I bought this pitcher at Hobby Lobby several years ago,
thinking I would do a MacKenzie-Childs knock off
Instead of painting a MacKenzie-Childs style pattern,
I ended up being inspired by my Pflatzgraff dishware
and painted the pitcher to go with it
and also go with a MKC Royal Check Pedestal Platter
I received as a gift
The bowls have orange/reddish blooms on them
with flowing branches and leaves
I didn’t copy the pattern on the dishware exactly,
but simply tried to replicate the free feel of the abstract floral
I decided to paint blue checks on the lower half of the pitcher,
on the spout, handle,
and do a similar simplified pattern in the center area
I started with the checks,
turning the pitcher upside down,
and with a flat square brush I painted the bottom row
As you can see, the checks are far from perfect,
but I have painted enough things to learn
that hand painted pieces are never perfect
and that is their charm
Once the piece is complete,
you won’t notice the small imperfections
A lazy Susan is a great helper for painting things like this,
you can spin it to reach all sides of the piece you are painting
without having to move it
Next I flipped it back over and painted the spout and handle
{the pitcher had a few weathered places on the finish when I bought it,
so I left them alone for character}
The flowers are created with just a few loose strokes of a fat round brush
A small stroke in the center and then a curved stroke on each side
A few fast swooshes of brown for the branches,
and several shades of green for the leaves
Fast and loose is the secret to these strokes,
practice on a sheet of paper until you feel comfortable
I loaded my brush with both red and orange,
letting the colors mix as they were applied
Blue dots around the blooms are the finishing touch
I also added a few strokes of yellow orange
to tone down the red blooms a notch and fill out the flowers
I used curable acrylic paint made for glass
After the piece dries overnight,
it can be baked to make the surface washable
You can see the pitcher used in a Spring Chickens tablescape here
I hope you’ll try painting something you have around your house …
Have fun and Be Fearless!
Here are some other Spring makeovers for inspiration
Mermaid Pot
Juicy Details
As an Amazon Associate I may receive a small commission from anything purchased from the links in this post at no additional cost to you
There are many different glass paints available, this is the set I use from Amazon here. They’re good quality, and can be used for other things besides glass too
This is an affordable lazy Susan, here just cover it with a cloth or towel and you will have a great painting aid
*note: follow the instructions on your paint to cure your painted piece
This is the method I use:
Place the piece, glass or ceramic, in a cold oven and turn to 325, bake it for 45 minutes once it reaches 325 then turn oven off and crack the door and let the piece cool down slowly with the oven. The piece will gradually heat up and cool down with the oven which prevents cracking
The longer the paint is dry on your piece, the more durable it will become over time. Pieces that are decorative do not need to be cured and can be simply dusted with a soft cloth
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Sundays on Silverado Love Your Creativity Over the Moon
Between Naps on the Porch, Celebrate Your Story,
All About Home/ Common Ground Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl Turn About Tuesday