Photo: InAweofGod’sCreation

It’s always great to have a set of plain crockery that suits every meal and occasion, but there are also times when you need something special to really set the scene for a themed party or dinner. The best way to get ordinary crockery to be really interesting and entirely your own is to transform a boring crockery set with your own designs. It doesn’t have to look horribly old-fashioned, and it’s easier than you think. When you think of hand-painted crockery, it’s probably not a pleasant image. But you don’t have to hand paint pictures of ducks and bunches of grapes onto your plates – simple designs that enhance ordinary crockery with their colour are often a good way to go.

Like granny used to do?

On the other hand, the current revival of pretty, ‘ladylike’ trends and the fascination with tea parties that the Alice in Wonderland movie has heightened, you can go over the top with the kitsch appeal of all things pink, delicate, and decorative.

How to do it

Photo: code_martial

Start with an ordinary kitchen item – white might work best as this won’t affect the paint’s colour – and make sure that it’s clean before you begin. If you’re painting a certain area of your ordinary crockery and leaving the rest white, mark out the design with masking tape before you begin, to avoid making mistakes. When you remove the masking tape, make sure that the paint is absolutely dry (check on the paint’s bottle for guidelines to drying times), then run a craft knife along the edge of the tape to make sure that the paint isn’t peeled off with the tape.

This is probably the easiest way to hand paint, but you could also attempt a freehand design using a small paintbrush – if you do drip paint on an area that’s meant to stay plain, you’ll probably be successful in removing it if you just use plain nailpolish remover. Something that can work very well to achieve a clean but very decorative look is the use of a stencil: in this way, you can cut out any design you need and stick it down with tape or masking fluid before painting over it. This is a great way of repeating the same design.

Will it last?

Most ordinary ceramic paints can be made to last permanently by ‘firing’ them in an oven, so when you’re buying your paint it’s a good idea to check on the side of the bottle to see if it allows this option. It’ll probably even be dishwasher safe.

Ready to enjoy

Photo: JoeGray

Ordinary crockery that’s been transformed with your hand painting project makes a great gift, and can be used to decorate your kitchen – an area notoriously difficult to find artwork for. It’s ideal for tea parties and special occasions, but that shouldn’t mean you don’t use it at ordinary mealtimes if that’s what you want to do. Remember that the ‘best’ crockery should be used often and enjoyed. After all, you made it yourself – if it breaks, you can do it again!