This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
Confession: I love that the joy of Christmas happens earlier and earlier each year. Normally I wait until after Zoë’s birthday to start decorating but when the soon to be 7 year old request to decorate now as a birthday present, mama says Yessssssss! While we are not quite ready for our tree to go up, I’m excited to start pulling out our decorations and placing them around the house. First up is our Christmas tablescape which is my favorite holiday decor display. From nutcrackers to tartan patterns, a mini tree and these easy DIY personalized cloth napkins.
Let’s get into these cloth napkins. I love including little details that mean something to us in our decor. Our family word is love. We keep that word close not only by saying it and living it but also by displaying it. It’s a part of our name right here in this space. So with the word love in mind, I came up with a few more words that reflect the season and then it was time to get crafty with my Cricut EasyPress and Explore Air 2.
DIY Personalized Cloth Napkins
Here’s what you will need:
- Cotton or Linen Napkins
- Everyday Iron On
- Cricut Explore Air 2
- Weeding Tool
- Paper Cutter
- Towel
- Cricut EasyPress
Let’s Make It
In Design Space, open up a new project. Go to text and start typing each word. You will want to put each letter on its own line for this design. You can choose to use the default font or search for a font you prefer. I chose a script font that’s included with my Cricut Access membership.
After all the words on the grid, space them out enough so that when it’s time to cut, you have room between them. Otherwise, you will have to start over. Ask me how I know? You can also resize the words based on the size of the napkins you have. I used a ruler to measure the space on my napkins and how wide and long I wanted the words to be. Then I adjusted the size of each word in Design Space.
When you are happy with how your words look, select all of of them and click the attach button in the lower right corner. Why? Because if you don’t, your words will be too close together making them hard or impossible to cut for proper placement. Again, ask me how I know?
After hitting attach, click “Make It”. On this screen, select the mirror option so that your letters will be cut out backwards. Put your Everyday Iron-On on your mat then follow the directions from there. I like to set my Explore to custom then select the material type on the screen.
A note on Everyday Iron-On. I love it. Because I had a few trial and error moments while making these cloth napkins, I can tell you that the way Cricut created the Everyday Iron-On is excellent and far better than some other iron on products in the market. The clear backing is key. That’s all I’m saying.
Once your words are cut, it’s time to separate them. I found getting this process started to be the most tricky. I started in an upper corner because I knew that was excess area and it could take a little more tough handling. After removing the majority of the excess, I used my weeding tool to weed out the details. This process was a lesson in patience for me. I can use all the patience lessons these days because kids of course.
And now you are ready to get your EasyPress going. On the Cricut site, you can find all the instructions you need including the right time and temperature to set your EasyPress to depending on the material you are using. For these holiday napkins, I set my temperature to 300 and my time to 15 seconds. Part two of this process required 30 seconds so I just pressed the button a second time when needed.
Take one of your pre-washed napkins and place it on your EasyPress mat. Iron the section you will be using for your holiday words for 15 seconds. Next place your word sticky side down then it cover with your towel. EasyPress for 25-30 seconds then flip over and repeat. Flip your napkin back over and slowly try to remove the backing after waiting a few seconds. The goal is to remove the backing while the item is still warm. By going slow you can see if your words have attached. If your words are not attached, gently put the backing back in place, cover with your towel and use your EasyPress to iron for another 25-30 seconds.
Display your personalized cloth napkins as a part of your Christmas tablescape. Because you chose words that mean something to you, these napkins will become a cherished part of your holiday decor for years to come. After a day or so, you can use these napkins and then wash as needed without worrying about your design coming off. In our house, these are for decoration only. Well that’s what I’m telling myself and everyone else but like I said before “because kids”, I’m sure these will need to be washed a time or two. I’ll be adding some Christmas themed paper flowers to the table too.
Are you ready to make your own DIY personalized cloth napkins? Show me yours once you make them
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