The Giving Plate has no owner. It’s enjoyed, refilled, and passed to the next person. Find out how easy it is to make your own giving plate.
Have you ever heard of the Giving Plate? It’s a plate that someone has made (or purchased) that is meant to have no owner. It is filled with a delicious treat and passed along to someone else. They then eat the treats, fill the plate, and pass it to the next person.
Originally Published On: December 14, 2017
Last Updated On: October 28, 2020
The Giving Plate Poem
This plate shall have no owner
for its journey NEVER ends,
it travels in a circle
of our FAMILY and FRIENDS.
It carries LOVE from home to home
For everyone to share,
The food that’s placed upon it
was made with love and care.
So please ENJOY what’s on the plate
Then fill it up again,
Then pass along the love it holds
to your family and friends!
Supplies
Ok, so the poem pretty much explains the idea of the plate. Now how do you make one? It’s much easier than I thought it was going to be. The best part? You don’t have to be a super creative person to make one of these. If you can print out a template, cut it out, and trace it, then you can make your plate!
We had a MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) mom’s night out at one of our leader’s homes, and we all made our own plate. Since I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing, I started out simple. Our leader had suggested searching online for a template we want, but I completely forgot about that part. Luckily, she is an excellent planner and had a few ready for us to use.
She had everything we needed set up on some tables for us. The following are the supplies you need to make your own giving plate:
- Plates
- Paper with a printed template
- Pencils
- Cheap ballpoint Pens
- Sharpie Markers (oil-based work best)
- Acetone
- Q-Tips
- Scissors
- Tape
You’ll want to buy oil-based sharpies, as the gel sharpies tend to crackle after baking it in. We originally made these with regular sharpies but the sharpie didn’t hold up. After a few washes, it started to fade. The plates can be from the dollar store, as long as they are glass plates. Obviously, you probably want to start with a white plate since that will show the color the most. But there’s no reason you can’t start with a different color as well. No matter what color plate you use, you want to make sure to use a little of the acetone to clean it before you start.
Step by Step
Design
Once you have your printed template, you want to flip it over and use the pencil to cover the model with pencil lead. You want to make sure there is enough pencil on there, so give it a thick coat.
Then turn the template back the correct way, and cut close to the words or images, so you don’t have a lot of extra paper. Then use the tape and adhere the paper to the plate where you want it to go. Use a pen to trace the template, pushing as hard as you can. Trust me; your hand will be a little sore by the time you are done. Take your time. The harder you push, the more of the lead that will transfer to the plate, giving you your template.
Once you have the pencil marks on the plate, use the sharpie markers to trace your template. If you make a mistake, you can use the acetone on a Q-tip to erase the sharpie markers. Get creative, use as many colors as you want on the plate, and don’t hesitate to free-hand draw some accents around the plate. You can also write your name or the poem on the bottom of the dish.
Cure
After you finish your plate, let it cure for at least 24 hours. To set the color in, you need to bake the plate but do it carefully. Put your plate in the oven while it is at room temperature. Set the oven to 350F and then set a timer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the oven off and leave the plate in for a couple of hours until the oven has completely cooled. You want to make sure the plate doesn’t cool down too quickly, or the plate can crack.
Once the plate is completely cooled, you have your final product! Make sure to hand wash the plate because the dishwasher will quickly wash the marker off.
Other Ideas
Have fun! You can also use this method to create any plate you want. I am working on a plate right now with the Hogwarts Crest on it, done the same way. I also want to get a few more plates so my boys can make their own “special” plates.
Here are some other ideas for plates that some of the moms made. Most of them, the center was done with a template and the design around it was freehanded on the plates.
I haven’t ever heard this before! I love this idea. I will be adding this to my “winter crafts” — My g/fs will love this as well. Thanks for sharing.
They were so fun and it was a great mom’s night/girls night get together!
What a lovely idea! My boys and I love making homemade gifts and homemade goodies! What a great combination for us to do this year & then pass it on to a loved one!
