If you’ve been following along with the blog for any length of time you probably know already that I’m a Martha Stewart junkie. I’ve collected almost all of her books and even some of her magazines from the good old days. I’ve always found her style to be classic and timeless. One of my favorite things about summer was that I was out of school and could watch her show that came on during the day. I recently came across a project of hers from one of her old books from the 90’s and was so inspired. She made the cutest little cocktail napkins with pressed flowers and ferns. I decided to give it a try on some basic white napkins that I had on hand. I think they’re just the cutest addition to any summer table. Here’s my DIY summer napkins with pressed ferns.

DIY Summer Napkins with Pressed Ferns

I used these white napkins that came from Homegoods, I believe. They’re cotton but a linen blend would work well for this too. The fern clippings were from our yard. I think it would work with most any kind of fern.

Use a cutting board and lay down a thick piece of card stock, place the napkin over that and lay the fern clippings face down in the desired position. I taped mine in a couple places so they wouldn’t move around.

Top with a second piece of card stock and firmly hammer over the fern working in the nature lines of the fern. I did find it helpful to look at the bottom side of the napkin every so often to see where I had missed. You can just go back over it until the fern’s chlorophyll has transferred onto the napkin.

Carefully pull the tape off and peel up the fern leaf. It should leave a delicate outline. These are washable as well as safe to iron.

They’re really so simple and sweet! Each one will be a little different and no one is perfect. That’s what I love about them. They all have their own character.

 

Have you ever pressed ferns or flowers to fabric? I had so much fun with it. I’m really looking forward to trying it out on some other projects this summer!

Be sure to hop over to the inspiring summer projects by my talented friends. There’s so many fun projects I can’t wait to try!

 

The Happy Housie / Home Made Lovely / Taryn Whiteaker / Craftberry Bush

The DIY Mommy / Duke Manor Farm / Zevy Joy / Inspiration for Moms / Newly Woodwards

Satori Design for Living / Tidbits / Sincerely, Marie Designs / So Much Better with Age / Town and Country Living

Paint Me Pink / Finding Silver Pennies / Southern State of Mind / The House of Wood / Amber Tysl