This was an art project I did for Summer’s second birthday party last month and it also happened to be my favorite DIY decor piece for that occasion. I said I would post a tutorial so here it goes.
With the right pattern and color, decorating a plain old tablecloth can help make your dining table or party venue look festive. It’s a great conversation piece! It’s also very easy to make and quite inexpensive. Here’s how:
1. Prepare the materials: cardboard, craft knife, cutting mat, sponge, textile paint (I bought mine at True Value, P50 for a 100ml tub, which is enough for 2-3 standard size square tablecloths), a tray or shallow basin to hold the paint, old newspaper, a plain colored tablecloth or fabric
2. To make stencils, draw desired shapes on a piece of cardboard and use a craft knife to cut it out. For this project, I made a swallow and a cloud. For Summer’s safari party, I had made animal and leaf stencils. Now, if you don’t want to have to draw your own and you want to use the same design, you can easily download stencil outlines here for free! Just click on the link at the end of this post, download the file to your computer and print it on board paper.
3. Once you have your stencils ready, lay out old newspaper on a flat surface and place your fabric on top of it. Put your stencil on the area of the fabric where you want the design and using a sponge, gently dab paint onto the stencil until the shape has been filled. Be careful not to put too much pressure so as to avoid bleeding. If you’re using more than one color of paint, use a different sponge for each.
4. Make a pattern out of the shapes and fill the entire piece of fabric, or if you want it simpler, paint only around the edge of the tablecloth. I alternated shapes on mine and created a pattern.
5. Let it dry overnight. You may wash it before use to make the fabric softer and get rid of the paint smell.
Play with different stencils and colors. You can even use white paint on a colored tablecloth. Try it out for the next party you’re throwing or just to make your dining table look a little more fun and exciting. Enjoy!
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