My collection of plates and tea cups started when I threw a tea party baby shower for my friend, Nicola, a whole decade ago! Over the years, I have added more treasures to my collection, and I love the stories behind each of them. As I prepared to host a party for a work colleague, I decided to try making my own tiered serving dishes from vintage plates. This combines my love of vintage finds and power tools, and after a few experiments, I mastered this fun project!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• vintage plates in small, medium, and large sizes
• a power drill
• 1/4″ diamond-tipped drill bits (I tried carbide drill bits for tile and glass, and these did not work on the porcelain plates, which are very hard)
• cake stand hardware
• tape, marker, and ruler to mark the plates

Here’s how to do it:

• Place some masking tape in the center of each plate and use a ruler and marker to mark the center
• Put water on your plate, which will help the drill bit work smoothly and keep cool
• Starting at a 45-degree angle, cut into the center with your diamond-tipped drill bit
• Once you have started cutting, you can move your drill to a 90-degree angle and finish drilling your hole
• Repeat for each plate
• Assemble using the cake stand hardware

Here are some pictures of the finished cake stands:

And here are some pictures from our tea party!

Sneaking in a picture of a different project: I glued a small ceramic pot to the bottom of this plate to make a simple cake stand. I love how the patterns work together, and the project could not be easier!

I’m looking forward to our next tea party!

Julie AKA “Jewels”