DIY Christmas gift - Festive Pin-up girl plates

Two Completed Plates

Hi All,

Tis' the season for going broke buying those gifts for everyone....not!

To bring back the spirit of the season I'm making gifts for as many people as I can to give something personal and special (and of course fun)!

My 4 Ready to Go Christmas Pin-Up Designs

For my cousin that I love dearly, I decided to make her festive vintage pin-up girl plates. I know she will go crazy for them. I wanted to make her some festive plates because I know she loves entertaining guests and loves things that are fabulously girly (read feathers, glitter & bling) and I knew pin-up girls with fun sayings would make her squeal for joy.



I'm still debating whether or not I want to add glitter to the outer edge of the circle. If I do I'll probably do two of the plates with a red glitter and the other two with a green glitter. What do you think? Yay or Nay? And should it be red & green?

Anyway, here's how I did it.

Stuff Needed:

• Clear glass plates
• A computer with some art program (I use photoshop)
• A ruler or measuring tape
• Scissors
• A Printer
• Art (free clip art, scraps of wrapping paper, christmas cards, etc.)
• Mod Podge (I used two kinds the yellow bottle for paper and the purple for hard surfaces)
• A paintbrush (you can also get cheap foam brushes at the hardware store)
• glitter (optional)
• elmers glue

Instructions

1. Measure diameter of the plate you want to use for artwork. In my case I only wanted the small inner circle as the outside was diamond cut.
2. Create a circle in your art program the same size as your plate. This will be your template.
3. Gather your artwork online or make your own (I Photoshopped Vintage Christmas Pin-Up girls)
4. Print off as many girls as you have plates.
5. Cut out your circles carefully with scissors.
6. Flip your clear glass plate over and apply a thin layer of mod podge to the back. Press your image down firmly on top of the mod podged section. (You could even add a heavy object on top to keep it flat.)
7. After waiting about 10 minutes, coat the entire back of the image with another layer of mod podge, slightly overlappling onto the glass. Let dry and repeat as many times as you think you need.
8. If you do want glitter, I'd do it now.  If I do break down and add some I will again flip the plates over and draw a line around the edge with elmers glue, then sprinkle glitter to coat.  Discard excess glitter & let dry.
9. Do a final coat or two of the hard coat mod podge to seal and harden the image.

Here I am ready to do my coat of mod podge sealer

Remember this is only water-resistant, NOT water-proof. Don't let these soak in your sink or put them in the dishwasher. However since you only mod podged the back of the plate it is food-safe (YAY!) And a perfect hostess gift!

Want More Inspiration on what to do with Mod Podge?  Visit http://www.modpodgerocksblog.com/

For more cool stuff!