Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays – I love the food, gathering around the table, football and being with the family. As a kid, it was always my favorite time of the year and still is for me as an adult. A few years ago when Joe and I lived in tiny little apartment on a much smaller budget, I was longing for some Thanksgiving dishes and found a budget friendly solution!
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Years later, almost five to be exact I still have these dishes and use them everywhere. To be clear, we have never actually ate off of these dishes and I’ve never placed them in the dishwasher, even though the paint is food safe and dishwasher safe. I use them mainly for tablescapes and display, but we have white tableware for our everyday dishes, so everything matches perfectly when it comes to the big day!
As I mentioned before I did this little craft years ago. At that time, I had another blog and shared the tutorial then. That blog has since been deleted, but somewhere in the Pinterest world it is still floating around. Luckily, I had saved all my old photos and can still share an updated tutorial!
DIY Thanksgiving Dishes Supplies:
- white dishes, I got mine from the Dollar Store
- fall themed stencil
- Martha Stewart Craft Paint – I used brown, gold, and rust
- stencil pouncers
- stencil tape
- small paint brush
Once I had all my supplies gathered, I started by dipping the end of my paintbrush into the dark brown paint and highlighting each of the raised designs around the edge of the dishes. I repeated this step again, but with the gold paint for the inside design.
Then, I found a leaf I liked on the stencil and used the tape to make sure it was secure on the plate. Stencils always seem to move around on me, so I always make sure they are taped down pretty good! I again used the dark brown and pounced the paint on. Like with any stencil project, be sure to not use too much paint and wipe off any excess on a paper towel.
Once I figured out my design for the plates, I repeated the steps on the other three and let them dry for about thirty minutes. Then, using the same stencil leaf design I went back with the gold metallic color for a highlight. I offset the stencil a little bit and let the dark brown create a shadow.
After it dried, I chose another leaf design from the stencil for the center leaf. I used the same technique but with the rust bronze metallic for a little contrast.
I repeated the same steps for all of the plates. It would of been fun to change up the designs for each plate just a little bit, but I honestly wanted these dishes to look like I purchased them.
Next, I began working on the bowls. I used the same process and colors, just chose a different leaf and design for the center. Four bowls later I was done! This was such an easy and budget friendly craft project. I’ve used these dishes for years now and couldn’t be happier with them.
It’s funny to see old pictures and how much my style has changed over the years! But these little DIY Thanksgiving dishes have stuck by side and I can’t wait to see how many years I can use them over and over.
What do you think? Do you have any fun Dollar Store projects? Share with me!
