Using Floral Napkins to Decoupage Plates

Get Your Decoupage Napkins Ready

Napkins can be a single layer, or be 2-ply or 4-ply. Separate the printed top layer of the napkin from the other under layers of napkin paper. We will only use the top printed layer for this project when using floral Napkins to decoupage plates. The rest of the napkin is still perfectly good to use!

Prep Your Clear Glass Plates

Wash your plates to remove any stickers, dirt or residue and let dry completely. Clear glass dinner plates or salad plates can be found in many locations including the Dollar Tree, Dollar Stores, Walmart, and Target.

Apply Your Mod Podge to the Plate

To keep this project food-safe, we will be applying all of our materials to the back (underside) of the glass plate. This leaves plain glass on the (top) front of the plate. Flip the plate upside down and use a foam brush or soft brush to apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the underside of the plate.

Add your Napkin to the Plate

Lay the floral napkin facing down onto the decoupage medium and with a paintbrush or foam brush lightly brush a coat of decoupage medium over the top. Repeat as you apply and brush to flatten the napkins and remove any air bubbles and large wrinkles. You can also do this with napkin pieces too. There may be some crinkling of the napkin while drying. This won’t be noticeable from the front after it’s painted.

Remove the Excess Paper Napkin from The Decoupage Glass Plates

Once all of the napkin pieces are applied, it’s a great time to gently remove the excess napkin (this is the best way to do it!) . If it’s still wet, the edge can gently be removed. If the napkin is already dried, scissors can be used to snip away the excess to be careful not to chip the glass. Let the decoupage medium and napkins dry completely before the next step. This is similar to decoupaging a pedestal cake plate.

Paint Over the Decoupaged Area

This is the best part! The napkin can become so translucent that applying different colors can change to plates to look different colors. I used a blue and a yellow paint. Use multi-surface paint to paint over the back of the plate, keeping the paint on the back only and away from the outer edge. If paint or decoupage medium is on the outer edge, the plates are no longer food-safe. The idea is to keep any area of food contact clear of any medium and need to remain plain glass. Apply a paint color of choice all over the back and let dry.

Once the back is painted let dry for atleast 24 hours and then brush on a seal coat of Mod Podge and let that dry completely.

Once the final coat is dry follow the direction on the back on of the container to completely cure the decoupage plates before using them.

Care for Your Floral Napkin Decoupage Plates