Paint the Moon

Jason was sent to Taiwan (of all places!) for work in mid-December, so I knew Amelia and I (and Henry) would be looking for things to do with our time.  I thought I would give one of those paint-your-own-pottery places a try since I feel like she is finally old enough to enjoy the experience. 

There is a new place near our house called Paint the Moon.  It is located in an old house and owned by a young, married couple.  They were so nice and accommodating and the place was so cozy! Amelia loved every minute of it and they even let her see the kiln after mistaking the microwave for the "thing that was going to make the pottery look shiny".  We decided to paint a mug for Jason for Christmas.  I also let Amelia paint a small bowl for herself. 

I couldn't believe how reasonably priced the pieces were at this place!  The bowl was $3.95 (plus Amelia picked the crown to add on to the bottom--this added on $1).  And the mug she picked was 12.95. The prices were all-inclusive--no studio fee, no firing fee.

Here's the design she came up with for Jason's unique mug.  It had a small opening at the bottom (for storing a small donut or cookie perhaps?).  I helped her set it up, but she did most of the painting.  This is the mug pre-firing.

 Here's the mug after we picked it up at the shop a week later.  We were both pretty thrilled!

In the bottom of the mug, Amelia sponge painted a hear so that "there will be a surprise everytime daddy finishes his coffee".

Sweet, right?  It gets better!  It's a little hard to see, but on the back of the mug are Amelia and Jason.  In between them is a star.  When Jason left for Taiwan, Amelia said to him, "Tonight, look up in the sky and find the brightest star and know that I will be looking at the same one".  So, on the back she wanted a visual reminder of her suggestion.  She was pretty much over the whole painting thing by then, so I mostly did the peeps on the back.

Here is Amelia's bowl.  She worked so hard on it and has placed it in a special place in her room.  She loves to talk about it (and tell Henry how he can't touch it--even though he has never tried because it is up too high).

I highly recommend Paint the Moon--I know we will be back!