Paint 'n Party

There is a place in the small town where we live called Paint 'n Party. I have been curious about it the whole time we lived here, but never brave enough to check it out. I was afraid of an ugly scene with children covered in paint and countless ceramic items in pieces all over the floor. My wonderful friend Laura who is always up for a challenge had already conquered the Paint 'n Party with her children, so with her as my mentor, I decided to give it a try.

First, we fed them and even gave them cookies for dessert. We wanted to make sure they were all in good moods with full tummies before we attempted this adventure.

We walked in and saw all the many choices to paint. The kids and I decided they should go ahead and do a take home today project. We need instant gratification. Wait a week for it to go to the kiln? We are not prepared to do that! Jessa decided to go with a cat. There were many cats to choose from but she finally narrowed it down. Spencer decided on a turtle. He waffled a little, too, but he settled pretty quickly on the turtle. I loved this most especially because David and I called him our little turtle when he was teeny. His sweet little head reminded us of a turtle for some reason!

So they painted and did a wonderful job! It was lots of fun and it was INSIDE so it did not matter that it was 98 degrees outside. We got out of the house - so they could not mess it up - gotta be ready for people to look at it, right?

We also made a mug for David with their hand prints. He recently ordered a coffee press so he can make his own coffee in Iraq. He is apparently the only one in his shop who even drinks coffee! We already sent him another mug, but this one will be extra special! Jessa did her hand print blue and I added white stars. Spencer did his red and I added white stripes. Jessa even wrote her name on it for me to trace with paint. I think he will like it! This one had to be fired, so we can pick it up next week.

What fun painting turned out to be! Not as much stress as I thought! We may just do that again. Of course now that we are leaving, I am kicking myself that I did not check it out earlier. Oh well!

AND here are the finished projects. . .