Turn Dollar Store Table Ware Into Designer China For The New Year!
by
Fiona Debell
6 Materials
$15
35 Minutes
Medium
I LOVE the plain white china you can buy from the Dollar Store - it is pretty, and better than that, if I break it, it isn't the end of the world.
I have also noticed the trend with designers to add gold and silver and copper to dinner wear recently - and I do like a little bling on my table from time to time.
So I was thinking...how do I turn this...
...(average cost $1.25 per item)...
Into this...
I LOVE these designs from all Modern - but at an average of $150 for five pieces it is beyond my budget - and my clumsiness factor!
So instead I thought of a work around!
For the Project you will need:
1. Clean White Crockery - I bought mine from Dollarama
2. Metallic Leaf Sheets & Leaf Size (also called gilding adhesive or glue). I bought mine from Michaels and Amazon.
3. Frog Tape or painters tape
4. A small paintbrush
5. Dishwasher safe Mod Podge
6. A bigger brush for sweeping away the excess
7. A baggie to collect your spare pieces of Leaf (optional)
This is such a simple project, but the results are stunning. And you don't need to stick to china!
Step 1.
Begin by cleaning the dishes to get rid of any grease. Next take your tape and apply it to create patterns. Triangles, squares, stripes...let your imagination go wild!
I also grabbed a $1.25 vase to play with!
Step 2.
Using my paint brush I painted the Gilding Size (sometimes called Gilding Glue or Leaf Size) on the areas I wanted the Copper Leaf to stick.
The tape acts as a resist to the glue.
Step 3.
Leave the glue to cure for about 20 minutes (until it is clear and tacky to the touch, not wet). Then drop the copper leaf directly onto the glued areas.
Push the leaf down with a fairly stiff bristled brush.
Step 4.
Remove the tape. You can do this straight away!
I LOVE the way the copper looks when you remove the tape!
I did exactly the same thing with my glass vase, but instead of tape I used the brushstrokes as the edge.
TOP TIP 
Collect all the leftover bits of leaf to use on other projects.
Step 5.
Seal the areas you have used the leaf on with Dishwasher Safe Mod Podge. If you like the finish you can use the mod podge over the entire piece. I still recommend you only hand wash however.
## TOP TIP ##
You can do this look as a one off - create, use, then run the dishes (unsealed) through the dishwasher and you will be back to plain white again!
** INFO **
Do not place the pattern where a knife and fork will be used - the leaf is not food safe and you dont want to damage it!
Admire your work!
What a lovely result if I do say so myself!
Resources for this project:
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Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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2 of 8 comments
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Love theses!! Thanks for the inspiration and steps!! :)
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Soooo creative...lovely! I envision this on my older RED dishes for the holidays!! It will add the glitz, glammersnd sparkle to my table!! YAY!
Frequently asked questions
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Can you eat in them or are they only for decoration?