Vintage and colorful plates hanging on pink wall, by Susan Carlson of Felted Button | Colorful Crochet Patterns

::Flying Plates::

I'm not talking about in a circus--like spinning plates on a stick. I'm not talking about a Greek wedding which might involve smashing plates as part of the tradition. I'm talking about plates flying across a wall--MY wall!

I have been collecting and gathering plates for the past several years. Some are very old and vintage. Some are very new and modern. Some were gifts. Some I thrifted. None of them did I pay more than a couple dollars for. All textures, sizes, values, colors and history. Each has its own little story. Some are profound stories for me, some just remind me of the person I was with when I rescued it. But I LOOOOVE them! They seriously make me happy! Isn't it nifty how they fly around the corner?

My daughter, Lizzie, was here visiting the other day and we were TIRED! We had both worked a very long, hard day. But since we do NOT see nearly enough of each other and were resisting going to bed so we could visit more, we decided at about midnight to do a little decorating. See, since I painted my family room this awesome pink, I was still unhappy with the way the looooonnng wall was decorated.

I had looked at it for over two months and knew that I wanted to change it. I didn't like the brown quilt hanger. I didn't like the funky un-balance. I didn't like it. Not one bit. So.....down it came! And up went the plates.

Cue music. First we started by scrounging through the house for every single paper clip I could find. I needed 31. Then we grabbed the glue gun. Then a little duct tape. Because duct tape is good for everything, right? Bend the paper clip, hot glue to the back of the plate (nifty little hook, huh?). Cover with a piece of duct tape for extra hold. Ta-Dah! A VERY inexpensive plate hanger!

So how to decide where to place them, you ask??? Well, we did not plan a single plate. I did know that I wanted them to sweep across the wall--particularly since it is such a long wall. And I wanted it to have movement! First,we sorted them into three piles based on size--small, medium and large--hanging the larger ones first somewhat evenly dispersed, then the medium sized plates considering color, texture and age. I wanted to mix the vintage with the modern. Then we filled in the gaps with the smallest ones. We laughed the entire time--until 2am--thinking about how our husbands would shudder to think we just hammered 31 nails into the wall without a plan. No measuring. No sketching. No idea how it would look in the end. Ha! So there!

This green floral plate above is one of my favorites. It has a chip and it very old, but it is perfect to me. Found at the thrift store for 50 cents. The Portmeirion botanical plate reminds me of my mother-in-law. The polka-dot plate is a great modern piece from the local old-fashioned bakery. The aqua flower is from my daughter's wedding. The button plates--well, you know how I feel about buttons--a gift from my daughter.

I love that they look like they are F L Y I N G across the wall. Now if I can keep them figuratively and not literally "flying". Remember, I have boys in my house. :) Stay. Stay.

Before I skip away, here are a few little glimpses of what has been on my hook lately.

Made up this pattern the other day. Sadly, I forgot to write it down, got distracted (haha, who me?),set it aside and came up with three other patterns. "But, Mom, I forgot to remember!" Now I'll have to take some time to figure it out in reverse.

I also have been working on this pattern that I'm making into a cowl. I'll share more details on how the cowl turned out and link you to the free pattern in my next post.

Hugs to you!

{On the Board} -- What you create doesn't have to be perfect.
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf