An online lifestyle magazine for Christian women
I have amassed a fairly large collection of vintage china pieces. From teacups and saucers to old plates, I have a little of everything! If you have a large collection of pieces thrifted or passed down from your grandmother or mother, you may wonder what to do with old china. How do you put these gorgeous pieces to good use and avoid them ending up in a landfill?
Lately I’ve been finding some creative and unique ways to repurpose the china pieces that I’m not getting any use out of. Here are some clever ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
Before we get started, a few important notes! Most of these projects use E6000 glue, a permanent glue. The hold is strong, but I recommend handwashing items that you attach together with this glue, rather than putting them in the dishwasher. Also, since this glue takes 24 hours to cure, I use a few dots of Gorilla hot glue along with E6000. The hot glue dries immediately, and holds the creation in place while the permanent glue dries.
I found these yellow candlesticks and pretty teacups at the thrift store. They are beautiful together! I used a little E6000 glue to permanently attach them to each other. They are perfect for lighting tea candles! When selecting the cups and candlesticks, make sure that the base of the teacup is the right size for the candlestick.
I used an Amazon candle making kit to create teacup candles for my sister’s bridal shower. These are so cute! You can use teacups that are missing their saucers to make these little candles. Here’s a great candle making tutorial to follow if you’re doing this for the first time.
If you have individual plates that are pretty but aren’t part of a set, this tiered tray is a great way to put them to use. Our DIY tiered tray tutorial is easy to follow. You just need to buy pretty hardware from Amazon!
Another way to create a beautiful tiered tray is to use E6000 glue to glue a candlestick between two plates. In this case, the bottom tray is actually a bowl. I had this individual bowl in my stash for a while. It was pretty, but it didn’t match my other Blue Willow bowls, and I couldn’t use it as part of a plate wall since it is a bowl. This was the perfect solution!
I actually glued the candlestick upside down. I did this because the base of the candlestick was large and blocked a lot of the pretty Blue Willow scenery on the bowl. I wanted to show as much of the design as possible!
If you have a thick candle holder that you aren’t using, it makes the perfect base for a pedestal tray! I created these using a thrifted white candle holder and a clear glass base that broke off of another plate. Just glue the base to a pretty plate using E6000 glue. You can use them by themselves, or stack them together for another tiered tray effect.
This pretty little dish makes a great candleholder, but you could also use it for jewelry. Just flip the cup upside down and use E6000 glue to attach the saucer.
If you have a teapot that’s missing a lid, use it to create a faux floral arrangement! Fill the teapot with floral foam and then using wire cutters, cut your faux florals to size and stick them in the foam. You could also fill the teapot with water and place real flowers inside.
This teacup tiered tray is perfect for holding jewelry! Just use E6000 glue to attach a small candlestick between cup and saucer. In this case, I flipped the candlestick upside down because the wide base was covering too much of the saucer and minimizing the space for holding jewelry.
If you try any of these DIY projects, I’d love to see them! Tag @laurenmagazine on Instagram when you post photos of your old China projects.
Lauren Magazine is an online lifestyle magazine for Christian women.
©2024 Armor Media & Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. Design by Lauren Correa.
