About a year ago, we stopped using paper napkins.

I’d like to tell you it’s because I’m selfless and environmentally minded and willing to endure every kind of hardship for the betterment of the planet and to leave my children a better world.

 

Actually, it’s because we were going through a ridiculous amount of paper towels and it was costing a fortune. But the environment-thing is a nice bonus. So now I grab cloth napkins for cheap at thrift stores and garage sales and the like and we use them at dinner. It’s less money, less garbage, and it makes us feel all fancy and stuff.

So when Laura Bray asked a few bloggers to do a blog hop featuring her “Fork It Over” fabric, I decided to try embellishing napkins so we had some actual, matching ones to use. Inspired by the fabric, I made them all a little different.

This one was just a band of fabric, cut in a strip and glued on with fabric glue. I thought about going back and sewing it, but the glue stays on in the wash and I’m all about less work, so…

I also thought about hemming it to give it a nice, clean edge…but I decided I like the slight fraying on the edges so I didn’t even do that. Just cut and glued. Fast and simple.

This one is a circle of fabric, glued on, with a Laura Kelly button tacked on top, just for fun (I suppose you should avoid it if you were to blow your nose into your napkin, but that’s a minor consideration, yes?).

I made this one with fabric markers…to kind of match the colors in the rest of the napkins. It sounds a little bossy, but sometimes so do I when I’m trying to get my kids to eat already. Ahem.

And this one might be my favorite. More fabric markers. A slightly imperfect cross-stitched fabric patch. So easy, but just a little hit of color and fun for dinner. I think it came out so cute — I may make an entire set just like this (or maybe I’ll change up the words? Except then I have to think of more words…hm.)

I even had enough fabric left over that I threw some of it on a hoop, and hung it in my kitchen:

Heeey — it even matches my mixer! Serendipity!

If you like the fabric, it’s called “Fork It Over,” available at Spoonflower.

To see projects other bloggers made with the fabric, check out the blog hop here. So many fun ideas to keep you busy!

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