Painted Cream and Sugar Set

You know when you try something new and you feel like:

That's kind of how I was with the cream and sugar set. 

We've had the old things for at least 15 years. Bought them at Starbucks, never used them much. I host bi-weekly coffee and crafts at my place so I do finally have a chance to use them now and my sweetie bought me a gorgeous new set (with tray) at an art sale; they're made by an incredibly talented local potter.  Not needing two cream and sugar sets, I put the plain old ones in the giveaway box.

Then everyone started doing cool things with Pebeo Porcelaine markers and I wanted to play too. So I picked up a red and black marker (fine tip for the black, medium for the red) and rifled through the house for something to draw on. Sure enough the cream and sugar came to mind and the risk was very low as I'd already said goodbye to them so to speak.

But drawing is NOT my thing at all. Seriously, not. And it stresses me out something fierce. I also got very performance-anxiety-y and put it all away for about three weeks. 

My plan was to approach the task methodically:

1. Research designs

2. Practice on paper

3. Perfect the image and increase confidence.

4. Use tracing paper to transfer image to vessels

5. On a quiet, well lit, calm day paint the images.

Then one day I got all, "the hell with it" and in the near dark (5:00 PM in winter in OR is not well lit) with a terrific headache, I drew the first mushroom of my life onto a weird shaped substrate with an unknown media. 

Turns out mushrooms are a lot like wonky houses. And since I like wonky, the stress level was really low. 

And I thought they were marvelous. And I show them to everyone who comes over. 

I'm such a craft nerd. LOL

Now my cool cream and sugars (with tray!) are languishing on a display shelf and these are seeing all the action. Because... life :)