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Recycled Napkin Rings for Your Thanksgiving Table
Published 11.05.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (8)
Thanksgiving Craft: DIY Recycled Napkin Rings
By Marie LeBaron
Having a beautiful Thanksgiving table can help set the dinner mood. Sometimes the table gets more compliments than the turkey! Here's a fun way to spice up your table with these decoupage napkin rings made from recycled paper tubes.
Supplies:
- paper tubes, toilet paper roll or paper towel roll
- craft paper, preferably fall colors
- decoupage, I used Mod Podge
- sponge brush
- scissors
- napkins
- embellishments, acorns, leaves, berries (make sure the kids know these are NOT edible)
1. First, measure and cut your piece of paper to fit around your paper tube. You'll want the lip to over lap just a little, about 1/4 of an inch. And it's okay if it's a little longer than the tube, you can trim the extra paper off after it's done drying.
2. Apply decoupage to your paper tube, make sure you get every inch. Then apply it to the inside of the paper, the side that wraps around the tube. I like to apply glue to both of these, just to make sure it sticks and stays on.
3. Attach the gluey craft paper to the gluey paper tube and roll it on. Smooth out any bubbles or bumps. Make sure it is sealed on the edges. Then let this dry and set for at least 10-15 minutes.
4. You will now apply another coat of decoupage to the outside of the paper craft tube, to help seal it, and it gives it a nice shine. Then let this dry completely, up to 30 minutes.
5. Once the paper craft tube is dry, you'll need to cut it down into little 2 inch rings. Since the tube is kind of hard at this point, in order to cut through it, you'll need to smash the tube in half, bending it enough to get your scissors around. Then cut 2 inch sections out of the tube. You can also trim any little extra bits of paper that may be hanging over the edge of the tube.
6. Using your fingers, try to mold the tube back into a circle (although, this doesn't matter too much, as it will be around the napkin anyway).
7. Now it's ready to add to a fan folded dinner napkin. Just slip it over and spread out the napkin. I also added some pressed leaves that I wrote the dinner guests names on, and a few berries (not edible). You could also add acorns or feathers, something else to give it some flare.
Have fun dressing up your table, as well as your turkey!
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About this column
This is a year-round Holiday column. Kids love Holidays. As parents we have come to appreciate how Holidays seem to help structure our lives. Plus, any excuse to have fun sounds good to us!
We'll admit it, now that we're parents, we secretly look for Holidays to celebrate and between National, Secular, Unofficial and Bizarre Holidays, we think there are enough days out there to keep us inspired every week.
This column will be a place where you can get inspiration for how to enjoy time with your kids. Crafting projects and ideas will be posted on Thursdays by our brilliant contributors (see below). Other fun ideas will be posted here throughout the week as the inspiration hits us!
About our Craft Contributors
Ellen Luckett Baker is the author of the long thread, a blog about handmade goods. She has always enjoyed making things, but the flexibility of staying at home with her two daughters along with the creative inspiration they provide has led her to craft on a daily basis. Combining her love of graphic design and sewing, she has created an Etsy shop selling machine embroidery designs and sewing patterns.
Ellen lives in Atlanta with her husband and two young daughters. She holds a B.A. in Art History and a Master's of Public Administration with a focus in Non-Profit Management.
Cindy Hopper was fortunate to be raised in a family who appreciated the arts. This background led to a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education. With a keen eye for design and color, Cindy has continued her love of art and is now passing her creative skills on to her three children. Cindy's family and friends are the beneficiaries of her passion for fun and meaningful creative projects. Cindy's personal blog, Skip to My Lou, has taken her love of a project to new levels. Postings keep the family busy -– from testing new recipes for holiday treats to designing and building floats for a neighborhood parade to making fabric rolls to hold crayons to creating themed parties. Cindy seems to have an unending supply of ideas for gifts, parties and rainy days.
Marie LeBaron is a 30 something stay at home mom in Utah. Before life as a mother, she graduated with a teaching degree in Early Childhood & Elementary Education, after which she taught four years of Kindergarten. After her first child was born, she decided to read books and sing silly songs at home. She misses the classroom, but she now gets to bring the fun and learning into her home and ours. You’ll see her kids a lot in these projects as they are her guinea pigs and for whom she's creative. You can follow more of her projects at her personal blog Make and Takes.
Brenda Ponnay is a stealthy secret agent who juggles parenthood to her adorable daughter by day and freelance graphic design by night. Whether it's painting, baking, drawing, making castles out of card board boxes or just doing the laundry with flair, Brenda Ponnay has finally discovered (at the ripe old age of thirty-six) that what really makes her happy is being creative every single day.
Brenda lives in Southern California with her husband, daughter, three cats and thirty-seven pet birds. You can read about all her crazy adventures on her personal blog: Secret Agent Josephine.
Disclaimer
This column is only for entertainment purposes. Any recommendations or information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for advice by a trained professional. For a full statement of our site policies, please click here.
Comments (8):
Petit Elefant said:
I love that these are simple and pretty, and fun to make with the kids! I definitely want to try this for Thanksgiving.
Posted on November 5, 2009 12:29
oh amanda said:
Super cute! I think I might do this!
Posted on November 5, 2009 13:12
Lori said:
I have to decorate for a church party next week. I'll totally do this for the napkins. Thanks for the idea.
Posted on November 5, 2009 16:22
Sarah said:
Wow! I can't believe how easy!
Posted on November 5, 2009 17:10
Mod Podge Amy said:
These are absolutely wonderful! I love.
Posted on November 5, 2009 20:40
kristin said:
Really great idea!
Posted on November 8, 2009 03:32
Michelle said:
This is a wonderful, cute and easy idea! I'll be using this one for other holidays too. Thanks for the great crafty idea!
Posted on November 19, 2009 17:09
Jessica said:
So cute! I used your idea for my family's Thanksgiving table and it turned out great! Thanks for the great idea!
Posted on November 29, 2009 16:22