Display Plates

Waterslip decals can be used to make beautiful display plates with photographs, clipart, or just about anything you can scan into your PC. This is a great project to do with a scanned wedding invitation, or photos of the grandkids for a birthday present, or pictures of your pets! You can also match your home decor, as seen in this photo, by scanning or taking digital photos of your wallpaper, curtains, upholstery, etc.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Waterslip decals (see Products>Waterslip Decals)

Decal finishing spray (see Products>Waterslip Decals)

Blank dinner/luncheon plate (see Products>Display Plate Blanks)

INSTRUCTIONS

The decal should be designed as a circle approximately 5 1/4" in diameter. Since most inkjet printers have an unprintable margin around the edges of a page and the decals come in half sheet size, the trick is to fool your printer into thinking it is printing on a full size sheet!

1) Design the image using your graphic software.If you are using Printmaster or Corel Draw you can create a circle and fill it with the photo (for Printmaster) or create a powerclip with the circle as the container (for CorelDraw). Make sure the circle measures about 5 1/4". If your software does not have the types of tools described above, then simply place the circle over your design. You'll be cutting the circle out anyway once the decal is completed.

2) Test print the design a few times on regular paper and cut it out until you are satisfied with the size and fit on the center of the plate. Aim to get the top of the circle to print as high on the sheet of paper as possible.

3) If you are using the half sheet sized decals, place the decal over a regular full sheet of paper with the blank surface of the decal facing up. Make sure the top and side edges are lined up. Using very small pieces of scotch tape, secure the decal to the paper, placing 2 pieces on the top and 1 on each side.Be certain that the tape is not in the areas that are to be printed. Place the paper with the attached decal sheet into the tray of your printer according to the manufacturer's directions (i.e. in an HP, you would place the paper into the tray with the decal face down.)Print your decal.

4) Carefully remove the pieces of scotch tape from the decal and coat the decal sheet with the decal finishing spray as per the manufacturer's instructions. Make certain this is done in a well ventilated area!(Kids, let your parents handle this part.) Two good coats with an hour drying time after each should do it.

5) When your decal is thoroughly dry, cut it out. If you can, leave a small border around the edge of the decal, it will prevent the possibility of any ink running when you place the decal on the plate. (But don't worry if this does happen, it's easy to clean up with a dampened cotton swab or a facial tissue twisted into a swab in one corner!)

6) Following the manufacturer's instructions, soak the decal and gently shake it out. Place the decal on the center of the plate and VERY SLOWLY AND GENTLY begin to slide the backing out from under the decal, keeping the decal on the center of the plate. Remember: Move the BACKING, not the decal. This will help to prevent the edges of the decal from rolling under.

7) Once the decal is in place, blot it VERY GENTLY with a wad of soft facial tissue. Don't worry if you see any small wrinkles or bubbles. You can gently work some of them out by moving the decal, but they usually disappear when the decal is thoroughly dry and adhered to the plate. Let the plate dry flat.

8) Admire your handiwork! Now all you need is a display stand, a plate hanger, or a plate rack and a good spot for all to admire your creativity!

You can also experiment with adding text or designs to the edges of the plates by formatting the text or design into a curve that can be applied to the top and/or bottom of the plate. Always remember to print out a few test runs on plain paper before you print on the decal sheets.

Display Plates Instructions

For a print friendly version, click on this link.