IDEA

BE AN ARTIST details...

These simple tips and tricks will make your artwork look like a professional did it!

TIP! Mount tiles to a board so they can be hung on a wall, perfect if you plan to move in the future.

IDEA! Paint a small mural and plates that match and create an arrangement as a "Collection".

TIP!   Carefully blending your paints in small amounts allows you to achieve a variety of new shades.


TIP! Create a background color
       for your artwork. You can use blue clouds as in the
artwork above.
        You can also paint your tiles a solid color and fire them.
Then paint a design on top and re-fire.
Brush strokes from the first firing look beautiful and add
a softness to the design.

Invite your friends over for a morning of painting!

Getting excited? Read on!!

This sink and pedestal base matches the wallpaper.

TIP! it's easy to remove what you've painted if you change your
mind about the design, remove a little or start over if you need to.

TIP! The way you get the incredible details is by using a
fine pen that is included in the paint kit. No other
paint technique allows you the control to create detailed designs like this little frog. i

TIP!   Creating double or triple borders can greatly
         enhance your mural and you'll learn when it looks
         best and with what design layout.

This mural above demonstrates how a thin burgundy pin stripe inside the outter
cobalt blue border is a nice detail. The asparagus and berries also add a visual
frame that softens the center design.

On a smaller mural as above, a simple band of color is enough to create drama and make your artwork do something exciting!

TIP! Mixing one color at a time always results in brilliant colors and details.

TIP! Painting on vertical surfaces such
       as bowls, serving platters, mugs and
       sinks so that your
       work stays where you put it.

Picture yourself quietly painting, it is so relaxing and therapeutic.

Experience a feeling of satisfaction when you see
your artwork beautifully completed.

The most inexpensive places to purchase your supplies are right around the corner! Simply buy your tiles and sinks at any Home Depot, Lowe's or Home Improvement store....easy!

Plain white plates, platters, bowls can be purchased at Pier 1 or Ikea!

IDEA'S

Make a set of house
tiles ...also a great gift idea

Personalize pieces with their name and birthday or a poem…

Paint your house numbers for a warm welcome!

Bowls and platters….large serving pieces

Make tile murals...large or small
for floors,
shower walls
kitchen backsplash
to hang on a wall

Design your own set of tableware

Paint individual plates and write personal inscriptions that make meaningful gifts…

Wedding Gift
reproduce the announcement in the center of a large bowl with
flowers around the edge….stunning and so special

So elegant and simple….

How adorable are these frog plates?
dinner with coordinating salad sides.

Paint a unique bathroom sink exactly the way you want it!

A LITTLE STORY.....
In 1990 I decided to start a business hand painting tile but I didn't have any customers!

I found out the Baltimore Symphony Decorator Show House was opening in the Spring and I called an Interior Designer doing a bathroom to offer a donation of my work.

When I got there the room was almost complete. The only place I could put my work was on the floor so we decided on this idea...hand painted tile to look like a rug and be installed in the center in front of the shower. It was a huge hit!

The most fun was watching people when they stood on the "rug" and realized it was tile and would start laughing. Many people said they came to the house just to see the rug.

I used the fabrics to capture the design and colors that would compliment the room and a ceiling border to create the design for the fringe on the edges. Very whimsical!

To my happy surprise... during the preview party, scouts from Better Homes and Gardens magazine came through the event and saw my donated tile rug mural.
They asked my permission to publish it and 2 months later it was in their Kitchen and Bath Issue...it was the start of something big.
That summer it was in Beautiful Baths Issue!

The fall featured the article in their Bed and Bath issue wrote an article.

Then I was standing in line at the market and picked up the Kitchen and Bath Issue two years later and there it was again. I showed everyone in line excitedly because they'd published my work again!

    IMPORTANT   INFORMATION about firing:
       ~
The firing process is what makes the paints so beautiful, your painting will always retain the original beauty and last forever.

If you don't have a kiln or are not familiar with firing, please don't let this stop you. Briefly (this information is elaborated on in the transcript), the paints are a glaze that bake into the surface of your tiles...they only need to be fired once. Paint right on top of already glazed ceramics.

This is what makes it prettier and easier from "pottery". No thick paints, glazes and repeated firings.
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You just paint on them, take them to a shop to fire and pick it up looking all shiny!

Look in your local yellow pages under the following words:
                               CERAMICS, KILNS, KILN REPAIR, ART SUPPLIES,
                                 ART SCHOOLS, CRAFT SHOPS, POTTERY.
If the place you call doesn't offer the service ask if they can recommend a place that does.

Check your area and find the place that works for you.
Quickly you will find the perfect place.