Self Painted Pottery. Anyone? Anyone?

Once upon a time, way back in the late 1990's, my mom, my sister and I ventured to Bellevue Square Mall to a place called the Paint Bar.  The Paint Bar was a "paint it yourself" ceramic store.  Now it's not such a novel idea, but keep in mind, this was back before there was one on every corner.  

What was special about going to BSM was that it was in the ritzy part of Seattle AND the store was owned by Josie Bissett and Rob Estes.  If you don't know who these people are then I'm once again questioning our friendship.  They were only two of the hottest actors on Melrose Place!  

Here, recognize them now?

Every time we went we hoped we'd see them, but alas, we never did.  Damn the luck!  Oh, and this was while they were still happily married. Since then they've divorced and the store is closed.  Oh well.

Anywho, back on track, we've been hooked on painting pottery ever since.  One of my favorite pottery painting nights was when Mom and I lived in Las Vegas.  We put together little gift bags and met my two besties at the local ceramic shop.  The store let you take in drinks during Girls' Night Out so we had tiaras, boas and cocktails while we painted our hearts out.  What a fun night!

Susan & Kerri (still my two bestest friends in the entire world)
Mom and me.  We had such a blast!

Even now that my mom has passed away, I cherish the bowls, plates, cups, vases she painted and signed.  They may not be anybody else's treasures, but they mean a lot to me.  

A couple of weeks ago I saw Color Me Mine in Tulsa had a great deal on Groupon so I snapped it up.  I've been holding onto it waiting for life to calm down so I could go and enjoy the time visiting and painting.  That time came last week.  I was so excited!  I printed out several ideas, not knowing what piece I would choose, and headed off to the store with my cousin, Ashley.

Here's a great tip for you (or at least I think it's a great tip): for new and creative ideas on what to paint, look at embroidery patterns.  They're like big coloring book type patterns you can trace and color in however you'd like.  It takes the intimidation factor out of what to paint and allows you to relax and have fun.

I went with this pattern I've had pinned for ages.

I opted to paint a big 14" platter.

Here's the piece when I left it for them to dry and fire.

My mom's birthday is Halloween so I wanted to make the woman look like a
caricatureof her and have Halloween colors without being blatantly witchy.  

And here's the finished piece!

I LOVE IT!  What do you all think?

The gals at Color Me Mine were fantastic!  Jessica took great care of us while we were painting and the gal last night had our pieces ready for us to pick up.  I would definitely recommend you give them a try if you live in the Tulsa area.  

Maybe I can get Auntie P to go with me while
she's here next month for old time's sake.
What do you say, Auntie P?!