napkin rings — pleasure in simple things

Tag: napkin rings

summertime diy napkin rings

May

What flower suggests the summertime to you? Queen Anne’s lace screams summer to me. Even though some people may consider it a weed…I see it as a sweet and nostalgic symbol of the summertime! Combining this flower with a napkin ring creates the perfect summer accessory for outdoor dinners on the sand. :)

I recently saw a photo in a magazine of a napkin ring with a bloom of Queen Anne’s lace and I fell in love with it!

The napkin ring was listed as available from Crate & Barrel. Normally, I would have run right out to Crate & Barrel and scooped some up – they were so reasonably priced! (And I love any excuse to visit the store!) But, since I already had all the materials needed to create them at home, I was able to make them up at basically no cost! Besides, I had been eager to upscale the old napkin rings my friend Terry gave me months ago…she knew I would find a great use for them! (Thank you Terry!)

I had picked up a solitary stem of artificial Queen Anne’s lace last summer in the bargain bin at the craft store – not really sure what I’d do with it. Conveniently, it contained four blooms on the one stem – perfect to create a set of napkin rings!

Adding in some scrap twine, I made all four napkin rings for the cost of the flower stem ($1. plus tax). These napkin rings will serve as the perfect accessory for some of my many nautical napkins to use with meals on the beach this summer.

I wrapped each napkin ring with twine – using my trusty glue gun to hold the twine in place. After completely covering the old napkin ring, I removed a bloom from the stem of the artificial flower and affixed it to the top of the twine covered ring using the glue gun.

Easy! This technique can be used for any artificial flower you may have…or, one you have crafted from paper. This is also a great and inexpensive way to add a theme color or favorite flower to a bridal shower… or any celebration! Recycle old napkin rings, curtain rings, or shower rings using this technique to create some beautiful new napkin rings!

I love my new napkin rings…and, the Queen Anne’s lace reminds me that summer is ahead!

A nostalgic summertime song to set the mood for meals on the beach. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. You can click here for a tutorial on making the anchor napkins shown here…and click here for some great ways to use seaglass! Enjoy!

Sharing at Sand & Sisal, Finding Silver Pennies, and Savvy Southern Style.

Comments Off on summertime diy napkin rings | diy, food & festivities, sand & sea

summer napkin fun

August

It is that time of year…the time when we all wonder how the summer could be flying by so fast…and a time to try and pack as much summer fun into the remaining days as possible!

Today, I want to show you some DIY ways that I am making my summer entertaining more fun. With meals that can include lobster, corn on the cob, and watermelon; summer fun can be messy! I love to use dish towels as an inexpensive and practical napkin for summer meals. IKEA is a great spot to pick up some dish towels (for less than $1. a piece!) that can easily be embellished to fit a summer party theme.

In a previous post, I made wrapping paper using an anchor shaped sponge. Now, I am using it to add an anchor motif to a set of dish towels that I will use as napkins for a summer meal. These are easy to create by simply dipping a patterned sponge into acrylic paint and applying to a dish towel. Print the pattern a couple of times on a piece of scrap paper before painting the fabric…this removes some of the paint from the sponge and creates more of a ‘worn’ look to the anchor when it is painted; rather than a solid pattern of paint.

Be sure to put a piece of cardboard under the spot where you paint your design to protect your work table. After letting the paint dry for 24 hours, use a hot iron or your dryer to set the paint. You may want to use a paint specifically for fabric…I use acrylic paint that I already have – it has always worked well for me. I find washing, drying, and ironing the fabric before painting it gives the best results.

Another way to add a motif to a dish towel is by stenciling. I always make my own stencil from a piece of cardboard or baking parchment paper. One of my favorite designs for summer is a watermelon…I love the graphic quality and the colors. Another great summer napkin!

I can never resist adding a playful scattering of plastic ants when I am creating a watermelon designed item. :)

For something a little more formal than a dish towel, a linen napkin with a napkin ring is a great summer entertaining choice. Like the dish towels, these napkins were purchased at IKEA. I created a napkin ring by using a piece of rope and some Plasti Dip. In the same way that I used Plasti Dip to create a set of seafood forks, I used it on some rope to create a really great napkin ring! You can purchase a jump rope from the dollar store or use any scrap piece of rope you have hanging around the garage to make your napkin rings. After tying a knot in each napkin ring, I just dipped it in some Plasti Dip that I had tinted pink. I love the way pale pink looks with linen and Plasti Dip is easy to tint any color…I dipped each napkin ring into the Plasti Dip three times (waiting between coats as listed on the instructions) to achieve this look.

I decided to coordinate the napkins by adding some painted pink polka dots along the hem.

After looking around the house to find something to create the size polka dot I wanted, I decided a carrot was perfect! I mixed the color pink paint I wanted and used a freshly sliced carrot to paint the polka dots along the hem of each napkin.