Things to do on a Rainy Day - Painted Ceramics

I had been wanting to learn pottery for a while now, but as soon as I could find the time, the pottery class went under renovation. I found the next best thing though - ceramic painting.

A hobby store - Hobby Ideas - has pre-formed ceramic items that you can paint. Once you're done colouring, they bake it for you. 

I picked up 2 coffee mugs to paint (for Rs. 800 each that includes clolours and baking). I choose coffee mugs on the basis of their handles, and this one was comfortable to hold. But I didn't have time to sit in-store to complete my project so I took it home along with some ceramic paint.

At home, I realised that if I had planned my design in advance, I would have a better selection of colours instead of the random ones I picked up. But I made do with what I had. 

For the yellow mug, I outlined the design with a pencil, but it was hard to blend the lines in with colour. So the blue one which I did next was completely freehand. I painted two coats of colour hoping to avoid brush marks, but it didn't help much. The finished colouring is much deeper that it was pre-baking.

They say that these hand-painted items shouldn't be washed in a dishwasher, but I did and the colour seems to hold fine.

My mornings with my coffee just got brighter!

This Week in Zentangle

I've been doodling almost everyday with my new pens and new journal. I try to not look at designs on the Internet, but I find myself repeating some of the patterns I already know. I've been making an effort to come up with variations on my own. It works most of the times, but sometimes it doesn't match up to the expectations. Live and learn!

UPDATE: With my new pens and journal, I've gone on a One-Zentangle-a-Day spree. Instead of uploading the images here every week, I've pinned them on Pinterest. Some even in colour.