These Gifts Were Hits
I love receiving gifts, but not as much as I love giving them. While I did buy many gifts this year, many of my favorite items to give were partly made by me.
I usually give teachers some of my apothecary items for Christmas or at the end of the year, but this year I decided to give a special teacher something different. I opted to use these porcelain paint pens and draw a school landmark on this platter I purchased from Pottery Barn.
The drawing on this platter wasn’t hard to make, but there was a learning curve to using the markers. The hardest part was accessing the center of the platter and getting things straight because the curved edges of the platter sometimes made it hard to rest my hand down to draw some of the lines. My mahl stick saved the day. I’ve had mine since high school and if you don’t paint frequently, you could use something like a wooden spoon for the same assistance if you can’t rest your hand on what you are creating, but you need stability.
The pen itself was a little finicky, but its slight uneven discharge of paint ended up adding to the overall charm of the finished creation. That wasn’t easy for me to embrace, but I had to as there was no way around it.
I free-handed this image and used a ruler for a few of the lines. Mistakes are easily cleaned up with a q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol. When I was done, I baked the platter according to the directions on the marker’s packaging. I’d do this again, and plan to, actually. I bought an assortment of marker colors, but opted for a blue and white theme to match the teacher’s home decor. My son suggested at the last minute that I make the wreaths and their ribbons red and green. I loved that idea and it really made the platter festive.
If you plan on copying this idea, make sure you use a platter that is oven safe as baking is the only way to set the image.
I think this turned out well and the note I received in thanks for it made the time and effort well worth it.
Two summers ago, my husband and I took our kids to England and France for what was an incredible vacation. Like most trips today that include air travel, ours was not without major delays, cancellations and drama. But, it ended up being the best vacation ever and I wanted to do something that they would remember it by. I have made photo books before via Shutterfly and they have turned out nicely, but Artifact Uprising was next level. I was grateful to have a holiday coupon code to use for a discount because these are not cheap, but they turned out beautifully and I’m already working on one to give our daughter featuring images and memories from our recent girls trip to France and Switzerland.
