How to paint a paakku mattai plate (Beetel Nut Leaf Plate)

When it was time for Navarathri, we wanted to give return gifts, that people can use it in their daily Pooja. And one of the two gifts that we, me, daughter and son wanted to make was painted plates. So now came the question of which plate. When we tried in stainless steel plate, the paint did not get struck to it. On search in the web a coat of varnish or glue to be applied, etc etc tips were given, which we were not so comfortable to do.

Basically, the plates will be painted by the kids and I do the decoration in them, is what we had planned. And so we rejected thermacol plate too which we had already tried for kids school projects. The paint did not stick to the plate. So we tried the beetel nut plate, yes the paakku mattai plate. And here is what we did. Of the total number of 50 plates which we did, we just have one left to be photographed.

We got a red coloured kolam sticker and struck in the middle of the plate after kids painted it. And then I decorated them in free hand drawing. The colours used both for the base and also for the painting are Fevicryl Acrylic Colours and Acrylic Pearl Colours.

Here is a sample of the plate.

This is a small size plate that we gifted. But the same can be done in bigger size pakku plates too. These plates can be used in different ways. Use in Pooja room as a base for lamps, or when doing some Archanais or flower decorations. Use it as a vethalai pakku tray. As it is light weight, any one can lift it quite easily. 

These plates can be made to order at a cost of Rs. 30 for small plates and Rs. 50 for bigger plates. (All costs exclusive of shipping costs which is extra)