Thursday 31 January 2013

pass the CAKE PLATE

It was during the christmas holidays that I was in Michael's  craft store and I saw these Ornament Caps 6 per pack.

This is what they look like in the package....
  And this is them out of the package

I am going to need a pushpin to act as the centre support for the cake stand.  To remove the pin this is what I did. ( Kids do NOT try this at home.)

This is what to do to remove the pin from the "push." I had this candle lit inside my tissued wall light box, which I STRONGLY advise you NOT to do!!!  This was only for the photo.  I wanted to show you how to remove the metal from the plastic. 


I held the plastic end of the push pin into the flame for 7 SECONDS ONLY!   This allowed the plastic to loosen up enough to enable the pin to be easily pulled out.

The pin is hot so use a second pair of pliers to gently pull out. 
 These are the components that I have decided to use for this cake plate.  There are 3 buttons, a metal washer a push pin and the ornament cap.  I don't always use the exact same pieces for each project.  Here is a photo of 2 of the 7 storage boxes of the bits and pieces,like the 2 below, that I choose from.  I try to keep things organized but there is never enough storage or more often than not, I can't see what I need because there is sooo much surrounding it.  Anyway, this is what I choose from, take a peek....
Metal bits

PLastic and metal,wood and cork disks 


This is the glue that I use almost ALL the time.  Looks like it is getting a bit low.

Okay, back to the composition.  The metal washer fits inside the button and levels out the surface of it so that the next piece, (the white button,) has support and the glue has something to stick to.


The pushpin is glued to the top of the button.  The next step is to add the white disk to the top of the pushpin.  This will elevate the metal cap and bring the height into harmony with the visual weight of the cap.



Here it is with the base pieces all glued together.  

On goes the ornament cap.  


I have stuck the cake plate onto a piece of double-sided tape  so that I can  paint it  without getting it all over me.  

Look Ma, no hands!!!!

Cheap white nail polish.  The cheaper the better.  Usually, thinner  and runnier than better brands, which in this case is a Good Thing!  You want thin even coats Not thick sticky ones.  This bottle cost 2 dollars at the dollar store. I like it.



Showing the application of the nail enamel.  This is the 2nd coat I applied.  It will turn out better if you let each coat dry completely before you apply the next, just like you would on your nails.  Had I waited, the finish would have been smoother.  This is when I began to over-work this project.  The one below is Okay, but I'm not 100% satisfied with it.


This one I over- painted with a lime green glass paint, and then gloss coated  with Tripple Thick glaze.  Supposed to look similar to 'milk' glass.  I'm saying that just to hide the
fact that I was really making a mess of the finish especially on the pink one below. 

This piece was such a wrestling match, which ended with me loosing.  Somethings I am very happy with, some not so much. This one is the NOt SO MuCH.
I think this looks lumpy and the color is strange. Not everything is successful (sigh)
Not everything turns out as it should but this one is not too bad.  It needs a doily.  Dessert always looks better presented upon something pretty.  I hope that you will all enjoy making these MORE than I did. hahha

 Until next time.....


elizabeth

32 comments:

  1. Good idea! I like them. Hugs Kati

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    1. Thank you Katrina, I ended up putting a crystal coat of glaze over everyone of the cake plates and I think I like them better now, too.

      elizabeth

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  2. Hello Elizabeth,
    I love it! Wonderful job. you really saw enormous potential in the materials you had. It looks really lovely and quite regal! I must get myself down to Micheals....cheap nail polish, who'd of thought...Elizabeth of course.
    Big hug!
    Giac

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    1. Thanks Giac, I have to say I struggled with this project and eventually had to just "Let It Be'. I am glad that you enjoy i; your enthusiasm is infectious and always puts me in a good frame of mind which is worth its weight in gold!
      Big hug back

      elizabeth

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  3. Nice idea. Your cake stand are elegant.
    Bye Faby

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    1. Thank you Fabiola, I think that this idea could be 'fleshed out' a bit better and next time I do this I shall endeavor to up-grade them. Every thing is a work in progress but I thank you. The white one is the best one, wouldn't you agree?

      elizabeth

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  4. Hi Elizabeth! So amazing what you can come up with. These little cake platters are adorable! This is such an expensive hobby and small things like these cake platters certainly add up when ordering. It's so much cheaper to just make as many things as possible. Thank you for this tutorial.

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    1. Hi Lucille, Always nice to hear from you! I am always looking to save money in one pocket as I spend it out of another! hahhah I am a Crafter at heart and I try to make as much as I can and not always do I make it as well as it should be made. I still need to work on these plates some more. Hey Lucille, have your books arrived yet? And how are your beds shaping up? Let me know how that is going? Your Edwardian Bed is still lodged in my brain.

      elizabeth

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  5. Hey Elizabeth, WOW what a great idea. Alway fun to see what people can do with everyday items. gr. AM

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    1. Hello Am, I just came back from visiting your blog and the wall in the hall is Fantastic!!! You executed the aging and the moody patina brilliantly! It is a visually stimulating undertaking that you have begun but you have everyone glued to their chairs! Congratulations on a creative solution to your prior dilemma and 'Thank you' for your comment, here

      elizabeth.

