eat your words.

Published on by Quandie

If you have been following me for a while, you may remember that prior to my fall sale last year I was trying to convince people that there were lots of fun things to do with pretty plates, besides eating on them.  Despite my efforts, my big stack of pretty floral platters and plates still sat untouched after the sale.

plates

Even with woefully low prices on them of $3 and $4.

So I am giving them one last chance at a new life.

I saw this idea at the 2011 Bachman’s Idea House.  I borrowed this photo from pinterest, but it originated on Itsy Bits and Pieces, and you can read more about the Bachman’s Idea House there.  But anyway, this idea totally struck me at the time and I’ve been wanting to try it myself ever since.

Bachmans idea house

So I dug out my plates and platters, my Cricut machine and some vinyl.  I picked a quote and started cutting.

plates with words

I learned a trick to keeping your letters straight a while back.  You cut them on the ‘kiss cut’ setting, then you place a piece of painters tape over the letters before you remove them from the backing.

cricut trick step 1

Then you use the tape to pull the letters away from the backing, but keeping them all in a straight line and evenly spaced.  Carefully place them onto your surface, in this case a platter.

cricut trick step 2

Pull the tape away without taking the letters with it.  This can be a little tricky, so go slowly.  Also, a tip, make sure your tape is smaller than your letters.  If your tape overlaps your letters entirely, it’s difficult to get it off without also removing the letters.

cricut trick step 3

And voila!  Straight letters.

cricut trick step 4

So I used a couple of different fonts to write one of my favorite gardening quotes on my pretty floral plates.  I added some plate hangers and hung them on the Carriage House.

plate quote on wall

I love how they turned out!

plate quote close up

plate quote

If you have a stack of mismatched vintage china and a Cricut machine sitting around, you should make one of your own!

Since I had the Cricut machine warmed up, I kind of went a little Cricut crazy.  I added a simple word to a small enamelware saucer that can be tucked into a planter.

cricut enamelware grow

And then I filled an old flour sifter with succulents and added a word of encouragement to that as well.

cricut flour sifter

And finally, I used white vinyl to add some words to this old globe.

cricut globe

I hope to get a few more things ‘Cricut-ed’ before my sale next week so if you can’t make your own, come to my sale and buy one of mine!

Linking up with the Thrifty & Vintage Finds Party at Dagmar’s Home.

33 thoughts on “eat your words.”

  2. I absolutely love your project-so creative and they look great! I don’t have the machine that you have, but it would be fun to try this some time. How do I go about getting the machine and is it worth it?

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    1. I originally got mine for scrapbooking, and that made it worthwhile for me. You can find them at most craft stores. The machine itself costs around $200 (but check craigslist, often times people sell them used when they upgrade and they may even come with a bunch of cartridges). I still use mine the old fashioned way with cartridges (that are expensive, and I used 3 different ones on these plates), but I know that they have added the option of hooking up to your computer to download fonts instead. Here is a good article comparing the Cricut machine and its competitor the Silhouette. I would take the time to compare the two machines and decide which one is more your style. Is it worth it? Well, only if you are going to do a lot of different projects with it. It makes a great Christmas or Birthday present, that’s how I got mine. As do the cartridges.

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  3. I have thought about buying one of these machines several times and just wondered if I would use it enough to make it worth the money. There have been many times when I would have used it if I’d had it, so maybe I answered my own question. You seem to have made good use of yours and the variety of fonts is appealing.

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    1. See the reply I just left for Darrielle for more info. I mainly use mine for scrapbooking, but there are lots of other crafty ideas out there for the Cricut (or Silhouette)!

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  4. Some people (You, Linda!) have a vision for clever and unique repurposing. The rest of us are just grateful to be able to buy it from you (Me!).

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    1. Well Kim, that is my philosophy about sharing my ideas with the world in a nutshell. Or, at least the portion of the world that reads my blog 😉 I figure some people will borrow my ideas and create their own masterpieces, and others will come to my sale and buy mine. Either way is good with me!

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    1. It’s actually a little saucer (not a bowl), but that one has already found a new home. However, I’ll have another like it, plus other little plates with words at my sale for sure. Are you local?

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  6. Well that is just darling. Can’t wait to bring my Mom to the sale too. She’s an avid gardener and I’m sure if your little shed was for sale, she’d bring it home 😉

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  8. What a great idea. I am going to have to use this one myself. I have a bad habit of buying random plates as I just love them, and then they don’t sell. Some will sell if I put them with something else, like a pitcher or tray.

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    1. I love them too! Somehow I just can’t walk away from a pretty plate. I see them at garage sales all the time and I have to save them from going to Goodwill, so I buy them. I think adding a message to them is a great way to give them an updated look!

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  9. I’m so in love with this idea, Q! I have been looking for an idea to cover a large amount of wall space in my kitchen and I think this is it! Two questions: Do you think I could use rub-ons to make up for the lack of a Cricket or Silhouette? How do you hang your plates? Thanks!

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    1. Great idea for a kitchen! So many quotes you could pick from! I definitely think you could use rub-on’s, if you can find the right size, etc. I’ve used rub-on’s on plates before, you can see some on the walls in my Q branch before I made it over, here. You also could probably just use letter stickers, there are tons of options for those in the scrapbooking aisle. The trick will be getting them aligned, ie. keeping them from getting all wonky when you place them. I just use traditional plate hangers for my plates. I find them at garage sales all the time, but I’ve also purchased them new at hardware stores.

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      1. Hey Q-dear, would it work for aligning the rub-ons to use that tape as a bottom line to align the letters, then just pull the tape off. I have never done this and perhaps getting the letters straight up and down is also a challenge. I would think if you had them lined up on the bottom and eyed the rest, you could come close to good enough.

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    1. I love a table set with mismatched china as well. I know it’s big for vintage style weddings now too. But somehow it’s a tough sell at my sales. Sadly those platters have sat untouched for a couple of years now. I know there is some concern about whether or not some of the really old pieces are food safe also. The Smithsonian has a good article about that here. They recommend not using china that shows signs of cracking or pitting of the glaze just to be on the safe side, and unfortunately many of my old plates do have these flaws.

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      1. Thanks for article on glazed pieces. My old chia is not like that at all. Older than the Fiesta Ware and none all colored. Most from late 1800’s to early 1900’s. And all with a bit of pattern and/or design on edges. Still loving it! Ise ,y heavier old goblets and mixed silver with the china. I think it’s interesting. Whether anyone else does or not….???

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