Whoa! This project was a tad bit challenging (to say the least!)! The good news is that I learned a lot and can pass that knowledge on to you! Let me take you through how to make a wreath from assorted china plates – the correct way! Back in January I decided I wanted to try to take inexpensive china pieces and layer them to make a custom plate wreath. I decided I wanted to use china that was all white a gold as I already have gold tones in my dining room and felt these tones would work well in the space.
First Step, Hunting for China
I started out thrifting and was able to find quite a few pieces at The Blessing Barn Store in Mendon, MA. The Blessing Barn is a second hand store that donates all it’s proceeds to local charities, it is one of my favorite places to shop. I was on a mission to find inexpensive plates, cups, saucers, sugar bowls and lids all with different patterns in gold and white. I knew all of these shapes and sizes would bring their own dimension to the layered wreath and add interest. My china search was completed at the Winsmith Mill Market in Norwood, MA. The Winsmith is a great indoor vintage market place with many wonderful vendors. I loved that many of the pieces I bought seem to be from 50th Anniversary gifts from long ago.
Assembling the Wreath
Once I had all the pieces collected, I set out to figure out how to assemble the wreath. I knew the wreath form would have to be flat and that a wired wreath form would not provide enough surface space to glue the pieces on. I eventually found this wreath form on Amazon. It is made from wood fiber and measures 18″, perfect! For the glue, a little research brought me to Loctite Liquid professional super glue. it is noted to be super strength and good with ceramics. (spoiler alert I switched to
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Supplies
21 Assorted med to small pieces of china
Once I started laying out the design, I became concerned regarding how heavy the china pieces would be when they were all layered and stacked. I decided to buy a second wreath and glue them together to support the weight. I’m glad I did! Once the 2 wreath forms were glued together with the Loctite glue, I let them dry overnight. Then I laid out the design and decided that the first layer would consist of the large soup tureen cover and plates.
Prior to glueing the China I looped a piece of ribbon around the wreath beneath where I was placing the lid. I wanted the wreath to appear like it was hanging from the ribbon and knew it would be difficult to add after I had glued all the pieces on. Once the ribbon was in place, I used the Loctite and glued the backs of the lid and plates onto the wreath. I left them to dry overnight.
The next day I gently lifted the wreath and 3 of the plates came crashing off the wreath form. Sigh…luckily nothing broke but I came to realize that plan A was not going to work. The problem seemed to be that by just gluing the little rim that every plate has on the back was not going to be sufficient. I needed to figure a way to get more glue on the plates to make them more secure on the wreath frame. I was also starting to wonder if I needed a stronger glue, after all I was asking a lot of this wreath form! So I did what I do often, I headed over to my tribe on Instagram and asked them. Sure enough they had the answer! I heard
Good morning wow I would love to have a speck of your talent and patience and perseverance! I love old china pieces and have quite a few from mom . She received tea cup sets for wedding shower gifts apparently that was quite popular 60 years ago ! I was thinking for the decorative and creative challenged like myself it would be helpful if yoor talents were shared on a YouTube site ! Or maybe you could offer a class and charge a fee to have you help with these fun projects. Ofcoarse you wouldn’t want it to be to time consuming .Maybe you could host at a venue that wasn’t far from you or at your beautiful home ? You are so talented and although I love everything my first reaction is always nope I could never do that I am not creative or patient enough to do any projects . I am so intimidated by creativity haha For now I will continue to enjoy and admire your gorgeous posts and look forward to seeing your next design !! You inspire so many ! Take care and stay well in this current crazy crisis ! Xo
Thank you so much! Ive been considering a youtube channel! Ill be sending out notice if I do. Stay well!