How to use Mod Podge & Napkins on Furniture
Alrighty, so I know most of you saw my night stand that I painted in one of our new colors, Annaleigh. I also added floral detailing to the drawers using new hardware and NAPKINS!! Yep, napkins!! I love this trick.. it can help give so much charm and character to an otherwise ordinary piece. And now, I'm gonna tell you how I did it! :)
Here is what the night stand looked like before...
First, I painted the entire thing (besides the drawers) using our NEW Wildflowers & Pistols Milk Paint - Annaleigh.
Then I grabbed my paint brush, mod podge and my pretty paper napkins.
Now, here's the real trick! You will definitely want to be sure to do this next step.. otherwise mod podeging the napkins wont work so well..
Before you start gluing down your napkins you will want to separate the napkin. Just remove the top, decorative layer. Be careful not to rip it.
Next, you are going to brush on your mod podge then lay your napkin down over it. Carefully press down the napkin. I wasn't worried about wrinkles because once it dried I was going to distress it. If you aren't wanting the distressed look you can use saran wrap to rub out all of the wrinkles. (don't use your bare hands.. the napkins rip easily while the glue is still wet)
This is what the drawer looked like after I applied two napkins...
Once it dried I tore off the excess (again, it didn't need to be perfect since I was going to distress it) and took my electric sander to distress the napkins. I used 150 grit sand paper.. nothing too coarse. I sanded enough to let some of the wood to be exposed. Once I was done distressing I drilled a new hole for the new drawer knobs. Then I sealed the napkins with 2 coats of mod podge. Do NOT apply the top coat of mod podge until AFTER you have already distressed the napkins. If you apply the top coat before distressing.. it makes it super difficult to distress the napkins at all.
Here you can see some of wood being exposed through the napkin. I LOVE it!!!
Also - I sealed the W&P Milk Paint with two coats of shellac.
Don't those new knobs look AWESOME with those napkins?! I picked those up at Hobby Lobby :)
The colors in the napkins worked pretty perfectly with our new purple/plum milk paint color, Annaleigh!
And there you have it! A super simple way to add charm and character to any piece of furniture! Give it a try and post pictures on our facebook page! I'd love to see your creations! :)
Heather
Comments
Laurel said:
I love your nightstand and the modge podge napkin technique is so cool. I love it! Can
you explain what kind of napkin you used for this project. A brand name and where to buy it would be helpful and most appreciated too.
Thank you for your help.
W&P's Heather said:
Laurel, thanks so much! :) I use paper napkins for this type of project. The brand of these napkins was Elise. I purchased these ones from a local party store but you can find cute ones on Amazon.com or Etsy.com! I’ve also heard people say that there is usually a decent selection at Home Goods. I hope this helps!
~Heather
Connie said:
Super Cute Idea! Will definitely have to try this out! So glad you shared this :)
Juliet said:
i don’t understand what the milk paint is or where to get it. Help please.
Linda said:
I made one big tree for the front porch and was very happy with the results. Taking the pallet apart took a LONG time as I ended up having to saw pieces off … Only to find out later that we had a sawzall in the garage (my husband was out of town at the time). That woukd have saved a lot of time.
Anyway I really enjoyed the process and your instructions were great. I had to do one step over again when I realized that my napkins were 3-ply, not 2-ply. It was fun to do and I may make some smaller ones in the future. Thank you for your post.
selina said:
hi, thanks so much cant wait to try this x
Tractor Supply free shipping said:
Woh I like your blog posts, saved to bookmarks ! .
Tractor Supply free shipping http://www.tractorsupply-coupon.com