Saturday 19 May 2012

I {heart} shabby chic! Decorating with printed napkins tutorial

I have been planning on doing this tutorial for a while but just haven't got round to putting it together. Well, here it is now and I hope you enjoy it :). If you have any questions at all, just leave a comment below and I will be happy to help!



You will need:
1. Papier-mâché heart (mine has been primed with matt emulsion paint beforehand)
2. selection of printed napkins/dinner serviettes
3. selection of stamps, flowers and embellishments
4. Decopatch glue (watered down PVA would work too).
5. Old paintbrush and a pencil.

 



After priming your papier-mâché heart, separate the plies of the serviettes. Depending on how transparent you want the images/patterns to be, you can either use the printed ply only or leave the second white ply for crispier images.

 


Add some stamping with inks and acrylic paints for added interest.

 




When you are ready to cover your heart, using an old paintbrush apply an even layer of glue (not too much but not too little either)

 


Cover the heart with the napkin, crimpling it gently as you go. I love the extra texture you get with the little creases and they will also help you hide any accidental tears. Once you've got the main side covered, cut the napkin in a few places where the heart curves. This will help you with glueing and overlapping the napkins in those tricky parts.

 


Glue all overlapping excess napkin in place around the sides of the heart.

 


On another piece of serviette draw around the shape, allow a margin to cover the entire back of the heart.



You can also add scraps of napkin to the sides for full coverage, if necessary.


Fussy cut some images from other napkins to compliment your design. Try to cut quite close to the printed image, but you don't have to be too precise. The napkins will blend in nicely and you will hardly see the areas around the added images, if at all.



After you are finished with collaging your images onto the background napkin, apply a generous layer of the glue to varnish it. Allow it to air dry fully. When dry, you can add some shimmering mists for an added sparkle.




To finish, add a selection of embellishments.


To embellish my heart I added a handful of beautiful flowers (Prima and Petaloo), ribbons, pearl pins and a cheese cloth, for a lovely shabby chic look.
 


Behind the flowers I tucked in this amazing, gorgeous, beautiful, heart-squeezing image from Paperbag Studios (Dress Up) which I recently won from the Happy Daze shop (thank you so much!!! x).

I hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial and are inspired to try some napkin art - make sure to let me know what you created! Next time you have a fancy dinner with beautuful serviettes, think twice before you throw any away! lol ;)).

If you're looking for more shabby chic decoupage inspiration, check out my altered mixed media vanity box and my dry decoupage technique video tutorial.

Enjoy the weekend!

Big hugs

Ps. The super lucky winner of my 2nd Blogaversary candy will be announced tomorrow!




34 comments:

Ani said...

I just love this decorated heart! So adorable!

Janny Jager said...

Very nice and beautiful heart Joanna.
Love it very much.

Greetings Janny

May said...

O my word Joanna,, this is fabulous thanks for taking the time to share, This is top of my to-do-list.. I love it!!! Happy weekend, Hugs May x x x

Forest Fairy said...

It's just gorgeous! Thank you!

Claire said...

Gorgeous work Joanna, I've never tried using napkins so thanks for the tutorial
have a great weekend
Claire xx

theboelemas@aol.com said...

Fantastic work and tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

Claire xxx

Dragonlady said...

Gorgeous, and what fantastic inspiration thank you.

Hugs Ali x

BEARKIS said...

Thank you for this beauty!!!

Unknown said...

Very Nice. Lovely TUT as well thanks for sharing Dxx

Elizabeth said...

Terrific tutorial, clearly illustrated and the finished hearts are just beautiful - a great use for those pretty napkins. Elizabeth x

Brenda Brown said...

Fabulous work Joanna and a great tutorial. I have tried all sorts of glues including decopatch and found the napkins tore so easily using them. In the end I used a builders PVA bond which is the one I prefer. You have made it look so easy here so I must have been using it differently in some way. TFS your tutorial. xox

Netty said...

Loving your beautiful heart Asia. x

Carol Q said...

that is truly scrumptious Joanna

Ellie Knol said...

That is so gorgeous, I know the technique, but this is so beautiful... I had to react!

Terry said...

You have such a lovely heart! Great technique and what a pretty use of decorative napkins. I once did a glass plate for Christmas, using fabric and crackle paint. I have a ton of napkins and can't remember what I was going to do with them!

Joanna Wiśniewska said...

Ojej ale fajnie Ci to idzie :) Dziękuję za tutorial. Serce wygląda pięknie :)

Joanna Wiśniewska said...

ps. jak ładnie nazwałaś stempelek z dziewczynką :)

Gosia said...

Wygląda prześlicznie! Nie wpadłabym na to żeby stemplować serwetkę :D..

Unknown said...

I like this idea :)

Ephemera said...

Hi Joanna this is so beautifully. Thanks for sharing your fabulous technique and tutorial with us. I simply adore it. Wonderful work. Have a great day. X

Wendy L said...

your tutorial is great and the heart looks gorgeous.xxxxx

Fliss said...

Thanks so much for sharing this Joanna, Your heart looks just gorgeous and love all the pretty added embellishments.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Ros said...

I adore this heart ... great tutorial thanks so much for sharing

Lindsay Craftymonster81 said...

Such a gorgeous project and a fab tutorial, I love the sentiment too, thanks for sharing
Lindsay xx

Pendra said...

Joanna this is soooo beautiful! I have NEVER tried anything like this and not even sure what PVA glue is??? Can you use something like Mod Podge (I'm not even sure if that is the right name) but I think I have this, will it work? I guess I have always used my matte varnish for my painting. I am so taken with this idea, it is so gorgeous!

Lisa Minckler said...

Hello Joanna :)
Thank you SOOOOO much for the most inspiring tutorial. That was amazing seeing such a gorgeous piece of work take shape. Wonderful idea and thank you for sharing it.
Hope you are doing well.
Hugs to you,
Lisa xx

Kim Dellow said...

Just wonderful. Love the look and thanks for the share! Kim

Asia King (aka Joanna K) said...

Hello Pendra! PVA is one of the most common white glues, for example wood glue or even a simple school glue is likely to be PVA as well. I am sure that Mod Podge will work, too. Good luck and let me know how you get on! x

Silvia(Barnie) said...

I'm missing words, your heart looks really wonderful.

Shirl said...

You are such a caring girl Joanna and one fabulous crafter, thank you for such an amazing tutorial.

Hugs Shirley x x

Unknown said...

This looks amazing.. I would love to try one of these.. Thanks so much for the tutorial..

Tindaloo said...

absolutely gorgeous creation! love the little girlstamp, one of my favourites as it reminds me of my niece :)

Sparkly Engineer said...

Saw this on SCS and just had to come by and learn more. This so charming. I an anxious to experiment with this technique myself.

Caroljenks said...

WOW!!!!!!!! This is awesome!!!!!!!!!!

I do hope you don't mind but I have added a link to this post on my blog.
I am soooo going to have a go as soon as I get time - I did actually buy some napkins to try this out and am most definitely going to follow your tutorial now - Thanks.

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