Smash Old China With a Hammer to Make Pretty Broken Plate Jewelry
In this tutorial I will show you how to use a vintage plate, maybe one that you already have and is chipped, or one you pick up at a thrift store, and turn it into stunning broken-plate jewelry. It’s quite easy, and a great way to repurpose the old china that may still hold sentimental value for you.
This post was transcribed by a member of the Upstyle editorial team from the original UpstyleTV episode.
Tools and materials:
- Old porcelain or china plate
- Ziploc bag
- Hammer or mallet
- Tea towel
- E6000 glue
- Adhesive copper tape
- Jump rings
- Gold paint
- Scrap leather
- Leather cording
- Chain
- Pliers
1. Break your plate
Start by putting your porcelain plate into a Ziploc bag and sealing the bag. Try to choose a plate with a relatively small floral pattern so that your pieces will all have some pattern on them.
Cover the bag with a tea towel and use a hammer or mallet to gently break the plate.
You may need to turn the bag with plate over a couple of times to get it well broken.
2. Make your first broken plate charm
Choose which piece of the broken plate will make the best charm for your necklace.
Use sandpaper or a sanding pad to smooth the edges of your charm.
Place copper tape around the edge of the charm.
Copper tape is easy to use – just peel and stick a little at a time as you stick it to your charm!
Stick the copper tape to the edge so that it extends a little bit (about â…› of an inch) above and below the edge of the charm.
Overlap the start and end of the copper tape and then trim it off.
Gently press down the copper tape that was extended above and below the edges on all sides.
3. Make your second broken plate charm
Squeeze a bead of E6000 glue onto a small square of leather.
Place a large jump ring on the glue, so half the jump ring extends below the leather square. Then add a bit more glue to hold the jump ring in place.
Place the broken piece of plate on the leather square, on top of the glue and overlapping the top of the jump ring.
Let the glue completely dry and then trim the excess leather from the edges of the charm.
Now paint the edges of the charm with gold paint and let dry.
4. Add a jump ring to your first charm
Put some E6000 glue at the top of your charm and place the jump ring on it so half the jump ring extends beyond the edge of the charm. Then glue leather onto the back of your charm as you did with the other charm.
5. Make a sliding adjustable necklace
Cut 3 feet of leather cording. Cross one end over the other and wrap it around 2 or 3 times.
Slip the tail of the cord through the coil and pull it tight.
Take the other tail of the cord and slide it out, then make a sliding knot as you did with the first tail.
Trim the ends of the tail and you have a sliding, adjustable necklace.
Use a jump ring to attach the charm to the necklace. I also added a small pearl to make the necklace even more interesting.
6. Make a chain necklace
Use a jump ring to attach your charm to a chain necklace.
DIY broken plate jewelry tutorial
Aren’t the two broken plate charm necklaces pretty? They were so easy to make, and such a great way of preserving the memories in your old china.
Just think about how many of these DIY charm necklaces you can make from one broken plate – enough for lots of your family and friends! I hope you try this DIY porcelain jewelry technique and let me know how yours turned out by leaving a comment.
Enjoyed the project?
Suggested materials:
- Old porcelain or china plate
- Ziploc bag
- Hammer or mallet
- Tea towel
- E6000 glue
- Adhesive copper tape
- Jump rings
- Gold paint
- Scrap leather
- Leather cording
- Chain
- Pliers
The author may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.
Comments
Join the conversation
Only one question! WHY??
I have been doing this with lead-free solder for many years! I create Angels, cats, dogs, horses, whatever the customer wants! One thing is I ask for old chipped dishes at thrift shops and garage sales! Happy Crafting!