My Daisy Girl Scout troop recently had their end of year bridging ceremony where they move up to Brownies.  At that event I wanted the kids to be able to create something they could have a keepsake of their first two years in scouting. I thought something with all the girls’ signatures would be great.  Something like those cute “paint your pottery” type pieces that have become really popular gift ideas.

The problem was I didn’t want to spend a ton of money and I wanted them to be able to bring the plates home that day.  So after a little research, I discovered oil based paint sharpies and dishwasher friendly multi-surface paint.  With these supplies you are able to paint ceramics and bake them which makes the color permanent.

Stenciled Plate Supply List:

Ceramic Plates (I got mine at the Dollar Store, but only because I was too lazy to drive out to Ikea to pick these ones up. You also can find inexpensive ones on Amazon.)
Americana Multi-Purpose Satin Paint (NOT REGULAR CRAFT PAINT!)
Paintbrushes
Contact paper or removable Vinyl (I get mine from Expressions Vinyl )
Silhouette Cameo (or you could cut out the stencils by hand with an exacto knife)
Sharpie Oil Based Paint Pen (NOT REGULAR SHARPIES!)

You could also do this project completely with oil based Sharpies, but because you need 11 colors and the pens are around $6, while the paint is only $1.50 I opted for the paint.  Plus their are more color choices when you use paint.

Instructions:

The first thing I did was cut out some contact paper stencils in the shape of a Daisy (if you were doing this with older girls, you could use a different motif, like the trefoil or something else!) I put the stencils on the plates before the meeting, since it wasn’t super easy to get them flat.  Plus then the girls could just start painting right away.
Next I put the 11 different colors for the petals and flower centers into small styrofoam cups and added a paintbrush to each (that way the kids could go around the table and paint each petal in succession.
It was no problem for my 1st graders to paint inside the lines.

**QUICK TIP**
When painting with the stencil, you want to make sure you have the kids use a THIN LAYER of paint  In order to pull the stencil up cleanly and for the baking process to adhere the paint to the plate permanently, you cannot have thick layers of paint.  Some of the kids were worried that the colors weren’t dark enough, but once the stencil is pulled up, it will be fine! 
You can then label the plate with the year and troop number and allow the kids to sign them.  (You can do this either before or after pulling off the stencil.  I did mine while waiting for the paint to dry.
This also would make a fun leader gift if you were looking for a fun way to say thanks at the end of the year!Finally, WHEN THE PAINT IS COMPLETELY DRY you can remove the stencil. 
I outlined the petals in sharpie as well, for a more polished look, but this optional as well. It was such a quick project and fun for the kids.  I was thinking that it would be cute during our next cookie season.. a perfect plate for displaying Thin Mints at our cookie booth!

For other Girl Scout Projects and Crafts, you may be interested in these posts: