Covered Porcelain Box with Decals
Seashore themed porcelain box with decals
This covered porcelain box is long overdue! Make that past due…. I made this on my Mom’s request as a gift for my niece for Christmas. Yep – I said Christmas. I’m only, what? 3 months overdue. Ouch. The box was constructed, bisque and glaze fired in time – however it didn’t survive the glaze fire entirely. The lid was glazed shut and 2 of the feet stuck to the kiln shelf leaving some rather large divots because my new Skutt 1027 is firing really hot.
Back side of porcelain box with decals
I managed to pry the lid off with minimal damage and also filled in the feet with paper clay. I sanded problem areas down and refired. When I added decals to my kid’s cups last week, I decided to decal this porcelain box too – based on my Mom’s original request which was a “sea shore theme” because my niece, brother and sister in law spend time at the shore nearly every year. It’s one of my niece’s favorite pastimes. 
So, here it is, finally finished and looking mighty good, I might add! Mom, I hope to have this in the mail to you this week sometime – sorry for the delay.
Back of porcelain covered box
Meanwhile, I really like using Ubuntu – in fact I’m writing this post on my Ubuntu sign on. For the most part it’s fairly intuitive, but I have had to familiarize myself with the OS and have been customizing my space. I do have a dual boot – so I have the option of booting into Windows or Ubuntu when I fire up my computer. I’d like to cut the cord, but haven’t had the nerve yet. I like all the FREE (free as in libre) open source software that is available – there isn’t one software package that I can’t find to replace what I have on my Windows sign on. The only bummer about writing this post is that all my photographs are saved in Windows and I can’t access them from Ubuntu. I’ll have to switch over to Windows to finish this post. Firefox, my favorite browser, also behaves much better under Linux – yesterday Firefox crashed at least 5 times when I was in my Windows login.
There is even a little decal on the lid of the box
There are many different distributions of Linux – Ubuntu happens to be friendly for beginning Linux users. There are other beginner friendly Linux distributions out there too, but I decided on this one thanks to the very helpful Ubuntu Community. I know I sound like a newly converted evangelist – but seriously, I’m not sure more people don’t know about alternative operating systems. I can’t compare a MAC OS because I have such limited experience with it – but I know it’s not free.
| Operating System | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu (Linux distribution) |
|
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| Windows XP |
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Okay, there are more pros and cons out there, but this is what I’ve noticed so far.
Happy Sunday,
~Cynthia
Linda Starr
March 15, 2009 at 10:39 am //
Oh I just love your decal box, the images are so crisp and the refiring didn’t seem to change things. Merry Xmas to you mom.
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:17 pm //
Dave Zeman
March 15, 2009 at 10:57 am //
Now that is cool… you are talented.
Dave
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:17 pm //
Okay – I could get a big head from all the compliments…
cindy shake
March 15, 2009 at 12:38 pm //
Lovely Box! Your glaze is just delicious -and the decals, perfect! I really like how you split the shell decal onto the bottom and the top of the box, design-wise it really pulls the whole piece together -very thoughtful.
We had to kill Firefox on all of our Macs! Ironically, Firefox managed to go haywire on all of my family’s laptops in the same week…hmmm? I used to have to use Firefox for some of my on-line Blackboard/Illuminate type of live classes, and thank goodness Firefox made it through those but we are back to using trusty ‘ol Safari. I’m running a MacBook Pro with all the latest bells and whistles -so it’s not a hardware issue.
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:19 pm //
Thanks, Cindy! The decal was too big so I had no other choice…. Weird – but Firefox seems perfect for Linux system, but wonky on Windows right now.
ang
March 15, 2009 at 4:23 pm //
v. nice and so clear too, i’m sure you’ve said before but what temp are you decal firing to?
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:20 pm //
Cone 04 – but recommended temp really depends on what the glaze is fired to. Have to check out Linda Arbuckle’s article on decals on her site http://lindaarbuckle.com/arbuckle_links.html You’ll have to search for it though…
Jean Levert Hood
March 15, 2009 at 6:27 pm //
They all look great, Cynthia! I love the boxes.
Your technical ability on the computer is wayyyy over my head, but I’m glad you have everything going your way!
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:21 pm //
If you can blog – you too can be a computer geek wanabe!
Robert Lorenz
March 16, 2009 at 5:57 am //
It’s good to know I am not the only one who is late in finishing presents. A few times I gave “gift certificates” for work that was yet to be completed. The box looks great. The rusty brown of the decals goes very well with your celadon glaze.
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:22 pm //
This is why special requests are often incredibly difficult for me… :O
Meredith
March 16, 2009 at 9:49 am //
Oh- late with presents is a family tradition in our house!
Love the boxes!
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:23 pm //
Hehehehe – I’m late for a lot of things, it’s a terribly bad habit that I’m trying to work through, Meredith.
ted
March 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm //
Cynthia, need some info. what windows op system are u useing. xp, home ????
which file format did you create ? fat32, 64 ??
Cynthia
March 16, 2009 at 4:24 pm //
XP pro, ntsf – I think that means, 64? But, I am using Ubuntu through wubi – I’d like to install it as my sole os – but need everything to work first. I’m working on getting photoshop to work with wine.
Mom
March 17, 2009 at 4:54 am //
Cynthia, the box is fantastic!!! There’s something to be said about “anything that’s worth having is worth waiting for”. Kaitlyn is going to love the box and believe me, she was not lacking for anything at Christmas. I think I’ll give this to her for Easter.
Happy Birthday!!! Hope your day is wonderful!
Love, Mom
Cynthia
March 18, 2009 at 1:10 pm //
It’s coming your way, Mom!
Undaunted
March 19, 2009 at 7:49 pm //
Cynthia, the box looks absolutely perfect! You’d never know there was ever anything wrong with it! I suppose that shows how important it is to know how to correct problems. If anything goes wrong with my pieces I shall come to you!