Monogrammed pieces are fun to customize and make great gifts for many occasions. With the holidays coming up, this is the perfect time to start creating!

The holidays are the perfect time to create personalized pieces for decorative use or use with food, as all of our glazes are food, dishwasher, and microwave safe.
Wedding plates are very popular whether they're made as a gift for the actual wedding day or years later. They're great for anniversaries and other special occasions like buying a home as well. Monogrammed pieces are just as special as holiday gifts as they are on the day of weddings, anniversaries, or any special occasion that they symbolize.

A few techniques can be used to personalize your creations. One option is to use stencils that we have available in the studio. The most effective way to use stencils is to trace them onto your piece with pencil and then use a thin brush to paint over the image you've traced on.

Another great option is to print your letter or image and trace it onto your pottery. This requires one more step, but gives you the freedom to choose from any font you find online and change the size to best fit the piece you're working on. Once your image/letter is printed, the first step is to lay tissue paper over the top and trace it onto that. The tissue paper is then positioned on the piece and traced over with a permanent marker that will bleed through to the pottery. Finally, just like with the stencils, use a thin brush and your color of choice to paint over the image you've traced.

Stop into the studio and let us help you create some gifts you will be proud of!

Hand print pieces painted for the holidays are fun, useful pieces that can be used for years to come. They also serve as a memory of the stage of life the child was in when the pieces were made. Ornaments, tiles, plates, platters, and more can be printed with your child's hand or foot and themed for any holiday or season!

Hand prints on plates and platters make great Thanksgiving tableware and decorations. There's still time to make pieces for your table at this year's Thanksgiving celebration!

Give the gift of creativity this Hanukkah! Handmade pottery make great keepsakes for loved ones. Gift certificates are also available for the artists in your life to paint or bring in little ones to make hand/foot print creations this year.

Now is the perfect time to start holiday hand print pieces that make lifelong keepsakes. Hand print pieces are great for gifts, decoration, useful holiday dinner platters, and a memory of your child during the time it was made.

Glass fusing is a fun project with a totally different process from pottery painting. Even though we've had it in the studio for a few years now, we're always adding to and improving upon it.

Every glass project starts off with a flat base of clear glass. From there, you are free to choose the shapes & colors of glass from our selection to create your design. You can make a specific image or create something more abstract, as seen in the second glass square from the bottom in the picture above. The glass can be shaped to help you achieve your desired look by using special glass tools we have in the studio. Your design becomes the second layer of glass which covers the entire surface of the base. 
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Check out the above picture to see how the steps progress from an empty base (middle bottom)to a full fledged design (middle top), and how you can make your own unique layout!

When your project is complete, we put it in the kiln to be fired. Any piece that you want to remain flat will go through one firing and any piece that you want to be three dimensional (candle holder, bowl, plate, etc.) will go through a second firing to be shaped on top of a mold.

We always have studio assistants available during regular studio hours to help you through the glass fusing process.  We also offer times of special instruction with a dedicated project. These classes are tons of fun and allow you to work with other people who are creating the same type of project. We provide instruction in a group setting that guides you through, but still allows you to use your creativity.

Our next two glass classes are part of our 2019 winter camp sessions for kids! They will take place on Saturday, December 7th and Monday December 30th. We will be making glass fused present plates on the 7th and glass fused fish tanks on the 30th. This is the perfect opportunity for your kids to learn glass fusing in a class setting.

There will also be six other camp sessions that include pottery painting, clay sculpting, water color, and canvas painting (projects pictured below). These are also open for sign ups now! Follow us on Instagram @handsonpotterystudio to stay up to date with our future glass workshops and other events.

As the weather cools down, our time outside is limited and doesn't include as much greenery as the summertime. Succulent gardens are a great way to bring some natural elements into your home during the colder months of the year. These amazing plants purify the air and thrive inside year round with minimal care and also serve as a decorative piece to display.

Succulent gardens are loved by children and adults alike. There's no limit to the ways the various decorations can be set up. Whimsical and seasonal gardens are fun to create, while others prefer to keep them more simple by using less decorative elements.

Choose the characters, stones, sand, moss, and other decorations. Slowly water your garden with 1/4 cup of water or set one ice cube in the garden just once or twice a month. Let the soil dry out completely between watering and give them 4+ hours of sunlight a day.

Garden making parties are fun for all ages! We walk through the steps together, but the fun and creativity of the layout is completely up to every artist. Succulent garden and BYOB with friends, make one individually, or create whimsical gardens for a child's birthday party.

We are so excited to be hosting seasonal paint and sips in the studio! Sign up with friends or come by yourself and make new ones. These events are BYOB so you can relax with snacks and drinks as you're guided through the painting steps. We had a blast at our most recent paint and sip in September and are looking forward to our November event!

We recommend painters arrive ten to fifteen minutes early to get situated before instruction begins. Our instructor will walk you through the steps so you'll end up with a piece that you are proud to put on display. Snacks, drinks, and socializing are encouraged throughout the process!

