Giving Plate DIY

Finished giving plate with cookies

How to Make a Giving Plate

I made a DIY Christmas plate before trying out this giving plate idea and that was a huge success! This year I wanted to use up the extra plates I had but in a different fun way. What a better way than to use them as a DIY gift this holiday!

I had seen this plate idea floating around on Pinterest (oh the dreaded place that wastes our precious hours) but thought I was far from creative to pull it off. Boy was I wrong! It was so easy.

Supplies for project

Here is what you will need:

  • A plate (I picked them up at the dollar store)
  • A sharpie
  • What you want to say on the plate (You can download my template here)
  • Tape and scissors
  • Pencil
  • Pencil sharpener (optional – helps with the steps below)

Step 1. Creating the Giving Plate Poem

I cannot for the life of me write in a straight line nor do I have good handwriting, so I went into Word and created the poem, and printed it out in a font that I liked. You can download my template here.

Here is the saying I used:

This plate shall have no owner
for its journey NEVER ends,
it travels in a circle
of our FAMILY and FRIENDS.
It carries LOVE from home to home
For everyone to share,
The food that’s placed upon it
was made with love and care.
So please ENJOY what’s on the plate
Then fill it up again,
Then pass along the love it holds
to your family and friends!

If you decide to use your own poem or saying, just make sure to make the font a good size and be sure that everything is spaced nicely! You may have to experiment a bit to get it to fit your plate.

Once it’s finished, print it out and then cut off the extra paper. Flip the paper over and cover the words in pencil, like so:

Pencil scribbled over words on paper

Tip: You can hold your picture up to a light/window to see if you are being effective in covering all the words in lead from the pencil.

Step 2. Positioning the Poem on the Plate

Now flip the paper back over and position it on the plate where you want it and secure with tape. Next is the part that really sucks!

Step 3. Transferring the Poem to the Plate

Pushing as hard as you can, trace over the writing with your pencil. The lead that you put on the back will get transferred to the plate. If you don’t push hard enough/use enough lead the transfer won’t happen.

I tried using a sharpie to see if it helped and it didn’t. Here’s how it should look afterward:

Pencil on plate

Can you see the faint pencil on the plate? If so then your muscles and hand are probably sore!

Step 4. Outline with Sharpie

Now just take your sharpie and go over the faint pencil on the plate. I started from the bottom because I didn’t know if the pencil would rub off as my hand went over it. The sharpie did not rub off on my hand (I used a fine Sharpie).

Sharpie outlined words

Step 5. Put It in the Oven

Once you have completed the tracing you need to fire it in your oven. Here are the directions:

  • Put the plate in a cold oven.
  • Heat it to 400
  • Start the time once the oven reaches that temp
  • Fire for 40 minutes
  • After 40 minutes turn off the oven

LEAVE THE PLATE IN THE OVEN. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN.

Let the oven cool completely before removing the plates. If the plates are cooled to fast they will crack. The firing should set the sharpie into the plate making it safe to add your goodies.

Note: In hindsight, I would’ve gone over the writing a second time in Sharpie to make it bolder. It faded after baking. I did go over the capitalized words a second time to make them stand out more. So I would’ve done all the writing a 2nd time and the capitalized words a 3rd time.

Giving plate in oven on baking sheet

Step 6. Add Goodies!

Bake up some goodies or buy store-bought and deliver your plate. Here are some treat recipe ideas:

Final Thoughts

A fun idea would be to add the name and date on the back of the plate to keep track of where it has been. A traveling plate.

Let us know what you plan on doing with your giving plate! If you have any questions, feel free to ask below as well!

Types: Crafts, Adult, Teen
Categories: Home, Christmas, Thanksgiving

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