Thursday, January 2, 2014

Add Beads To A Vintage Cake Plate



Hi, guys!  Today I want to show you how I embellished a wonderful old milk glass pedestal plate.


Here's the before:


This beautiful plate belonged to my husband's grandmother.  I thought I would decorate it using some big carved semiprecious beads.  I didn't want to permanently alter the plate - no way!  With this method, you can add some pizzazz without harm to the original piece.

Want to DIY?  Here's how.

Cut a piece of craft wire, about five inches long.  I used 22 gauge.  (20 or 24 would be fine, too.)




Bend the wire around something to form a small circle.




Then straighten the ends of the wire, keeping a curve at the top.  Like so:


Slip the bent wire onto a hole in the basketweave edge, then add a big bead.




Bend the two wire tails apart.  If your tails are too long or uneven (mine usually were), trim them up with wire snippers to approximately 1/2 inch.





Grab the end of a tail with round nose pliers and spin it in a circle, forming a loop.  As always when making a wire loop, you'll find you need to reposition your grip as you complete the full circle.





Repeat with the second tail.




Dangle done!




Add dangles all the way around the plate, and that's yer pizzazzed-up cake plate.


Use this method to embellish any porcelain object with a similar basketweave edge - a vase, fruit bowl, etc.  Or try it on other styles of cake plate, like the kind that has holes in a scalloped metal edge.


Now I want some suggestions.  Avoiding sugary things, I am not going to eat any cake this year.  So if you were me...



I thought about using it as a base for a planter.  Maybe.  I don't know!  All I can picture is cake!  I really need your help.  Write me some good ideas, you guys.  Gotta keep my mind off the C-word.






14 comments:

  1. I don't think anyone ever gained any weight from a candle, or a cloche, or a plant...unless it's the edible kind. So darn clever of you!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love, love, love the cake stand in all its vintage-dressed-up glory.

    Pile up fruit on it if you want to use it for food. Otherwise, I think it would look cool with a figurine on it. I keep thinking one of my peacock dragons would look awesome on it with those turquoise beads.

    http://www.cellinifinegifts.com/ws_originals.htm

    Or a stack of sea shells or a bird's nest with other natural things such as pinecones, twigs, moss, acorns etc.

    Those are me ideas and I bet you will come up with something that will surprise me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Um besides.. well you know that c thing or anything else that is a sweet....How about a favorite stuffed animal or doll? You could display something like nice silk flowers on the cake stand as well. I love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With the stems removed...or arrange around a candle on the stand....

      Delete
    2. Or you could use it as a display for all of your brooches! That would look fab with all the glitz and glam and sparkly goodness.

      Delete
    3. http://lifeartcollide.blogspot.com/2012/10/soda-bottle-bell-jars.html Or make one of these, display whatever you like. I have seen Goo Gone and foam board at the Dollar Tree.

      Delete
  4. How pretty! I'd use it for a candlescape plate. I'm lovin that brick wall behind the plate in that photo by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well, being a foodie, I can think of plenty of non-C foodstuffs that'd look perfect on there.
    Melissa's right; a pomegranate, a few bananas, and whatever else you have around makes a colorful, healthy, edible display.
    Make a quiche/kugel and serve on it.
    Or make a meatloaf pie: cook your meatloaf in a pie tin with mashed potatoes on top (like a cottage/shepherd's pie) for a deceptively dessert-like dinner. (You can do them as cupcakes, too. Decorate with ketchup or corn/peas "jimmies".) Hmm... maybe you could even do that as a layer cake with the mashed potatoes as whipped cream?? Whoa... tangent...
    Noodle pie.
    Sliced apples drizzled with honey and a honey pot in the center.

    Maybe you could switch your dangle method to something more like fishhook earrings, then you could have different sets of beads so you could mix and match according to what you put on top.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I didn't have time to read through all the comments and you may have gotten this suggestion already. But, in case you have not, my suggestion is to get some styrofoam balls, toothpicks and silk flowers, as well as a few of your beautiful hairsticks and create a work of art to use as a centerpiece. You might also try stacking a few decorative wicker or lacquered balls on top of it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cute!! You can make earrings or bracelets holder in a tree shape (you surely need an organization space for all the accessories you made!) and place it on top of the plate. Anything on the creative side might suit you ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely!
    Sorry, I can only see a big, yummy, sweet C--- :(

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like Betsy's idea: terrarium in a bell jar/cloche

    ReplyDelete
  10. oh waoo.. so cool.. well there should be any accessory hanger type something.. jewelry platter instead of salad/cupcakes platter.. fun!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Brilliant as always! Wanted to let you know I'm featuring this when my link party opens up tomorrow night!

    ReplyDelete