Marbleized holiday servers

Hands-on time: An hour or less
Total time: Add 24 hours for paint to dry and set
Skill: Easy
Cost: Less than $20

Materials and Tools

• Serving set with wooden handles
• Newspaper
• Rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth
• Disposable container large enough to fit server handles
• Water at room temperature
• Vitrail paints by Pébéo in apple green 34, emerald 13 and yellow 14
• Stir sticks
• Painter's tape
• Clean cloth
• Paint thinner
• Hair dryer (optional)
• Decorative beads in assorted sizes and colours
• Silver wire
• Wire clippers
• Glue dots

Plain serving utensils get a holiday makeover with a marbled finish and funky beads. Marbled effects can be created on various surfaces, including wood, metal and glass, with Pébéo's Vitrail glass paint. The solvent-based paints are for decorative use only and should not be in contact with food.

Cover a work surface with newspaper. Clean handles with rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth. Use painter's tape to mask off the shafts.

Fill a container with a litre of room-temperature water. Stir paint and put three to six drops of each colour into water (the colours will float). Allow paint to spread for a minute and then gently stir paints to create a marble pattern.

Gently roll the handles one at a time over the surface of the floating paint mixture for five seconds. Wipe off any paint that ends up on the shaft.

Remove masking tape and clean any paint spots with a cloth and paint thinner.

Let the utensils air-dry for 24 hours or use a hair dryer for a few minutes to dry the paint. Let paint cure for 24 hours. Once dry, the colours are permanent and paint will not chip, peel or crack.

To add beads, cut a wire 10 inches long and thread decorative beads onto it with a large bead at the centre. I used a square bead, smaller square beads on either side, and a leaf-shaped bead on one side. Place a glue dot under the large bead and centre it on the shaft edge of the handle. This will enable you to twist and turn the wire without moving the beads.

On the outer edge of the beads, curl the wire on the tip of a small paintbrush to prevent the beads from moving. Twist wire lengths at the back of the handles into a loop that can be undone if you want to change the beads.

Vitrail paints can be cleaned with a cloth and warm water but are not dishwasher-safe.

Variations

• Vitrail paints can be used on glass, metal and wood. They can be applied with brushes, sponges, stamps and stencils. To dress up your holiday table, marble a small candle votive for each dinner guest.

Tips

• To paint several items, drag newspaper strips over the water's surface to skim off any excess colour before marbling a second batch of items.