Hey Pad Scrappers!
Polly Liana here, with a bad news/good news tutorial. Years ago, my family went on a wonderful cruise in Hawaii. In one of the restaurants, I fell in love with the butterfly plates they used. They were way too expensive (Versace) but my thoughtful cousin got us one of the salad plates for a wedding gift. Isn’t it pretty?
It had been hanging on the wall in our kitchen for years when a few weeks ago, it was accidentally knocked off by one of our daughters who was running around the house with a balloon. (Cue bummer music.) Initially, we threw the pieces in the trash because it was clearly beyond repair. But the pieces looked so sad there amongst the carrot peelings and coffee grounds. I fished them out of the trash and decided to do something with them. After all, that plate had both sentimental and material value.
After checking out a few tutorials online, I went to my local art & craft store (AC Moore) and purchased a tile clipper. With a coupon, it was less than $10 and it looks like this:
You use it to carefully clip pieces off ceramic tiles. I found it in the stained glass section.
Using safety goggles and working over a newspaper tucked in our kitchen sink, I carefully clipped large, then smaller pieces off the large pieces of plate. Eventually, I came up with shapes that I liked. I also used a Dremel tool and a bit of water to grind down the edges a bit more. When I got them the way I wanted, I used a gold leaf pen to color the edges to make the pieces look a little more finished.
Finally, I mounted the pieces using E60 cement to earrings and other jewelry that I found at Old Navy. I can’t believe how well they worked! I also put some on magnets and thumbtacks. Voila! Upcycled broken plate jewelry!
The next time you drop a plate, use this tutorial to bring new life to it! Have a great weekend, all.
kerrianne says
Sorry about your plate, but love your creative & beautiful solutions! Thanks for sharing!
Johanna says
What a great idea! These are gorgeous!!
Yolanda (y_baros) says
What a wonderfully creative idea! I’m so glad you were able to turn your beloved (broken) plate into something that you can still use/wear/see regularly!