to let your creativity flow.  I like that they sprinkled some completed projects in with the bare ones to help spark your creativity.  I love this person’s bird DIY masterpiece.  Doesn’t it look like something you’d see in stores?

There were a lot of kid-focused items there: cartoon and comic characters, banks, animals, etc.   I swear my kids have radar for snakes, lizards and any other creature I prefer to only see on TV. 

That’s where you start- picking out your piece.  The cheap-o in me wasn’t real keen on the $17 and $20 price tags for the snake and frog they picked out, but I had a coupon and really, you’re paying for the experience here.  I ignored the little voice in my head and went with it.  I’m really glad I did, too.  As an added bonus, my mother-in-law actually treated for this experience.  I was really glad I could at least offer a $8 coupon. ;)

My kids loved the work space.  But first they picked their colors and then they had to give the piece a sponge bath. (Sorry for any hospital images that sentence created.)   Finally they were off and painting… and painting… and painting… 3-4 coats are what they suggested.  My little one lost interest and asked me to help him out with all the blue. (I really do try to keeps a hands-off approach to their crafts.)  Then he put a random blob of black in the middle, but it’s faint in the finished product.  

One week later, here’s what we have after picking it up!  They turned out better than I expected. Now I’m worried they’ll drop them…  

Have you tried your hand at ceramics?  How about your kids' hands?  Have you ever been fired? Kidding, don’t share those stories. ;)

I'm linked up today with Be Colorful, Keeping It Simple, Between Naps on the Porch and  Nap Time Creations!