Weathered Wood and Napkin Wall Art

by Lauren Z

2 Materials

2 Days

Medium

Using scrap wood and pretty napkins, you can create personalized wall art!

For this project I did a white wash on the wood using watered down chalk paint. You don't need to do this but when working with napkins, I think a lighter background shows off the pattern of the napkins better. You can use any white paint . . . just water it down so it's a transparent look rather than completely covering the wood in white.

After separating the napkin (I used the 'hand towel' size since one completely covered this piece of wood but you can certainly just use torn pieces of napkins as well.) plies, you'll have the very thin, printed part of the napkin. I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to the wood, laid the napkin down and applied another layer of Mod Podge.

After it's dried, simply use a sanding block or emery board in a downward motion to remove excess napkin from the edges.

I wanted a really smooth surface to paint on so I sanded several times. This gives a really nice, weathered look. It also creates a very smooth surface for painting your words on. I used a 220 grit sandpaper and just kept sanding and sanding until I achieved the desired look and feel. When you're finished, people will think you painted the flowers/pattern onto the wood!

Print your words on computer paper and adjust size. Always choose a fairly clean, simple font that you'll be able to paint. Insert graphite paper underneath (graphite facing down onto the wood), trace and transfer the outline of the letters onto the wood.

Once it's all transferred, you're ready to paint. I use plain, acrylic paint and a #4 round brush. To get nice, smooth lines, dip the tip of your brush in water, then the paint and drag your brush on paper to remove excess paint. Simply follow your lines and then fill in!