THREE craft projects: vintage plates

Like shoes, men and Maltesers, you can never have too many pretty vintage plates. But if, like me, you have stacks of lovely old china piled high, hidden away in cupboards, that you picked up for pence at car boot sales or in charity shops, but use once a year at most (!), then now’s the time to display a few of your favourites so you can admire them every day.

I love the crafty plate projects in our new November issue. This quirky clock idea is super-simple and so effective. Mark the centre of your plate where the hole will be drilled, then put the plate face up on a sturdy surface, and secure with Blu-tack. Cover the centrepoint with masking tape, then drill a hole slowly using a tile/glass drill bit. Then fit a clock mechanism (£10.99, Hobbycraft). Voila!

You can use vintage tea cups as pretty planters – great for inexpensive but lovely gifts.

Use lovely saucers as photo frames. Cut photos to fit the base of saucers and glue them in place, then glue-gun hooks to the backs of the saucers and hang them with ribbons for a delightful display. You can find vintage china at Chinasearch, or Katy Potts Tea for Two. – Ellie