Welcome, welcome to the first DIY post of the new year. After the holidays it’s always a bit difficult for me to get back into the swing of things. Both creatively and motivation-wise. So this past week, I have been taking some time to just create and get inspired again. The outcome of all that creative time have been some really colorful projects that I can’t wait to share with you. Sometimes it takes just playing around with new supplies with no set goal to get the creativity flowing.

These galaxy gradient glass plates are a play off of two of your favorite posts from last year, the galaxy coasters and the custom colored glass plates. Using the back of glass plates lets you play around with different painting and inking techniques while leaving the tops of the plates completely food safe. Which means that the possibilities are endless!

For these DIY galaxy gradient glass plates, I used alcohol inks and a gold paint pen to create unique swirly interstellar looks.

Materials:

• Glass plates (these were $1 at IKEA)
• DecoColor Gold Paint Pen
• Alcohol Inks (I used pink sherbet, mermaid, indigo, and aqua, and flamingo)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Paint brush
• Dishwasher safe Mod Podge
• Rubber or latex gloves

Begin by creating a protected work surface as this project can get messy! Then clean the back of the glass plates with the rubbing alcohol. Let dry. Next, splatter the backs of the plates with the gold paint pen by flicking the paint pen down towards the plates. This paint pen easily releases the gold paint when used like this. Now, let the gold paint dry for an hour or two.

Once dry, paint the back of the plate with a layer of rubbing alcohol. Place the plate on an elevated surface like the top of the mod podge bottle. Next, squirt the alcohol ink in a banded pattern across the back of the plate and repeat with all the colors you want to use for your plates.

Let the alcohol ink dry overnight, then paint the back of the plate with a layer of dishwasher safe Mod Podge to fully seal in the alcohol ink. Once the Mod Podge is dry, your plates are ready to use! Even though the Mod Podge is dishwasher safe, I still hand wash these plates just to make sure that they hold up. But several washings later and they still look just as pretty!

Which color way is your favorite? I think I am partial to the one on the right with the shades of blue. If you all haven’t played around with alcohol inks yet, I hope this project helps get you motivated to try. Plus, you can try out the galaxy coasters to go with your plates and then throw a total intergalactic dinner party!