The other Thanksgiving project I wanted to do was to have the kids design their own dinner plates. There are tons of pins on Pinterest about how you can buy dollar store plates, color on them with sharpies, bake them in the oven and your designs would be permanent. So I read a few how-to's and we got started. The plates turned out really cute.
 #1 decided to keep it simple.  I helped #3 trace his hand to create a Mayflower ship. |  "Bob" is a cartoon that #2 created.  #4's hands are so tiny that we were able to fit two turkeys on her plate. |
Even though the plates look adorable, I am calling them a successful failure. Here's what I did...
First - I cleaned the plates with rubbing alcohol.
Second - We decorated them with Sharpies.
Third - I baked the plates in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. And I let them cool in the oven overnight.
At this point the plates looked great. And when I ran my finger over them, the colors did not smudge. I knew from what I had read that they would not be dishwasher safe, and you can't scrub them hard. So I filled the sink with hot, soapy water and gently wiped our new plates. I quickly realized these plates are not at all washable. The colors started coming off, even with the lightest rubbing. So as far as having new Thanksgiving plates to eat off of, no. But I do like them, so I think I will go back to the dollar store and get some smaller plates. Than have my kiddos re-do their designs. However this time I will just use them as an adorable decoration. This might be something nice to do every season as a rotating display.
Let me know if you've tried this project with better results. Happy Thanksgiving!
First - I cleaned the plates with rubbing alcohol.
Second - We decorated them with Sharpies.
Third - I baked the plates in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. And I let them cool in the oven overnight.
At this point the plates looked great. And when I ran my finger over them, the colors did not smudge. I knew from what I had read that they would not be dishwasher safe, and you can't scrub them hard. So I filled the sink with hot, soapy water and gently wiped our new plates. I quickly realized these plates are not at all washable. The colors started coming off, even with the lightest rubbing. So as far as having new Thanksgiving plates to eat off of, no. But I do like them, so I think I will go back to the dollar store and get some smaller plates. Than have my kiddos re-do their designs. However this time I will just use them as an adorable decoration. This might be something nice to do every season as a rotating display.
Let me know if you've tried this project with better results. Happy Thanksgiving!
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