Perfect! It’s so fun to do together, and then the satisfaction of passing it on is great for the kids to learn.
This is such a fabulous idea! We have one that travels amongst all the neighbors on my street…. it’s not an xmas one so we randomly suprise each other with treats throughout the year for no reason at all.its so much fun!
That’s so fun! I love that idea and might have to start my own generic neighbor plate.
I love this idea! I hadn’t heard about this before but I think it’s an excellent idea and I’d love to make one and get the tradition started in my circle.
It’s a fun tradition both in making the plates and getting a random gift from a friend or neighbor!
I love this. I definitely am gonna try this during the holidays soon.
It’s so much easier than you would think! It’s a fun project to do as a group or for some creative time to yourself.
These plates are so cute, and thank you for explaining how to easily trasfer the template to plate! I’ve seen these plates before and have always wanted to make one- now i’m not so nervous about how to go about it. LOL Again, thank you for the easy to understand directions.
I couldn’t believe how easy it was either until it was shown to me. I’m not great at freehand drawing but I can trace no problem!!
What a lovely idea! I love making handmade gifts and decors! These plates look beautiful!
It’s so fun and they are great for gifts!
I have never heard of this but I absolutely love it! What a cute idea and great design. I may have to make one of these myself.
I had heard of the basic idea, but didn’t know the details until we made them. It was so fun!
These are such cute ideas. I have never made a giving plate but seems like a great tradition.
This was my first time too, it was so much fun to make and to give.
Wow! This is such a great idea! And i love the poem too.
They are fun, and the poem is great for either putting on the plate or making a card to give with the plate.
what a fun idea and craft project! i will have to save this post and do it with my kids this winter break ; )
thanks!
It’s great for the kids, they don’t have to do a giving plate either, you can make them however you want!
Such a great idea. I love this. It’s so beautiful. I definitely do it by myself. Thanks for sharing.
I did the giving plate with a group of moms and then did the Harry Potter one on my own. It was very relaxing to sit and color it all.
This ‘ll be so great for Christmas. It looks very fun and exciting. Thanks for sharing. I hope you’ll write more about this topic
The plates are so fun to make and to give to others!
This is such an amazing idea! My sister and I would surely love to do this even though we’ve both grown out of coloring lol! Thanks for sharing, and merry early Christmas!
You never grow out of coloring! At least, for me, I find it so relaxing.
I love this idea! Making and giving these plates seem like such a fun thing to do!!!
It was so much fun to do both in a group and by myself!
Has anyone included a card that travels along with the plate that asks the receiver to add their name as it is passed along? Eventually when the card is filled (6 or any number of names) send it back to the originator? Wondering how you might word the message creatively? Thanks!
No, I never thought about that, but it’s an awesome idea! I’d have to think about how to word it. But it would be cool to either have everyone write names or do something through social media so everyone can see how far it goes.
I’ve read that the regular sharpies come off when washed and that you have to use the (much more expensive) oil based sharpies. How have the regular sharpie designs held up after washing?
I have noticed mine starting to fade a bit. I’ve done a few plates for fun besides my giving plate. I like to use something that isn’t messy, like cookies that are just crumbly, so I don’t have to scrub hard. I haven’t tried the oil-based sharpies yet but plan to try that next time.
I super super love the plates wow!!! Very creative! I would love to make one…
It was such a fun night! There are so many ideas and ways you could do this.
I am so doing this with Liam! What a fun idea. I feel like it would be so great to use year after year!
I want to do some new ones with my boys this year, too. It’s fun to do and they like having something they created. Just make sure to get the right markers so it doesn’t wash off easily.
This would be an interesting idea for the kids. More so during the holidays
It’s a lot of fun. You can make holiday plates or others just to have as keepsakes.
I have never heard of Giving Plate but it sounds so interesting! Love your ideas ❤️I’ll try to make one this year 😊
It’s a fun thing to have to pass on, especially at the holidays.