Aside from the old dishes I have from college, and the hand-me-down plates I’ve accumulated from friends who have gotten married (and gotten new, pretty dishes), our dish wear is a random assortment of ranging from fiestaware, to shabby chic, and everything in between.

This is not a problem for me normally, since Kris could care less about the table settings, but I’ve been planning a little something for Kris’ 30th birthday that is looming just around the corner, and wanting to make it a bit more special, so I’ve decided it’s high time to get a few decorative plates for entertaining.

Luckily for me, I found this adorable DIY tutorial at A Creative Day for a DIY Leopard Print Tray – made with a gold leaf pen! (angels singing).  Check out her cute blog, and her lovely DIY here!

Ikea has great (cheap) white dishes, and you can find a gold leaf pen at Michaels for less than five dollars!  Done and done!  I can’t wait to whip up a few sassy serving platters and plates!

I love this irregular shape of this bowl, the modern look of this platter, and the classic lines this tray (which coincidentally would also look amazing on a coffee table or entry way to corral keys, mail, and the random nickles I find scattered around our house).