Recycle, eh

I admit that I am a fan of Ikea's Livet Hemma site. If you've ever wandered over to my other blog, you'll notice that I'm sometimes besotted by what Ikea designers come up with. So I love this particular DIY post for decorating dinnerware using ceramic paint or paint pens. You paint the dinnerware and then set the paint in your oven! Of course, the idea here is to get you to buy plain Ikea dinnerware and dress it up. But, of course, being the canny and frugal upcycler that you are, you’ll immediately head straight for your cupboards and look for those plain jane blah dishes you bought at a garage sale, inherited from Auntie Mame, or received as gifts. Now’s the time to take them out of that cupboard and dress them up! And, while you're at it, decorate a few with a Valentine theme to give to your sweetie(s). Although it was not intended for Valentine, it can easily be adapted to make a wonderful Valentine gift.

How to Do It:

Aya Rosen via Apartment Therapy shows you how to decorate a tea set but the same method can be used to decorate any dinnerware. You can also get instructions from the blog, A Big Slice. Both blogs give you full details so you can create your own designs.

Where to Get the Paint/Paint Pens

In the UK, you can buy porcelain paint pens or paint online here or here. But please note I am not endorsing these online shops as I have never purchased anything from them. You can probably buy paint or pens at your local stores (such as Michael's) that sell art and craft material.

Image 1 Ikea's Livet Hemma

Image 2 Aya Rosen via Apartment Therapy