You know that when it comes to Valentine’s Day, I’m not one for pink hearts and stuffed animals. But I do love putting a Gothic or twisted spin to otherwise traditional Valentine customs. So this year, when planning for my Valentine table, I decided to have a little fun with some very non-traditional imagery… with these DIY Anatomical Heart Dinner Plates… A quirky yet macabre take on the stereotypical Valentine heart!
If you’ve been following this blog for the past month or so, I trust you’ve ordered a gift for that special someone (thanks to our Gift Guide), or you’ve created a handmade token like the Planchette Chocolate Box, and you’ve planned the Bloody Heart Pasta for dinner and the Tell Tale Heart Cake for dessert. One last thing to do… add that special touch to the table. Lucky for you this project is ridiculously easy! Here’s how…
To create this look I picked up a few glass dinner plates. These are really a dime a dozen. Order them online, find them in practically any discount retailer, even pick them up at a thrift store or garage sale. The only criteria is that they have a flat, clear surface on the under side of the plate. I’d hope it would be obvious not to buy a plate with some sort of pattern or design on it, but you never know.
For the heart, after some trial and error, I opted to go with clear sticker paper. The choice has its pros, but is not without cons. Let’s start with the glaring con… the sticker is not permanent. That means that these dishes are meant for one time use. While it may seem that a project like this may not be worth it… think again. These stickers easily peel off, leaving you with a glass plate that is like new. The pack of sticker paper comes with plenty of sheets so you can reprint the heart, or swap out any other image anytime you’d like. Another downside to sticker paper is that despite the “clear” product description, the clear sticker is still very evident on any clear surface. Because of this, I would typically not use sticker paper for glass projects.
So, why on earth did I opt for a product with these seemingly problematic cons. Three reasons… 1. the heart image I chose is a complete solid shape which means you can cut exactly around the heart without leaving any sticker visible… 2. my original plan was to use Waterslide Decals… A product that would certainly be longer lasting. I also prefer the transparency, and the weight of those decals. But, the preparation for application can be a bit time consuming, and the application itself can be very difficult, especially when working with a large image… thus, any misstep with these can really make you want to pull your hair out… 3. I was not looking for another challenging Valentine project… especially after the beast of a project I brought to you with that Tell Tale Heart Book Cake! I mean, after taking on that cake, everything else you do for this damn holiday better be a quick win! This sticker paper method is truly so easy and so quick to put together. Think about it… it’s just a sticker… can’t get easier than that!
There’s one last thing you need to finish this look…. the white charger plates. Choose any you like as long as they’re white. The link to the plates I used is listed under supplies. You see, you used a clear sticker paper, so your heart image is actually transparent. If you put this dish down onto a table, you’re not going to see it. Well, unless you have a white table, I suppose. The white beneath the plate really makes the heart image pop. Technically, if you were really opposed to buying charger plates, you could use a white tablecloth or place mat…. but ugh. Don’t charger plates look soooo much better?! I mean… it kind of like framing your artwork, wouldn’t you say?!
OK.. let’s make these dishes, and get you ready for that special dinner…
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Glass Dinner Plates
- White Charger Plates
- Clear Sticker Paper
*I opted to use the Silhouette sticker paper, only because it is a product I’ve used before. Just because it is a silhouette product, you do not need a silhouette machine to use it. Just feed the pages through a regular printer as you would any other paper.
- Printer
- Polycrylic Clear Spray
or Acrylic Coating Spray
Sharp Scissors
*I opted to use the Silhouette sticker paper, only because it is a product I’ve used before. Just because it is a silhouette product, you do not need a silhouette machine to use it. Just feed the pages through a regular printer as you would any other paper.
or 
Sharp Scissors1. Select a heart image for your project. I used the popular anatomical heart image from The Graphics Fairy, and recolored it in red.
2. Resize the image to fit on your glass plate. I resized mine to 5 3/4″ high.
3. Flip vertically, or save as a mirror image.
4. Print the image on the glossy side of the paper.
5. Let dry completely, and then spray the image with the polycrylic or acrylic.
6. Again, let it dry completely
7. Carefully cut the decal out of the paper. As I mentioned before… cut right up against the line of your image.
8. Place the sticker onto the center of the UNDERSIDE of the glass plate.
9. Smooth out any air bubbles. I used the Scraper from my set of Cricut tools
Set the table with your plate and white charger… and the rest of your gothic wares… and enjoy your dinner.
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