tiny happy

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‘tiny happy’ was a journal of my handmade life from 2006-2025.

gulls

Gulls 4

Gulls 3 

Gulls 1 

Gulls 2 

Some new ceramic coffee cups I illustrated, after visiting the beach the other day and admiring the gulls swooping and diving. I used vintage cream mugs that I found second-hand, because I like the shape and form of them better than the new ones you can buy. And this ink, as described in my post here. I was kindly sent this link this week with a how-to, and more detailed information about the ceramic ink. (check in the comments section too if you're interested.)

Hope you're having a good week so far. See you here tomorrow for a little giveaway I'm planning…

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21 responses to “gulls”

  1. Clare Avatar
    Clare

    Must say a big thanks for putting me onto this technique Melissa – I’ve been having a lot of fun with it! And not finished yet! You can see one of my projects here if you like 🙂
    http://greenvalleycrafts.blogspot.com/2010/05/catching-up.html

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  2. tinyhappy Avatar
    tinyhappy

    hi clare, im glad youre having fun with it- i love what you made!

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  3. Francesca Avatar
    Francesca

    I was in Nice the other week, and in a craft store I saw a whole (enormous) section of inks for ceramic, and plain ceramic items to decorate. I thought of you.

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  4. julie Avatar
    julie

    Very nice! But finding pretty mugs is harder than finding the paint.

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  5. Diana Avatar
    Diana

    That photo on your tumblr of that steep tram ride is so amazing, I had to post it too! Thanks for the tip!

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  6. louana Avatar
    louana

    melissa you are killing me with all these beautiful ceramics you have made. I’m going to have to get myself some of those pens, but I doubt I could draw as well as you do.

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  7. Lucy Avatar
    Lucy

    Those cups are gorgeous!

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  8. Gwynneth Beasley Avatar
    Gwynneth Beasley

    Melissa those are really beautiful. You are a very talented lady! I had to comment because you reminded me of the last time I remember laughing until I cried. I was at the beach with my Mum and a whole flock of seagulls flew overhead. Mum got 8 poohs on her!

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  9. tinyhappy Avatar
    tinyhappy

    oh no! your poor mum, but that would have been very funny to see.
    thanks, gwynneth 🙂

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  10. Margaret Oomen Avatar
    Margaret Oomen

    i am going to day dream about cross stitch clouds today

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  11. Always Sunday Avatar
    Always Sunday

    Your gulls are very relaxing and dreamy to look at. Lovely work!

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  12. Marina Avatar
    Marina

    What a charming design! I really like the way your drawings translate, both embroidery and ceramic.

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  13. Jacilyn Avatar
    Jacilyn

    Oh those cups turned out great! I really want to try this. I always enjoy seeing the process of a piece so looking at your sketch was really fun. It translated well to the ceramic cup.

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  14. steph Avatar
    steph

    I love, love, love this design.

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  15. Neža Avatar
    Neža

    I just found some plain mugs last week, they’re waiting to be painted 🙂
    Thanks for the inspiration – I come here every day and always get lots and lots!

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  16. Nancy Cook Avatar
    Nancy Cook

    this is a very pretty design melissa.
    i want to try out this technique once i have time and find the right cups.

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  17. jenv Avatar
    jenv

    i love how you show your creative process. i am in such an awful creative slump, i wish you could bottle up some of your amazing creativity and send it my way.

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  18. tinyhappy Avatar
    tinyhappy

    im sorry youre feeling like that, jen! i love your polaroid pictures. sometimes i find that going for a big walk amongst trees and not trying to do anything creative for a while helps me… oh, and window shopping for some reason!?

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  19. Cinnamon Avatar
    Cinnamon

    I’ve been loving your ceramic drawings, and looked into doing it myself. I think I need to find a good source for pens though…

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  20. Lovely World Avatar
    Lovely World

    I like the look of these cups. The cross hatching really fills out the overall pattern, and makes me think of floating clouds. Congratulations on four years of blogging. Your give-away looks wonderful. I have that book already, so I won’t enter. The publisher of the book, Storey, is right here in my community. I have a number of friends who work there. Small world! Have a nice weekend.

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  21. tinyhappy Avatar
    tinyhappy

    thank you, maribeth. you could enter and then if you win, i will send you a different book 🙂

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