Cute Christmas Plate Craft

Looking for Christmas plate decorating ideas? Why not add a few napkins for a unique way to create your own DIY display dishes for the holidays.

It's an easy craft with stunning results.

And it won't break the bank.



Hello friends.

So it may be a bit early, but I have to confess that my Christmas decorating is done.

I went with a simple theme (again) this year, so it didn't take long to complete the task and now I get to move on to the fun stuff...Christmas crafting!!

It's my favorite.
I have a pretty big list of things I want to accomplish this season, but today, I started by transforming a few glass thrift store plates with cocktail napkins.

It's a craft I've been waiting to do since Halloween when the stores started decorating for Christmas and I found these pretties next to the jack-o-lanterns. Oh boy.

And I thought I was early!


Believe it or not, this red obsessed girl doesn't own one red Christmas car/ truck/ wagon item.

The images are darling, but the prices and the fact that I don't have much storage around here, have kept me at bay.

So when I spotted these napkins for under three bucks, I knew it would be a cheap way to get my fix and to use up some of those old dishes I found at the thrift store this spring.

When I was unable to remove that awful film, I gave some of them a faux milk glass treatment and some a coat of frosted spray paint.

The frosted dishes are the ones that received a makeover today.

I thought the finish gave them a wintery air and they'd look great with the snowy scene and that red truck. When I tucked the napkin under the plate to eyeball it, I could see that I wasn't wrong.

How To Make A Glass Christmas Plate

For this plate, I decoupaged the napkin to the back of the plate, so I traced the bottom ring onto a piece of paper for my pattern.

I made a template so I knew exactly what and where to cut so my napkin would fit perfectly.


Next, I separated the napkin so it was just one ply. Most of the time napkins are two ply, but sometimes there's a third layer. Just make sure you remove them all.

I could've cut the napkin before I separated the layers, but I was afraid they would shift or separate on their own while I was cutting.

Of course, it was a little more delicate to work with, but I was careful and took my time.


Next up, I sketched the pattern onto the napkin with pencil.

I went slow so I didn't tear my pretty picture. I also used a dull pencil so the point wouldn't tear the thin paper.


When the cutting was done, I gave the back of my dish a coat of decoupage gel with a foam brush.

I used a satin coat for this, but honestly, since it's on the back and no part of it will ever show, I could've used any kind of finish.

I placed my napkin face down on the plate and began to smooth it out gently using a trick from my friend Ann.



She recommends using plastic wrap to smooth down the napkin to prevent tearing, but I didn't have plastic wrap...so I used a sandwich sized zippy bag. Don't laugh, it worked.

Once my wrinkles were smooth, I used a bristle brush to put more decoupage over the napkin to seal it and reached for my trusty bag again.

When my plate was smooth and dry, I had a very elegant Christmas accent piece.

The frosting does indeed compliment the snowy affect on the napkin and now I have my very own little red Christmas wagon plate.

Look at me getting all trendy.

Who'd have believed it?

Of course, if you know me at all, you know that I can never have too much red around here.

One plate was just not going to do. So I made another...with a different thrift store glass plate.

This one was a buck and it was a fun shape, with an octagon in the center.

I thought it would make for an interesting piece. I was also excited to add my colorful napkin to the front of the plate this time.

The frosted plate is a bit muted since the napkin was applied to the back. I thought the contrast would be nice if I displayed them next to one another.


My process here was basically the same, except it was almost impossible to get a good tracing of the center.

Instead I placed the napkin in the plate and folded the corners down one at at time in the shape of the dish and cut on the folds.

I coated the center with decoupage, placed this napkin face up in the dish and grabbed another plastic bag to smooth my wrinkles.

Then I applied more decoupage over the top and smoothed it out again. This time, I used a sparkle decoupage, since it was on the front of the plate.

And shimmer is perfect for Christmas.

As a matter of fact it's so perfect, that I coated the entire plate with it. They're not for eating so I don't have be concerned about that, and the more sparkle the better!

This time around I had a brighter version, still elegant, but with a bit more pop.

I have to say this was a relatively simple craft, a great way to upcycle a few old dishes and an elegant way to add a little Christmas cheer.

And all for under three bucks!

Fabulous.