Happy Earth Day!
I hope the weather is as beautiful where you are as it is set to be here so you can get out and enjoy some wonderful sunshine!
Over the course of the last couple of months, we as a family have been striving to make little changes here and there to be more responsible stewards of the gift of natural beauty around us. We are being better about turning off lights when we leave rooms. We are buying locally produced food when possible. And so on and so forth. Little things can add up to make a bit of difference!
We used to use nothing but paper napkins. I suppose I always thought cloth was only for “fancy” occasions, so all of my cloth napkins were relegated to a drawer in my hutch, only making an appearance a couple of times a year, at the very most. I scoffed at first when Matt mentioned pulling them out to use on a nightly basis, but then it dawned on me that it was honestly silly not to. With a family of five, it is so simple to throw the napkins in with one of the other (many!) loads of laundry I have to do on a regular basis. Jack has so much fun choosing the napkins we use each night as he sets the table, and I have been so pleased with what a festive feel that one little change has imparted to our nightly meals as a family. It really makes it feel special! And, we are lessening night by night the amount of waste we add to our local landfill, which is terrific, too!
I am sure many of you have scrap piles of fabric that are slowly taking over your crafting space just like I do (my two ginormous plastic bins I use to store my scraps are currently overflowing), so I made it a goal this week to sort through my scraps to find some coordinating fabrics to make some new napkins. Projects like these are such a great way to purge your stash in a fun and functional way, and I absolutely love any endeavor that can be completed, from start to finish, in just a couple of hours. These work up so quickly, and because they utilize only basic sewing techniques, they would be a great project for sewing novices and experts alike. This would be a great way to get children behind the sewing machine!
The napkins I created I call “Santa Fe Chic” because the vibrant color scheme reminds me of the sunsets in my home state of New Mexico. They are comprised of just a few basic pieces, and sewn together as described, they are essentially a quilt square completed without any batting between the layers.
For a downloadable PDF of the complete
Santa Fe Chic Napkin tutorial, {{click here}}.
Enjoy, and please let me know if you have any questions!
I’ll be linking this to these terrific parties!
A disclaimer: I am certainly not a quilter, so if you are, I hope you don’t cringe at my technique here!
Another disclaimer: Please don’t judge me for the state of my ironing board cover. It is the unfortunate victim of one too many careless Wonder Under mishaps! 😉
Having grown up in a home brimming with sewing notions and paintbrushes, Amy has a deep love for all things creative. On any given day, you’ll find her knee-deep in her latest creative endeavor, with projects ranging from sewing and crafts to home decor and kid-friendly ideas. Amy believes that everyone, regardless of skill level or experience, possesses the ability to create something beautiful, and Positively Splendid was born of her passion for helping others harness their innate creative potential.
Those are so cute! I will have to make them for my next party!
Those are so cute! I will have to make them for my next party!
Great green idea! We do go through a lot of paper napkins at our house with three messy boys:)
Wonderful and cute project. The napkins I made just involved taking two 16″ squares (usually from fat quarters), placing them wrong sides together and then serging the edges. Yours are much fancier!
DS#2 is an Environmental Science Engineering major (at least for now) and has been very good at making us very aware of conservation.
This is such a cute GREEN idea…luv the print! Hope you have a FUN weekend:)
Blessings,
Linda
I’m having a GIVEAWAY…don’t miss out…today is the last day to enter!
Those are so lovely, as is your whole blog! Love the font you used 🙂
Those turned out great.
Those are adorable! Nice to meet you too!!~
Your napkins are so cute! My mom used to make napkins out of her leftover bits of fabric– hers weren’t as fancy as yours, she just made a tiny zig-zagged hem on hers. I’m here from NFF. Do you mind if I follow along?
Love these napkins! I’ve been wanting to make my own for quite some time, and haven’t been able to find the time just yet! Very soon, I hope to MAKE the time, and I think yours will be lots of fun to try! Thanks for sharing the tutorial! ~tina
Just stopping in and looking around from Follow Friday! And just became your newest follower! Yea! Hope you stop by and return the favor!
My blog http://www.remodelaholic.com is all about interior design and remodeling there are some great tutorials so you can get the look you want on a budget! We also have a party every Friday to show off your stuff!!
Hi, I’m visiting from Friday Follow and am now following you.
We use cloth napkins everyday, too. I love the ones you made!
Following you from Trendy Treehouse’s Friday Follow! Great Blog. Absolutely love your header and you have great variety. I will enjoy checking in to see what you have done next! Love those napkins
Come by and enter my CSN/Rachael Ray Giveaway:
http://extremepersonalmeasures.blogspot.com
OK…LOVE. Can…will you be a tickled pink with this post???? Pretty please!
OMG! I love this idea! I can’t wait to get started! Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I’m glad you found me so I could find you! Hah… 🙂
Love your blog! I’m following and can’t wait to read more…
Thanks for sharing and the great tutorial!
Jenn 🙂
Very cute! I have thought about making some for a long time…maybe this is the inspiration I need!! Thanks for the tutorial!
Hi There.
I’m stopping by via SITS Saturday Sharefest to say hello.
Have a great weekend!
http://harrietandfriends.com/
Thoes are beautiful! I love you fabirc! 🙂
Too stinkin’ cute! I think I found you through Tip Junkie, but I can’t remember now. Thanks for sharing this ‘how to’. Good JOB!
I just did a post on how to make a shirt from two scarves. Here’s the link if you are interested:
http://www.potholesandpantyhose.com/A/Arts_%26_Crap_Archives/Entries/2010/4/16_Springy,_Silky_Scarf_Shirt.html
Those are way cute! What a good tutorial too. Thanks for sharing at ‘Look at me, I’m SO Crafty!’ at Fun to Craft.
Adorable!! Thanks for linking @Creative Itch’s “Sew Cute Tuesday”!
Absolutely LOVE. Thanks so much for the tutorial.
Wow! Those are adorable! Love the material!!
I just found your website and love it! I am pinning several of your sewing tutorials! Thank you! However, I would love to make these Oh-so-chic napkins, but the PDF will not open. Any suggestions? Thanks!
~Sonya
‘when I click on Oh-so-chic napkin tutorial it tells me it’s not available. I would love to makes these napkins, help me know how to get instructions, please. Thank you.