Trash to Treasure Tuesday and Tablescape Thursday

Edited: I'm reposting to include the Tablescape Thursday icon. My tablescape below is really rather embarassing compared to the others. But - I've got to start somewhere... ;)

These are some plain desert plates I've had forever. They are very nice - but I really never use them. So I decided to fancy them up with a 4th of July theme. We love the 4th around here - mostly because our littlest blessing was born on July 4th 2006! So - these plates will actually probably be used to serve some birthday cake on Saturday.

I used paper napkins - cut the star out in a circle. Then used spary adhesive to put it on the bottom of the plate. I then used modpodge to seal it. The food, etc. won't touch it since it is adhered to the bottom and showing through. AND - if I really want to - with some elbow grease, etc. I can change out the theme for a different holiday. These plates are also always handwashed - so I'm not worried about that. All in all - I like them and think I will use them at least twice a year - which is twice more a year than they've been used.

Here is the finished plate. I did four of them and then put them on some red place mats I bought around Christmas.

The finished table . Yes, my placemats need to be ironed... but I'm lazy like that. There will just be four of us this weekend (our big plans with family are next weekend)... so this works perfectly! The blue metal star is from the Dollar General. It is heavy and nice. I'll probably use it somewhere other than just here on the 4th. By the way though - Dollar General? Different from the Dollar Tree. This baby costs FIVE dollars. Oh - and the table cloth... a canvas drop cloth. I know - they're awesome.

Here's my little sweetie this morning. Sorry for the funny cropping - it was a horrible picture of me... I don't usually edit myself out - but, really, yuck.

By the way - if you missed my cedar chest "reinvention" yesterday. Check it out! I'm proud of it. Also, click the "reinvention" button at the top of this post to see Kimm's ideas and lots of other cool links if you're into this sort of thing. ;)

*EDITED NOTE: A thought; these would be very easy to do with some clear contact paper and any paper or fabric decor. You could cut a circle of the contact paper just the size of the bottom of the plate and use it to secure a decorative touch that would show through. Then - these could easily be switched out for any holiday or event - or just to match your evening decor!