The whole entire experience is fun and relaxing, but one of the most exciting parts is seeing the completed paintings. Our instructor will guide you step by step through the painting, but we give you full artistic license! Many parts are customizable so you can take creative reign on your project.

Join us for our next event on November 7th from 6:00-8:00PM! We will be joined by Amy Cantor with Young Living Essential Oils. This night includes a lesson in essential oils along with painting instruction. This event in particular differs from other paint and sips because you will be able to incorporate the aroma of an essential oil into your painting if you decide to. We're excited to create this 'Give Thanks' piece just in time for Thanksgiving!

You can sign up in studio or by calling, or click the link below to register online.

With the holiday season right around the corner, it's time to start planning your parties! Our party room is the perfect place to host your next get-together. Whether you're looking to spend time with family, friends, or co-workers, this area of the studio provides a private space where you can create together. For the rest of September, we are waiving our party room fee ($35) when you book a party for the months of November and December. This is the perfect opportunity to schedule a night of painting, glass fusing, or succulent garden creating in time for holiday giving!

Looking to make a set of holiday dishes and want to get the whole family involved? Reserve the party room for your family and let everyone contribute to a piece of the set! You can let each painter pick their own colors or choose a color scheme for everyone to use to unify the pieces, while still keeping the individuality of each person's unique design. Matching sets are fun to create, but you can also choose to have everyone make their own pieces. The holiday season is a great time to get your family together in an environment where all ages are encouraged to relax and be creative!

The holidays are a wonderful time to celebrate the work your team has done throughout the year. Our parties provide a relaxed and creative environment and can even serve as a great team building event. Food and drinks are always allowed in the studio, so bring your favorites and enjoy your time together! Pottery painting, glass fusing, glass painting, and succulent garden creating are all fun ways to bring the office together outside of work.

This season is filled with cheer, but all of the running around and planning can be stressful. Schedule time to relax with friends- bring snacks and we'll take care of the rest! Making art with the people in your life is a great way to relax and spend time together- and cookies and ornament painting are a fun combination! Create holiday gifts or something for yourself without the added stress of organizing and cleaning up. Our party room provides a private space of the studio and we take care of the cleanup so you can focus on making art spending time with good friends.

Call or stop in during the rest of September to book your November and December events without the party room fee! 216-292-4844

Can you hear the wedding bells? It's that time of the year when it seems that there is a wedding or anniversary to celebrate every other weekend.
Skip the  gift cards and get the special couple a personalized, sentimental and timeless gift: a handcrafted wedding plate! We have so many artists coming through the studio creating wedding plates, platters, and even matching mugs for newly weds. These heart warming keepsakes are so special because they are all functional (food safe, microwave, and dishwasher safe) as well as designed specially and hand painted by someone meaningful. So we collected a few of our favorite wedding designs to inspire and spark creativity for your next loved ones wedding! 

Love these designs but not feeling creative? Think they'd be perfect for you're favorite bride to be? You're in luck!  These to designs above are easily customizable with the couple's names and date of the wedding!  Hands on Pottery works with an amazing artist that creates these 2 masterpieces!  If there's something else you have in mind, our artists will work with you to create something you'll love!

Matching mug sets are a cute and unique wedding gift!

There are so many ways to design a wedding plate whether it's the newly weds last name, a picture of their engagement, a cartoon of the couple, or a classic design on a platter. The styles range from cute and quirky to clean and classy! Our studio assistants can help you every step of the way from the brainstorming process all the way to the color choosing. We have our 'print, trace, and print' technique to help with tracing specific designs and lettering, we have fun stamps, and a large selection of stencils to give you all the tools you need to make a phenomenal piece of art. We even have a writing request option. If desired, when you're done painting background and designs, one of our artists will help you with intricate writing to finish off your masterpiece. We love to help!

A great idea for bachelorette/ bachelor parties, wedding receptions, and family get-togethers.  This takes a bit of planning ahead of time, as the pieces need to be painted and fired before signing.  Then, a special paint pen can be used for all the guests to sign hassle-free.  The final step is baking this paint on in your oven at home.  It makes a great gift for the bride and groom or as a memento of a special wedding anniversary, as each person can leave a personal message on the special day.

Summer is finally here!
There's no better way to celebrate these months with the kids out of school, sunny weather, and longer days than with a cookout! And here at Hands on Pottery we happen to specialize in helping you customize your cookout gear and summer swag. 

With so many festive summer design ideas, we collected a few great examples our customers have created and compiled them here! These are great for inspiration or tweaking to fit your upcoming cookout, family reunion, birthday party, or 4th of July get together!

Bring the whole gang in this summer and create something special! This is week three of our summer camps​ and we are LOVING these camper creations! Check out our stories on Instagram to see what were up to on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday mornings 10-12! Our camp classes still have vacancies! Register on our website for up coming classes on the link below!

http://www.handsonpottery.com/summer-camp-classes.html

These are great ideas to branch off of our even customize with your family! Our studio assistants love helping with hand prints, creative problem solving, and writing requests. So no fear! Come on in with an idea and let us help you along the way!
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Happy Father’s Day to all the special men in your life!