Out On A Whim Wednesday: Painted Tile Baby Sign

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  The primary benefit of practicing art, whether well or badly, is that it enables one's soul to grow." -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
I'm not sure if you have had this experience, but I find that when people walk into my craft room they inevitably end up asking me what I am doing with all of the things I create - specifically if I'm going to sell them.  It's an interesting question and one that is also a little curious to me at the same time.  I get the impression that if my response was that I have absolutely no plans for my creations those same people would wonder why I'm bothering in the first place.  I mean, why would you make something if you don't have a specific plan for it - a plan to make money on it or give it away or decorate your home?  For those of us that make art, the secret lies so much deeper than the product of our efforts.  We realize the truth in Kurt Vonnegut Jr's words - that the primary benefit of practicing art isn't about financial gain or home decorating - the primary benefit is that it enables our souls to grow.  With each creative act you engage in, you are nurturing and growing your soul.  Whatever you eventually choose to do with your art, know this - you are doing exactly what you need to do just by creating it.
I went out on a whim again with my tile paint!  This time I chose to make a baby gift for a friend.  Here's the process I went through to create the tile.  I began with a blank tile and printed the baby's name on the computer.  I used tracing paper to get the outline of the letters onto the tile:

Next I used special paint that you can bake in your oven to outline and fill in the letters and add circles to the tile:

Then I used the same special paint to paint some of the circles:

The tile was then left for 24 hours to dry before being baked in the oven.  Once the tile had cooled, I drilled holes into the tile and created the hanging wire with beads and wire.  I hope you like it :)  If you do, you will definitely want to check back on Friday since I will share with you a similar sign I created using my Stampin' Up! supplies! :)