How Make Door Name Plaques

This is another really good activity on a yucky wet day. Parental supervision is required for this activity, as you will be working with ceramic tiles, ply wood, oil paints and / or a Pyrography iron, which is used to burn your personalized designs into the ply wood. If you are going to be using ceramic tiles, you will need a length of ribbon that is long enough to be able to glue each end to the tile and still have a little left over for hanging the tile.

Use sketching paper to draw your original design onto. Be sure to include any writing you may want to have on the sketch pad. Once your design for making the door name plaque is finished, and you are happy with it, you will need to make a choice between the ceramic tile, and the ply wood. If you are going to use a ceramic tile to make your door name plaque, you will need a sheet of carbon paper. Tape the carbon paper to your tile, then tape your finished sketch over the top of this. Use a stylus, pen, or pencil to trace over the image you want to have on your tile. Once you have finished, carefully remove both the sketch paper, and the carbon paper. You should now have the outline of your sketch on the tile, which has come from the carbon paper. Now all that is left to do is to choose your color theme, and start painting, but make sure there is plenty of newspaper down on the table, in case of those accidental spills and slips.

If you have decided to use the ply wood for making the door name plaque instead of the tile, tape your sketch to the wood. Using a stylus, pen, or pencil, trace over the outlines of your design, using a heavy hand. The idea here is to leave an indented impression of your design on the wood. Heat up the pyrography iron, make sure you have the different shaped tips you will need at hand, and place your ply wood onto a surface that is both sturdy and steady. Trace over the outline on the ply wood with a small sharp tip, as this will leave you with the overall design, even if the impression starts to fade as the wood returns to its normal state. Now it is time to "color" in your design. Different tips, alternating pressures, and going back over pieces you have already done, will give different and varied shades. You will need a length of ribbon that is long enough to be able to glue each end to the back of the ply wood, and still have a little left over for hanging your masterpiece..