The customer question that stumped me

An actual awkward question posed by a customer...

"How do you get the stickers on your ceramic eggs attached so perfectly?"

* crickets chirping *

A customer asked me this question at my spring craft show last week. The answer was simple – I don’t use a sticker. I paint them. But the response was surprising. They couldn’t believe that they were all hand painted.

I assure you, my wonderful followers, that I paint every egg and every ornament myself. No stickers. No minions. Me, with my paints and my brushes.

In fact, I jokingly told him that if he looked hard enough he would see where I made mistakes.

…But then I also begged him not to look so close, for the same reason!

 "Then why are they the same as my notecards", he asked.

Because I loved those designs so much. In building a collection of egg designs, I looked back at my own design inspiration – my stationery. I could put the cards next to each other and choose the best collection.

 "Then why do they look exactly like the notecards", he asked.

Because I’ve painted more monarchs than I care to admit… at some point they become less of a challenge. Besides, I used my own notecard design as inspiration. I was familiar with this exact design already. Why reinvent the wheel?

Bottom line, my lovely followers: No, I don’t use a sticker, but I do follow my own design as a template and hand paint each egg myself. Then after it dries, I varnish the ceramic. That way when you dust off the eggs and put them into storage, the paint won’t get scratched or tarnished.

If you ever think of any questions you have about my work, feel free to contact me! I’m happy to answer any questions about what I do… and you’re probably not the only one!

Tell me, friends, did you think my eggs or ornaments were made with stickers? Do you have any suggestions on how I could communicate that they're hand painted any better?