Molding Creativity in Youths : Ceramics parties offer children a chance to make their own craft and interact with others while they work.

Kids doing kitsch--it’s a new option in children’s parties.

Guests gather at ceramic painting stores to do everything from refrigerator magnets and mini-frames to little canisters, Santas, ghosts, teddy bears, puppies and ballet slippers--all made out of molded plaster.

The details vary store by store, but typically, an hour or so of assisted plaster painting is topped off with ice cream and cake and present opening. The children’s painted work is sprayed with a clear sealant, and their projects become party favors.

Kids like the parties because they offer a chance to create a craft, and they can talk to each other while they work, says Katie Fujimoto, owner of Carousel Ceramics in Westlake Village. Guests also enjoy leaving the party with something of their own making, Fujimoto adds.

“To me, painting ceramics is therapy for children; it’s calming,” she says. “Some children come in hyper, but as they begin to work, they calm down and relax.”

Arlene Zendel, owner of Paintin Place in Encino, says the parties are a fun choice for children because they offer them a chance to talk with each other and interact.

The stores provide a wide range of items. At Carousel, for instance, there are almost 4,000 different plaster, bisque and greenware (unfired clay) pieces, many hand-crafted in the owner’s casts.

For parents, the parties offer freedom from the many errands and details of party planning. “They were the best parties I ever did,” said Ellen Lipin-Torello, a Northridge graphic designer who recently had a ceramic painting party at Paintin Place for her daughter Sara, 10, and son, David, 7.

For about $13 a child, Lipin-Torello got the complete party package, from invitations to paper goods, cake, ice cream, decorations and drinks.

Lipin-Torello said she was going through a divorce and living in an apartment at the time of her children’s birthdays this year. “I work full time, and didn’t have the time to put a party together,” she says.

The basic parties--including the plaster items, the paint, brushes and instruction--usually cost about $10 a child. The cost is greater if parents want the store to provide an entire party package, including paper goods, food, decorations and drink.

Most ceramic painting stores also run parties for adults, and the stores also provide drop-in-painting periods when adults and children can come by to paint.

“It’s relaxing and fun for adults, too,” Zendel says.

Where and When What: Carousel Ceramics, 31149 Via Colinas, Suite 604, Westlake Village. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, till 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call: (818) 879-8292. What: Paintin Place, 17324 Ventura Blvd., Encino. Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Call: (818) 981-3700. Cost: Parties average $10 a person.