Suitable bisque: Per Photo, top right

Duncan 335A (4) Small saucers for feet
Ceramichrome 116 (1) Large Flower Pot for shell
Scioto 2424 (1) Medium Saucer for head
Mayco 1339 (1) Lily pad to table top or plant stand
2 Round balls (wood available from craft store) 1 ¼”

Glazes:
Mayco S2101 Clear Glaze
Duncan AR 603 Autumn

Stains:
Mayco SS19 Country Sage
Mayco SS57 Accent Green
Mayco SS92 Royal Fuchsia
Mayco SS100 Old World Santa Red
Mayco SS135 White
Mayco SS138 Black
Mayco SS209 Orange Peel
Mayco SS234 Medium Mocha
Mayco SS244 Golden Ochre
Dona’s D184 Coral Bell
Doc Holliday DH 05 Purple
Doc Holliday DH111 Forget Me Not

Wool or loose weave sponge
Assorted Stiff Bristle Brushes
Soft Bristle glaze brush
Liner and detail brushes
Ceramic tile or surface to hold paint well
Pencil with dull tip
Duncan Matte spray fix.
A strong glue such as E6000

1. To 04 fired bisque, use a soft bristle brush and apply 2 to 3 coats of clear glaze to the insides of planter and saucers. Allow to dry thoroughly between coats. OR, you may choose to roll the glaze instead of brushing it on. You can dilute the clear to roll the insides. If you roll the glaze, dilute it about 4:1 glaze to water ratio (roll ONE TIME). When dry, fire to cone 06.

2. Per bottle instructions, use a soft bristle brush and apply Autumn to the entire lily pad. Allow to dry thoroughly between coats. Fire to cone 06

3. Use a stiff bristle brush that you have dipped in water and then blotted well to remove excess water. Apply a base coat to the unglazed portions of the planter, saucers and wood balls. Use two coats if needed to ensure complete coverage. Apply smooth coats, brush out any streaks.

4. Referring to photo at top right of this page as a guide, apply stains as follows:

5. Moisten a wool sponge and squeeze all the water out. Place a small amount of SS57 Accent green onto a tile or surface to act as a ‘well’. Dip a small portion of the sponge into the green and sponge it randomly over the sage green on the saucers. Let it dry thoroughly

6. Use a soft, dull pencil to lightly sketch on some flowers, cheeks, toes, leaves. You do not need to draw complete flowers, but just rough guidelines. LIGHTLY so as to not dig into the base coat. You want to be able to paint OVER the guide lines. You can do this free hand when painting the flowers if you choose.

7. Paint the cheeks and toenails with SS92 Fuchsia and outline with black. Paint any flowers at the same time.

8. Use your choice of colors and paint your flower petals around the pot (Remember it is going to be upside down, so keep that in mind as you place your flowers.

9. For centers of flowers, use SS234

10. Outline your flowers with a darker color of your choice that is complementary.

11. Accent dots are white. Use the wood end of your brushes, dipped in the paint to create assorted sizes of dots and place them wherever you want for accent.

12. Leaves are Accent Green. You may want to add a drop of black to a small pool of green to darken it and outline or add accents to the leaves.

13. Paint the balls for eyes -- shown is with black pupils and white ‘lights of life’ accents. If you choose, you can make an eye with an iris in your choice of color with a half moon of white around it and outlined with black.

14. When completely dry, spray 2 or 3 light coats of Matte spray over the entire turtle (not the lily pad).

15. Glue eyes and parts together.

CME would like to thank Laura McFadden for sharing the how to for her creative Garden Turtle. For any questions about this project, you may direct them to: njthompson8@aol.com