How to Make Decorative Plates

Economical, creative and fun, these plates are definitely a craft Grandma Maxine would appreciate.  Instead of hanging them on her wall, however, I think she would be more likely to pile them with cookies and send them over to a neighbor.

I wanted something up on my kitchen wall that would match my curtains, but I couldn't find anything that was just right so I decided to use the same fabric and paint to make decorative wall plates.



Here is what you will need to make your own:
Glass plates (Walmart and dollar stores sell them in the dishwares section)
Alcohol
Picture (from fabric or paper)
Decoupage medium (or white glue mixed 3 parts glue, 1 part water)
Decoupage brush
3 colors of acrylic paint
Paint brush
Sponges

1.  Clean your plate with alcohol
2.  Arrange your picture on the front of the plate till you get a design you like.
3.  Remove the picture and turn the plate upside down.
4.  Apply decoupage medium to FRONT SIDE of your picture.
5.  Place your picture front-side-down on back of your plate.
6.  Lightly press out any bubbles.
7.  Paint more decoupage medium on back side of picture.  Let dry over night
8.  Choose the paint that you want for the top layer on your plate (I used gold).  Lightly sponge the color all over the back of the plate. Let dry.
9.  Sponge a second color over the first if desired (I used cream).  Let dry.
10.  Paint a third color to cover the entire back of the plate (I used rust.).  Let dry.  Paint a second layer to get rid of any thin spots.  Let dry.
11.  Turn your plate over.  Yay!  It's done!