DIY hand-painted ceramic tealight holders

For years I've been interested in testing out those Pebeo ceramic paint pens that I often see in art stores. I could never figure out what project to use them for, so for once, I resisted spending the money on unnecessary art supplies until I had a plan. Drawing on my dinner plates? That could only end in disaster!

I'd also recently been interested in making my own little candleholders. I often see dozens of candles grouped on tables in magazine photos, but the cost of purchasing that many candleholders is often prohibitive. (I've used a collection of mason jars and salsa jars as a cheap solution in the past, but was looking for something new to spruce up my dining table.) I tried making my own tealight holders out of clay and that was a big fat flop.

The solution: Combine the two ideas and use the ceramic pens to draw patterns on ceramic dipping bowls. The store-bought bowls look much more professional than my attempts at DIY pinch pots, but the decorations would still be hand drawn. And the square mini bowls work perfectly as tealight holders! (They'd also be great for holding jewelry or for serving dips, sauces, nuts, candy, etc.)


My loose inspiration for the designs came from the Blue Willow china that my grandmother had all over her house when I was a kid. (You know what I'm talking about right? Do all grandmothers have these blue and white plates and teacups?) Anyway, I love the blue and white color scheme of this china (plus it always makes me think of my Nana!), however, the china pattern is very traditional and my tastes are really modern. I wanted to come up with a contemporary interpretation to better suit the modern furnishings and decorations in our house.

I've been obsessed with patterns lately (I think that is evident from a lot of the gouache illustrations in my shop), and I find myself doodling patterns and geometric shapes over and over again. Mosaics, triangles, concentric circles - I love them all these days! The inexpensive little ceramic dipping bowls were a great medium to test the ceramic pens on while exploring my recent love of patterns. I painted the insides of the bowls because I wanted the patterns to be illuminated when the candles are lit. 


I'm so happy to finally be sharing this project. I made these back in March, but didn't get the chance to photograph them until yesterday. The process was really simple: Draw the patterns on the ceramic dishes with a Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Paint Pen (the color I used was Lapis), allow them to dry for 24 hours, then bake them in the oven to set the ink. Super easy and I love the results:







I'm looking forward to eating many candlelit dinners this summer with these homemade candleholders adorning my table. Romantic, right?