Author: Spring (Jordan)
When I got married, I didn’t register for china because I already had a full set of beautiful Lenox Solitaire that was waiting for me. Instead, we decided to register for basic everyday dishes. We decided white would be the best because we can always play around with colorful napkins, table cloths, and placemats to spiff our table up when needed.
A couple of months ago, I found a simple project in Better Homes and Gardens magazine that gave me a fun idea on how to add some flair to our dishes. I ripped out the page and put it in my to-do file. And then, my blog partner/mother and I took an unplanned trip to Ikea, and my little project took off from there.
Basically, I was going to turn my white dinner plates into a charger and then add some paper on top to give it some flair. Follow along and you will see what I mean.
While at IKEA, my mother and I found these plain and clear salad plates for only $1.00 each. I bought twelve of them.
I then bought scrapbook paper in various patterns, but you can use wrapping paper, wall paper, fabric. The possibilities are endless.
I knew I would need a circle template, and so, I bought only one soup/cereal bowl for that purpose. Here I traced out the bowl on the scrap paper.
I wanted to use them more than once, so, I knew a protective layer needed to be added. You can laminate, but I didn’t want to spend the money it would have been to laminate each sheet. Instead, I used clear contact paper on each side of the scrapbooking paper. That made it possible for me to wipe them down and use them again.
That’s all there was to it. I cut out enough circles in each pattern for our service for twelve. And with the simple addition of the round, colorful, and protected paper circles, I can change the look of our table.
Look how different it all looks with just the simple change of the circles here.
This pattern provides a look I will use for fall.
We don’t have a lot of different placemats and napkins, but this black and white combination looks completely different from the animal print black and white I used above.
Here is a dish towel that I decided to use as a placemat. I love this one. It looks like lipstick blotting paper, and I think it will be fun for Valentine’s day. I added one of our pink, vintage depression glass goblets and a pink napkin.
I can see this one working for Easter or even a baby shower for my neighbor, if she has a girl. The place mat here is the napkin I used above
I guess this all proves that you can have some cute, yet really inexpensive, table settings without too much work or money. I hope you try it.
Cheers!
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what a great idea My head is spinning around already. I do have some clear plates and I will be using them a lot. Thanks for sharing
How clever. Love all the looks of your designer china.
What a wonderful idea! I am going to defintely do this. Thanks so much for sharing.
I love this idea.. how wonderful you pulled the colors together. This is a great way to add pop and color to a table.. great fun! xo marlis
Great idea! You can make any tablescape a complete original design. Thank you for sharing your discovery. Cherry Kay
Well, just how cute is that!! I have the clear plates so I am halfway there!
Yes, I will definitely be using this idea in the future! Love the simplicity, one Christmas I did this with fabric and modge podge and gave as gifts, but your idea is much more practical! THANK YOU.
Cute, easy idea! Love it!
Very clever idea. Thanks for sharing your idea. I have a set of clear plates so I just might follow your lead on this. 😉
So clever! I have a friend who has done this with family pictures, numbers, monograms and things for all the holidays. I just love the idea! So versatile and thrifty too! I loved seeing all your ideas together like this. I look forward to more.
I don’t understand how the contact paper adheres to the glass plate. Can you explain that?
Hi Susan,
I put contact paper on the scrap book paper to give it a cover. Hope that helps to explain.
Oh my goodness these turned out beautifully!! What a great idea and you did such an excellent job
Very cool!
Such an amazing idea.
Thank you for sharing
Love,
Karin Åžen Cankan
Karinsfairytale.blogspot.com
Wht a clever, versatile idea! Love you dishes and thank you for sharing this idea!
Super-great idea, Jordan! Simple, yet lovely.
🙂 CAS
What a wonderful idea, the possibilities are endless! Thanks for sharing such a great tip. If you get a chance please stop by our blog, we are also a Mother and Daughter team. From the Mom at Cottage and Broome.
What a clever lady you are! I am so going to borrow this idea. Thank you for sharing. Dianne
I just bought some clear plates at the thrift store, with this very idea in mind. Thanks for showing me what it will look like. 🙂