Overview - My Experience

I've loved painting plaster crafts and ceramics for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest childhood memories include my mother taking me and my sisters to ceramics class. I remember wondering through all of the shelves finding that special item that I could paint. I remember feeling proud knowing that no one else has created anything quite like what I had done.

My mother started us off small with things like Christmas ornaments. I remember our Christmas tree used to be full of these Christmas ornaments. Some of which I still have (with a chip here and there). Then when we got better at it we would do things a little more challenging like a small dog statue or a Christmas tree that we could put little lights inside of. Eventually we made plates and bowls. I always loved working with the paints (even glazes) to see what color combinations looked good together.

I stopped doing ceramics and plaster crafts when I was a teenager because of course I thought that I was WAY too cool for those kinds of things. I remember all of the paints my mother had bought had all dried up and she got very mad at me and my sisters about it. Then one day (after I had grown up and was on my own) I was in a craft store and saw my first plaster craft kit. It was packaged as two Christmas village houses (a church and school house). At that moment I was instantly brought back to my childhood and remembered how much fun I had painting those things. I bought the kit, painted them and went back to the store and bought as many Christmas Village plaster craft kits as I could find.

20 years later, I now have a good collection of completed items (as you can see in my pictures), but WAY WAY WAY more unfinished plaster crafts items that await my paint brush. As time has gone on and I've honed in on my painting talents, I like to pay excruciatingly close attention to every single detail of the items I paint. This means that one piece can take me from 6 months up to a year to complete.

Having a full time job, going to school full time, and being a full time wife and mother doesn't leave much time for my painting. However, when I do find the time, it is a wonderful stress relieving experience. But best of all, I have now introduced my own daughter to the love of painting plaster crafts. She loves painting her own Christmas ornaments, and we have a great time together. I hope that she will look back on these experiences as fondly as I have.

Ceramics vs. Plaster - What is the difference?

I've had people ask me why I prefer plaster crafts over ceramics. Well, there is a couple of reasons. First I wanted to explain the differences between the two. Ceramics and plaster crafts are initially created the same way. The liquid material is poured into a mold and left to harden. After this is where they become different.

After the mold is removed for ceramics, you have an item that is still rather fragile. For ceramics to become more durable, they must first be fired in a kiln before they are ready to be painted. Plaster crafts is different where after the mold is dry, it hardens to a consistency where it can be painted right away. This makes plaster crafts less expensive than ceramics.

There is one major difference when painting plaster crafts verses ceramics, and that is the type of paints that you can use. When painting ceramics, you can opt to use either acrylic paints or glaze paints. Glaze paints are more expensive and can be difficult to work with because their true colors only show after they are fired again in a kiln, however glaze paints are a more ideal choice when painting items that would be used for food consumption like plates and mugs.

I prefer plaster crafts over ceramics because they are less expensive, they do not require to be fired in a kiln multiple times, you do not have to use glaze paints, and you can find a much bigger variety of items in plaster crafts over ceramics.

Other Plaster Crafts

My daughter and I had fun with these bobble head plaster crafts. We painted a frog, unicorn and an elephant (the elephant was a gift to my mother which is why it's not in this picture). Plaster crafts is a great way to have fun and spend quality time with your kids.

Family Pottery Fun

Want to have a pottery experience the whole family can enjoy?  Try the Pottery Piazza in Plainville CT.  You can select potter from their large selection of items and paint it yourself right at the store.  They provide the paint, brushes, and everything else you need to create our own pottery.  They also glaze and fire your pottery for you when you are done.

• My personal thoughts is this is a great experience, but a bit on the pricy side.
• My daughter went to a birthday party here.  Even though the room was small for all of the children who attended, all of the kids had fun painting their own pottery.
• Check them out on line - www.thepotterypiazza.net

Where can you find Plaster Crafts???

Interested in painting plaster crafts as well?  There are a few places you can go to purchase ready to paint kits:

• Michaels Crafts - Sometimes it's hit or miss at Michael's.  They tend to carry more plaster crafts Christmas houses and Halloween kits around the fall season.  You can find some really good after Christmas sales as well
• AC Moore - I love AC Moore for high quality paint brushes and acrylic paints, but they do not plaster craft kits no matter what time of the year you check.
• Jo-Anne's - While Jo-Anne's carries some plaster crafts, the selection is extremely limited and also geared towards young children.  I've picked up a few kits for my daughter there and she enjoys painting them with me.  We consider it a great bonding time together.

The biggest selection of plaster crafts can be found on the following websites:

• Plastercrafts.com - This website has a very large selection of all kinds of plaster crafts at reasonable prices.  http://www.plastercraft.com/
• Plastercraftonline.com - If you are into animal plaster crafts, you can find some really cute dogs, cats, butterflies, etc plaster crafts on this website.  Prices aren't too bad either.  http://www.plastercraftonline.com/retail.php?cat_id=pieces
• Statuaryplace.com - I like this site's collection of Christmas village houses.  The prices are a little higher, but for the uniqueness of the houses that are available, it is well worth the few extra dollars spent.  http://www.statuaryplace.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Halloween Plaster Crafts

I LOVE Halloween! When I found these kits, I howled at the moon! I think that they turned our really cute with a touch of creepy. The haunted mansion had so much detail that it took me over a year to complete.

Christmas Village Park Scenes

You can't have a Christmas villiage without the smaller details like people, animals, cars, etc. These Christmas Village park scenes like children playing, animal scenes, a covered bridge and cars, and a Santa scene adds that special touch all Christmas Villiages need.