Continuing with my posts about how to make your own decorative plates, I found this nifty video about how to paint ceramic dinner plates.

I originally just thought it would be fun to do a little research into the actual making of plates, but now I'm actually getting excited about giving some of these methods a shot on my own. This one is nice because the cost is relatively low to get started.

Of course I've still got my own collection of "known" plates that I'll keep building, but taking on the project of making your own dinner plates or plates just for displaying, gives a whole new dimension to this fun hobby.

In case you have a hard time keeping up, this video suggests the following materials:

Marabu Ceramica paint
Paint brush
Jar of water
A soft pencil
Masking tape
Marabu Porcelain Painter pen
Scissors
Scrap paper
Tracing paper
Your pattern of choice
The plate you will decorate

Most people just collect plates that they like. Some very creative and talented people however, take things one step further and actually create their own decorative plates. This might not be something that every person is interested in doing, but I wanted to make this site as interesting as possible, and the video below is very well done. Show below is one way to go about creating beautiful custom made decorative plates suitable for display in your home.

This particular video is specifically describing the process of ink jet dye sublimation printing to ceramic and porcelain plates. If you are following along and thinking of tackling this project, pay careful attention to the supplies needed to do the job right. You do not want to get part way into the project only to find that you are missing something.

Some of the basics must have materials mentioned by host Scott Chandler include:
Heat resistant gloves
A quality circle cutter (check with scrapbook suppliers)
A large rubber mat to protect table tops during the cutting process.
Aluminum Plate Puck (to transfer heat into the plate)
Heat conductive rubber
Contact pyrometer with a wire probe
Pro Spray aerosol

This may be beyond the interest level of many collectors, but its a craft that looks like quite a bit of fun once you've purchased the more expensive necessary components. Imagine designing your own collectors plates to hang on your own walls or to give away to friends and family as gifts. What comes to mind for me is the possibility of putting family portraits on the plates or images of pets. Some creative and entrepreneurial soul might even start a small home business memorializing pets that have passed on.