Christmas Dishes

I have fond memories from throughout my childhood of going with my Nanny to take my Big Nanny(my great grandmother) to ceramics. I don't remember how often she went but I do remember it being quite a bit. She would often give ceramics as gifts for various occasions. So last Christmas when I finally had my own home,even though it was in the middle of renovation, my Nanny went through many of her Christmas items and gave some very special things to me for our house. This year will be the first year that we will be in our house on Christmas and I can hardly wait to decorate...obviously. Also, last year my sweet Nanny and Grandaddy went to a ceramics shop and bought me my very own Nativity set. This is a BIG deal in our family. As both my mom and Nanny have very elaborate Ceramic Nativity sets. So you can only image how excited I am to have my very own. Now these are not your average Nativity scene. These are gorgeous!! My Nanny spent countless hours painting them, having them "fired" repainting them, putting the "magic bondale" on them (this looks like real clothing!!) So right now my set is just the green ware (white) so I have alot of work to do to get them ready. First I will have to paint them with a brown color all over, then I will have to have them fired then I will paint the colors on them and have them re-fired and then I will have to put the special touches on them. This obviously will NOT be finished before this Christmas, but I am hoping to work on this for many Christmases to come. So although my Nativity scene will NOT be finished, I will have some new Christmas dishes... My mom and I have been working on some beautiful cups and dessert plates that will adorn my table this year. So I thought I would share the "before" with you. I have 3 plates left to paint and then I will take them back to the ceramics shop where they will be "fired" then I will glaze them with the clear shiny coat and have them re-fired and then I will have my very own personalized Christmas dishes.




























** these now have polka dots too!!