Did you know that you can decoupage plates? I didn’t! I absolutely love these decoupage Christmas plates! They look like they’re store-bought, but it’s a design that you choose!
If you decide to give these plates a try, make sure you don’t leave them to the last minute; they need 28 days to cure to be safe to wash.
Why Dishwasher-Safe Mod Podge?
Dishwasher-safe Mod Podge should be used if you want the plate to be washable. If properly cured, you can wash this plate on the top shelf of the dishwasher. Even if you’re not using a dishwasher, it’s still worth curing it because if it’s not cured the back of the plate can’t get wet.
You can use the regular Mod Podge if you wish, but you won’t be able to wash the plate. To clean the plate, you would carefully wipe the top of the plate with a damp sponge, taking care not to disturb the fabric.
A Note About The Curing Process
The Mod Podge instructions clearly say that their product needs to cure for 28 days for it to be safe for the dishwasher and hand washing.
Some people have sped up the curing process by cooking the plate in the oven. They say it can be cured by placing it in a cold oven, turning it on to a temperature of 175F, and baking for an hour. Leave the plate in the oven to cool down completely before removing it.
If you want to give the speedy curing a try, why not cure one of your plates this way, then after Christmas you can decide if this is a good idea or not…
How To Decoupage Glass Plates With Fabric
You’ll need
- Dishwasher-safe Mod Podge
- Foam brushes
- Rubbing alcohol
- Paper towel
- Clear glass plates
- Fabric
- Sandpaper (150 grid) or a nail file
- You’ll need to protect the table from the mess with something like freezer paper or baking paper. It’s good to use the freezer paper to pick the plate up when you’re leaving it to dry or cure, so let’s say one piece of paper for each plate.
- Scissors; if you have a rotary cutter, this will come in handy too but you can use your scissors for all the cutting.
I wonder if anybody has ever mentioned to this gentleman that he sounds just like Tom Arnold?
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare The Plate
- Wash the plate, ensuring you remove any stickers and all the residue.
- Place the plate upside down on the paper.
- Using a paper towel clean the back of the plate with rubbing alcohol.
- Get a new piece of paper towel and wipe off any extra alcohol.
Prepare Your Fabric
- If your fabric has creases. Iron it’s smooth. (This might be a good idea anyway.)
- Make sure there are no loose threads or little bits of fluff on your fabric, if there are any, they’ll be on your plate forever.
- Decide which part of the fabric you want to show on the plate. If it’s the sort of fabric that it doesn’t matter which part is showing, you can skip this step. But if for example, there is a Christmas tree that you want in the middle, you could cut a big square of fabric to ensure you get the right bit showing on the plate. Put the plate on top of the fabric and move it around until you see the scene that you want. Make sure you’re square is bigger than the plate. That is, leave a lot of fabric around the edges of the square. As long as you place the square evenly over the plate, later on, you’ll get the scene that you want to display.
Mod Podge – Layer 1
- Place the plate face down on the paper.
- Brush Mod Podge onto the plate. Beware that it has a pretty strong odor.
- Make sure the Mod Podge is smooth. If there are any big streaks of Mod Podge, use your foam brush to wipe it back into the jar.
- Check that you have a good layer of Mod Podge around the rim of the plate. This will help to stop the edge of the fabric from lifting.
Apply The Fabric
- Place the fabric over the plate, with the right side down.
- Starting from the middle of the plate, rub the fabric onto the Mod Podge, ensuring the fabric is smooth. Wrinkles can be fixed by rubbing the fabric outwards.
- If the fabric doesn’t seem to be sticking to the rim, pull the fabric back and apply some more Mod Podge. Keep rubbing until it’s stuck down.
- Carefully lift your plate and inspect the front. If there is any excess Mod Podge, wipe it off with a paper towel.
- While you’re looking at the front of the plate it’ll be obvious if any rim edges are not sticking. If there are any, stick them down with Mod Podge.
- Turn the plate upside down again.
- Keep rubbing.
- Allow the plate to dry for at least one hour.
- If you need to move your plate to another location to dry, use the paper to carry it to avoid fingermarks.
Cut The Fabric
- Check that the Mod Podge is set.
- The plate should still be upside down.
- Using your rotary cutter or your scissors, cut the fabric around the edge of the plate.
- Use your scissors to trim the edges.
Mod Podge – Layer 2
- The plate should be upside down.
- Paint on another thin coat of Mod Podge.
- Brush out the globs of Mod Podge until it’s smooth.
- Pick the plate up carefully.
- Wipe off any Mod Podge on the front of the plate with a paper towel.
- Put the plate down again, upside down.
- Brush the Mod Podge to get rid of your finger marks.
