Painted Dishes

I have an open space area above my kitchen cabinets

that a lot of houses have these days.

It's an area that I have seen merchandised so nicely 

in a lot of magazine pictures

and 

I wanted to do the same thing.

This is the only picture I can get of this space.

My kitchen is a hallway kitchen - very long and narrow,

with no windows and a center light.

We rent - we deal with it.

Anyway, this shows the space I am referring to.

When you come into the kitchen 

all you see is a very long blank space.

I wanted to fill this void with something pretty, cottage and vintage....

However, I really didn't have anything I thought would add 

interest to the space

and 

being on a budget was limiting what I could use.

I had to improvise.

You know me and how I love paint by now.

If it doesn't move - it gets painted.

 I headed to Dollar Tree - my favorite place 

and 

bought some clear glass plates, a plain white plate,  a couple of candle sticks,

and 

a silver platter.

Then to the thrift stores - my second favorite place 

and

picked up a sugar bowl and creamer - in a not so pretty color, a white pitcher,

and 

a wooden tray.....

along with a few other interesting things I intend to use for the other side.

Then I gathered a can of blue spray paint 

stencils

craft paint 

and a sharpie I had on hand

and 

began to play....

This is what I came up with.....

(These vignettes were photographed on my dining room table 

and

then put up on the shelves.)

The white plate I stenciled with a flower stencil that I picked up at Wal-Mart.

I used craft paint that I had on hand

and

then I outlined the graphics with a black sharpie.

There are little bumps in the design on the plate that I touched with a dot of blue paint

to make them stand out more and add to the overall design.

I love the way it looks 

but,

I love the fact that it only cost $1 more....

The sugar bowl and creamer from the thrift store got a coat of blue spray paint.

Such an easy fix to make them custom  

for our kitchen.

I was able to get a somewhat decent picture of them on top of the cabinet 

even though it is still dark.

( I use a point and shoot camera).

The only thing I changed was to place the sugar bowl

on top of a spray painted candlestick so it could be seen better.

I love this little vignette.

It is so cheery and really brightens this otherwise dark corner.

Next, I took several clear glass plates from the Dollar Tree 

and 

just gave them a coat of blue spray paint.

These plates had a cut design in them and really stood out when painted.

The jar is an old spaghetti sauce jar that

I painted with white craft paint 

I used the same technique as my painted vases.

(This vignette was done on the dining table to give you a better idea of how it looks.

I could not get a picture of it on top of the cabinets at all....)

The silver platter was painted with black chalkboard paint 

and

then our initial was done with chalk.

I just placed the white pitcher next to it....

This is probably the darkest corner of our kitchen 

so getting a halfway decent picture was not possible.

Anyway, I placed another spray painted plate,

an upcycled tin can you can find here

and

an antique plate that was my Mother's....

These little vignettes are not near enough to fill the space 

but, 

it's a start.

And the great part is - it was totally inexpensive

to get all this.

Dollar Tree - $6

Thrift Store - $4

Shopping my house for 

spaghetti sauce jar, tin can and antique plate - free

So this side of the cabinets cost me a total of  $10 

because 

I already had all the craft supplies left over from other projects.

Now, that is my kind of decorating...

NOTE: These plates are meant to be used strictly as decorative items and are not intended to hold food meant for consumpion.

What decorating dilemma have you been able to solve

on a budget.

I would love to hear about it in the comments.

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right above my picture in the sidebar....

Until next time - create something you love....

You can find me partying at one of the parties on my list- 

"I Party at ..."