DIY Watercolor Napkins

Hello Craftberry Bush friends! My name is Alicia and I blog alongside my husband, Nick, at A Burst of Beautiful. I cannot begin to put into words how honored I am to be here today. I can remember the first time I stumbled across Craftberry Bush and being instantly inspired by the incredible talent and beautiful projects I found.

I have since had the pleasure of becoming friends with Lucy, and I can truly say she continues to inspire me on a daily basis. She is talented, creative and has such a loving and humble heart. Lucy, thank you for inviting me to share on your blog!

We have been enduring exceptionally cold weather lately, but have had brilliant sunshine to offset the brutal cold. All of that sunshine has brought with it thoughts of warm breezes, fresh blooms and the hope that spring is soon on its way. It is always around this time of the year that I begin to slowly incorporate fresh flowers, greenery and a few pops of color to help lift our spirits and prepare our home for the coming season.

One of my favorite colors to incorporate into our home during the warmer months is blue. I love layering in varying shades of blue through simple details, like pieces of art, vintage glass bottles and linens. It is also an easy way evoke a serene and coastal feeling.

These simple watercolor napkins are the perfect way to add just a hint of blue to our dining room. I also think these would be the perfect linens for your table this Easter. You could make sets of pastel blue, pink, yellow and green for a beautiful and cheerful look.

Watercolor Napkins

Supplies:

• Cotton napkins/dish towels
• Multi-surface paint
• Fabric medium
• Paint brush
• Wax paper

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the craft paint and fabric medium according to the package instructions. I like to use Martha Stewart multi-surface craft paint (I used Mermaid Teal) and tintable fabric medium. Once you have combined the mixture add 1/3 cup of water.
2. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface to act as a barrier, and unfold the cotton napkin on top of it.
3. Starting at the base of the napkin, apply the paint mixture with a paintbrush, moving from the bottom edge upwards. I painted about two inches of fabric.
4. Fill a separate bowl with water and wet your paintbrush. Using short brush strokes, spread the paint upwards to create the watercolor effect.
5. Hang to dry overnight. Make sure you hang the napkins over a piece of plastic to dry as they will drip.

I love the simplicity and relative low cost of this project, which affords so many variations you can make to adapt it to your style. You could use more subdued colors during the colder months, for example, navy or hunter green would look stunning on a Thanksgiving or Christmas table.

You can also apply this method to pillows, table runners and even ribbon, like I did here.

I hope you enjoy this project as much as I did and if you decide to give it a try, I would love to hear your thoughts. And another big thank you to Lucy for having me here today!