- Allow the plate to dry for at least one hour.
- If you need to move your plate to another location to dry, use the paper to carry it to avoid fingermarks.
Mod Podge – Layer 3
- Check the edges to see if any fabric is not stacked down. Use Mod Podge to glue it down if necessary.
- The plate should be upside down.
- Paint on another thin coat of Mod Podge.
- Brush out the globs of Mod Podge until it’s smooth.
- Pick the plate up carefully.
- Wipe off any Mod Podge on the front of the plate with a paper towel.
- Put the plate down again, upside down.
- Brush the Mod Podge to get rid of your finger marks.
- Allow the plate to dry for at least one hour.
- If you need to move your plate to another location to dry, use the paper to carry it to avoid fingermarks.
Shave The Edges
- Hold the plate with the right side facing you.
- Sand in short bursts in the direction towards you. Don’t sand towards the fabric because you risk peeling it up. If you do peel any fabric up accidentally, glue it down with Mod Podge.
- Use your fingers to check the rim for smoothness.
- Use a paper towel to clean off the dust.
The Final Step
Allow the plate to cure for 28 days to make sure the plate is safe for the top shelf of the dishwasher. Even if you don’t want to use a dishwasher, if you cure the plate, you’ll be able to wash both sides, which might come in handy.
How To Decoupage Glass Plates With A Napkin
You’ll need
- Napkin
- Glass plate
- Water
- Dishwasher-safe Mod Podge
- Piece of plastic or freezer paper or baking paper as a work surface
- Sponge brush
- Paintbrush
- Nail file
- Cloth
- Iron and ironing board
After the Mod Podge has cured you’ll need:
- Clear acrylic spray, if necessary
- Paint and brush (optional)
This tutorial uses the “wet” method of decoupage. A napkin can be done using the “dry” method, but it takes a long time to get rid of the wrinkles. The water settles the paper in the napkin which results in fewer wrinkles.
Very important: Don’t allow the napkin to dry. Ensure that you have time to do the decoupage until after the first layer of Mod Podge in one sitting.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Clean and dry your plate completely.
Prepare Your Napkin
Napkins are made in layers. The number of layers is described as the ply. Take note of the ply so you know how many layers you’re working with. You’ll have a print layer plus one or more white layers. We need to extract the print layer for the decoupage; the white layers can be used in other projects.
- Look for a stamp in the corner of the napkin that holds the layers together.
- Iron the stamp in the corner to release the layers, also iron the rest of the napkin to get rid of the creases.
- Keep ironing. Peel off the layers as they come loose.
- You should be left with the printed ply layer.
- Place the plate on the napkin and position it so that the napkin view that you want to decoupage is in the right spot.
- Cut the excess napkin off leaving a square. Don’t cut too close to the edge of the plate. Leave a least an inch.
Apply The Water
- Place your plate upside down on your working paper.
- Put the napkin on top of the plate.
- Pour water on the napkin.
- Starting in the middle, use your paintbrush to spread the water evenly over the napkin.
- Pour off excess water if necessary, by picking up the paper and the plate together.
- Then work on the wrinkles in the center with your fingers, pulling them toward the edge.
- Go around the rim, looking for wrinkles and bubbles, and gently flatten and smooth them.
- Blot the paper with the cloth to get rid of excess moisture.
- Work on any new bubbles and wrinkles.
- If necessary, while pressing on the napkin on the plate, gently tear off the excess wet napkin. There shouldn’t be too much there if you cut your square to about an inch around the plate, and if so, you can skip this step.
- Blot a bit more and check for wrinkles and air bubbles.
Shave Your Edges
- Before the napkin dries, lift the plate carefully and hold it in the middle underneath with one hand.
- With your other hand, use the nail file to file the excess napkin off from around the rim. File in a downward direction only.
- Check for wrinkles.
Mod Podge – Layer 1
Be very careful with this step. The napkin is still damp and therefore it is fragile.
- Very gently, use your sponge brush to paint your first layer of Mod Podge onto the napkin, starting in the center. The Mod Podge will soak through and glue the napkin to the plate.
- Pay special attention to the rim to check it is covered in Mod Podge.
- Brush to get rid of excess Mod Podge.
- Allow the plate to dry completely.
Mod Podge – Layer 2
- Apply another coat of Mod Podge.
- Allow the plate to dry completely.
Mod Podge – Layer 3
- Apply another coat of Mod Podge.
- Allow the plate to dry completely.
The Final Steps
- Allow the plate to cure for 28 days to make sure the plate is safe for the top shelf of the dishwasher or for handwashing.
- Apply acrylic sealer to the plate if you think it is necessary.
- If necessary, paint the back of the plate.