Hand-Stamped Cloth Napkins

Hey look what daughter Samantha has made! I love the way her napkins came out.... I am thinking you could also make a matching tablecloth with this technique. Remember stamping with potatoes? She has given it a modern twist:

I decided to take up where my mom left off on Tuesday and make my own kind of cloth napkins.  I love the idea of making your own stamps, so I tried it out with some metallic gold paint and loved the effect. 

Here's what you'll need:

potato/ small, sharp knife/ acrylic craft paint/ /paper plate/ paintbrush/ cloth napkins

(You could buy some cloth napkins at the dollar store, but I just whipped mine up really quckly with some leftover muslin.)

1. Cut a potato in half and carve your stamp with a paring knife. Obviously, this is the most fun/most daunting part.  My suggestion is to start with something really basic and add in more details as you go.  I started out with a big sunbeam-like shape, and then made the rays varying shapes and etched in triangles on the edges.  Keep your mind open to whatever can be made with your shape; don't just get stuck on one idea and then be disappointed when it doesn't look how you imagined.

2. When you are happy with the stamp, pour out a little bit of your paint onto a paper plate and brush a light layer onto your stamp.  You will have to reapply between every couple of imprints.

3.  Find the middle of your napkin and begin stamping! You can make a grid pattern or even overlap your stamps; they're your creation!  I did a grid, but turned my stamp different directions with each imprint, since it was an oblong shape.

Let the napkins dry, and you have your personal set of cloth napkins! I love the way mine turned out; I think they look as if they could have come from a department store, especially since I used the metalic paint.  I can't wait to try out some matching napkin rings and have everyone over for dinner!

What kind of shape would you like to stamp onto your napkins? What colors?

Happy weekend!

Samantha