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  6. Hi Elizabeth.....
    Great idea! I prefer the white one (antiqued)How about leaving it silver? Can't wait to try. I've been saving these caps for a long time. Every time I break an ornament, I save the cap! Now I can try this...Yeah!
    And by the way....do you think I didn't notice that you posted at 4:20am?
    fats

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    1. Hi Fats, The idea was greater than the execution this time! Yes, silver would have been nice but I didn't have any. NO, I actually Do!!! Silver Nail Polish....!!!! Thanks for the idea! The challenge will be to have the silvered base match the silver top otherwise the whole thing needs to be painted and that was why I chose to do it in white in the first place. I should have just left it there, BUT NOOO....!!!(smiles) Yes,Fats it was another long night for me as I struggled to get this post and the photos on line. Yesterday, everything that could go wrong, went there and I finally fell into bed exhausted. Yet here I am again. Like gum on the bottom of your shoe! hahhhaha

      elizabeth

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  7. Great tutorial...I love your ideas! One of the capacities of being a miniaturist is being able to see objects in a new way, with an eye to making minis and you certainly do that well! I'm really enjoying your blog as I am also just getting back into making things after years of not. I also related with your ruined dollhouse post...just went through stuff in our storage unit and my big house is beyond repair...it helped a bit to know that I wasn't alone♥ Looking forward to more...

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    1. Thank you Kate! I love to make stuff and I love to teach. I consider myself a Crafter more than anything else and as such I have an abundance of bits and pieces that I NEED to have just in case I decide to do ........ ?(fill in the blank) Did you feel as rusty as I did when you started back again into the miniature world? The destruction of my doll's house was an unpleasant surprise and I would imagine that finding yours beyond repair was heart-wrenching. Now, every time I step into the garage, the empty shell of the doll house stares back at me forlornly and I have to look the other way. I have at least 3 other projects that I MUST do first. And most importantly, of course, I also NEED to find additional ways to procrastinate further! hahah
      Thanks for the comment Kate and I look forward to talking with you soon.

      elizabeth

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  8. Hi Elizabeth,
    Now I understand why you were not satisfied with this post! ( by phone ) . As an older and obviously wiser friend let me tell you again...... Go to bed before dawn as everything looks better when you are not tired..... Just look in the mirror and you must accept what I say to be true!

    This is a great tutorial. You help open our eyes to the possibilities of combining everyday things. I was looking at a whole bag of partially broken Xmas balls .... Same style caps ... But they wanted $1.00 for them. You know what happened . I decided they were far too expensive!

    Janine

    I hope some of your followers will show you what they produce using this fun tutorial as a guide.


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    1. HAHAHA!!!! Yes Janine, As I was falling asleep in front of the lap-top, determined to get this finished before I went to bed it became a test of will-power and throughout the night MY will was OVER-POWERED! Now I have an ugly twitch in my left eye from fatigue and I don't dare look into a mirror!!! And, Herein lies the main difference between you and I, my friend, YOU would think that a $1 was too much, for those broken balls, whereas I would be thinking "ONLY A DOLLAR????"( maybe I can put some on my credit card!!!????)

      elizabeth

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  9. Es genial, muchas gracias por compartir esta idea, me encanta, gracias.
    Feliz fin de semana:)

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  10. Hello Again Rosa Maria, I am glad that you enjoyed this tutorial and I hope that you can improve upon it.
    In fact, I hope EVERYONE will improve upon it! Muchas Gracias, Rosa Maria, I look forward to hearing from you again, soon!

    elizabeth

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  11. Tres chic! Tres, tres shabby chic! Love the finishes, they give a well loved look.

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  12. Hey Susan, Thanks...That is a New Way of LOOking at them!!! I like it!!! Yes, I Feel better NOW!!! Shabby Chic Cake Plates!!!! Why didn't I think of that???

    I'm stealing it

    elizabeth.

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  13. I would not have thought of that, thanks soo much for sharing Elizabeth!

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    1. Hello Jennybee! Thank you for your comment! I am always happy to share and I will be posting yet ANOTHER, tutorial very shortly. This time I am giving it a couple of trial run- throughs prior to posting, so stay tuned.

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  14. What a great idea! I'm so glad I found your blog and can now follow along.

    Dale

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  15. Hello Again Dale, I just returned from paying YOU a visit. I really like the fact that you have your tutorials on video, it makes such a difference seeing everything in 'live' action. Way to go, bro! Thank you for joining my blog. I look forward to many happy visits with you and your 'Squirrel', in the blogs to come.
    elizabeth

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  16. Fantastico tutorial, ha quedado una pieza fantastica.
    besitos ascension

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    1. Welcome to my blog Ascension! I am so pleased that you enjoyed the tutorial I am very pleased to make your acquaintance and hope that you will try out the various projects! I look forward to getting to know you more as we keep in touch.

      elizabeth

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  17. Very clever. Thanks for sharing how you made them. I think I need to get myself a little box of bits!

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  18. Hi Irene! Yes a box of bits ALWAYS comes in handy, but once you have a 'little' box, WATCH-OUT! Just see how it will GROW!!

    elizabeth

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  19. flatten these out and they look like ceiling medalions

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    1. And There you go! Thinking outside the box, yet again!
      That takes the cake!!!!

      elizabeth

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  20. Hi, I have deduced that over there you have a lot of craft and dollar stores ! Here I go to what we call 'factory shops' selling the unsold items from brands and I pick up the oddest things, usually paper, ornaments, beads etc ,, some things will never be needed but its like your bits and bobs box, just one day Something will come in useful ,,, must try a cake stand ,,huggs S

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    1. Hi Stephanie, You're Right! In North America there is always an Excess of just about Everything, including thrift (charity) shops, Craft and Dollar stores and Factory outlet stores. Unfortunately, due to the up-serge in their popularity, thrift stores have not only increased their prices but reduced the cheap "FINDS" since the stores have gotten smarter and cull through all of their donations with a fine tooth comb before they put them on the floor; then the Esty/Craig's List people move in to scoop up most of the valuable left-overs to re-sell privately on line.
      Nevertheless, the thrift stores are still my first go to place for crafts because when crafters lose their interest in their craft, they'll get rid of ALL their supplies at once- paint, paper, tools etc. and so I am forever on the lookout- ready and waiting whenever I find them, to give them ALL a new home. hahahah :D


      elizabeth

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