A Plate of My Own

It's been a 4-year tradition now that my best friend and I paint pottery at Clayfish Bisque here in town. Our birthdays are two days apart, and we celebrate annually with a girls' day out. With my newly-found cupcake obsession, I knew that this year I had to paint something cupcake-y. Had to. Previous projects include a napkin holder, tissue box cover, and a small jar that has served as both a candy dish and pen holder (though not simultaneously).

For three years running I have taken literally hours to complete my projects, owing to my overly ambitious designs and my meticulous (OCD?) nature. My sister joined us this year for the first time, and this year, yes this year...I finished first. Amazing. I think a lot of this had to do with the fact that I had dreamed up my design weeks ahead of time in anticipation of our little tradition. Part of my inspiration came from a set of rounded square melanine plates I received for Christmas. The plate design itself was black, white, lime, and tangerine...kind of a zebra-y and floral print. But it was the shape and size that really inspired me, for each plate was perfectly sized to hold 9 cupcakes in a neat little square. My heart was just set on painting a square plate this year, and luckily Clayfish Bisque had a few to choose from. The color scheme I chose pays homage to cupcake-related kitchen items I spotted at Cracker Barrel and in my Gooseberry Patch catalog. It's hard to see in the picture, but the frosting is painted with a white speckled paint to mimic the look of sprinkles on a cake. Because sometimes, the sprinkles make the cupcake!