Hanukkah begins next week and each year I try to make a gift for a special friend to celebrate. This year I went with what I'm calling a Hanukkah Treat Plate that can be used each night to share the goodies of the season.
Supplies:
- Clear Dinner Plate ( I got mine at Cost Plus)
- Mod Podge Super Gloss Formula
- Acrylic Paint
- Gold Leaf
- Gold Leafing Glue
- Clear Contact Paper
- Stencil ( I made my own using my Cameo 3 but you could use a ready made stencil)
- Paint brushes and foam applicators
The plate is food safe since everything is done from the underside. You can bake it to "cure" it so the paint won't come off or if you think ahead like I did for once in my crafting life, you can make 21 or so days ahead and it will cure.
Let's get started!
Clean the underside of your plate with alcohol to make sure you get all the oils store dust etc off and you get good adhesion of your materials. I cut my own menorah stencil using my Silhouette Cameo and contact paper from the dollar tree. This is my favorite stencil material. It cuts great on a digital cutter and you can't beat the price for a roll ( $1). I also covered the areas I didn't want to paint w/ contact paper.
Using foam applicators, paint your stencil. I used metallic silver for the menorah and gold for the flames and did 3 coats.
For this kind of project, you have to reverse your brain because you're building the layers in reverse. So start with the focal image and then do the background. Once I was satisfied w/ the menorah, I added the gold leafing. Apply the glue per directions ( you'll find this in the fine art section of the craft store) and then apply the leafing. I remind people every time I do a leafing project IT'S MESSY. The gold leaf will fly everywhere as you apply it so be prepared.
Yes this looks like a hot mess but keep going. Once you're done w/ your leafing ( and clearly I didn't want a perfectly covered plate...I wanted a streaky look) then mix your acrylic paint ( I used Deco Art Navy) with the Mod Podge ( I did 1/2 and 1/2 because I didn't want this part to be opaque) and apply with a flat brush.
I did this for the whole plate then filled in the center with just plain paint. Sealed the whole thing with a coat of just the Mod Podge.
NOTE: Mod Podge formula matters! Use the Super Gloss for projects like this.
Once your plate is dry, flip it over and imagine it filled with chocolate
rugelach!
A few years ago I included some gift tags with my friend's gift and the following year her relatives were asking if she was getting more so I've done them ever since.
The black and gold foiled paper is my current addiction. Better yet, I got a stack of it ( ok I bought 2 stacks) when Michaels had one of their $5 Hot Buy stack sales. And of course, I made a coordinating card:
