DIY: Easy Inkblot Napkins

I see graphic napkins  everywhere these days, and they are so easy to create (see a great example on A Beautiful Mess).  When I saw several bunches of plain white napkins in West Elm  on sale for $5 the other day, I couldn’t resist!  After playing around with different stamps, I decided to try something a little different.  And thus the inkblot napkin was born!

As a little aside, the inkblot test was invented by psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach in the 1920s as a method of unveiling our subconscious desires.  But don’t worry, you don’t have to psychoanalyze your house guests as they eat their pot roast.  Though, of course, you might be tempted.

All you need for this quick and easy DIY is some cloth napkins (you can even make them yourself) and some fabric paint.  I picked up a bottle of Tulip paint at Michael’s in “Ebony”.

It’s better not to iron the napkins, so that you can use the creases as guidelines.  Lay your napkin out flat in front of you, so that you can see the eight rectangles clearly.  In the second row from the bottom, squirt some fabric paint out of the bottle.  Don’t get too close to the outer edges, and only use a small amount of paint (you will get bolder designs with more paint, more delicate designs with less).

Pick up the bottom crease of the second row, and fold the row in half, being careful to line up the top creases.  Press down on the napkin, beginning in the center and working you way to the edges.

Unfold the napkin, and add some paint to the first row.

Fold over the first row, just as you did to the second.  Press down again.

Repeat the same process for the third row.  When you are folding, do so from the top of the napkin and be careful not to let the top (fourth) row touch the other paint.

Repeat again for the top row…

And you’re done! Follow the directions on your fabric paint as to dry time.  I let mine dry for 4 hours, and then washed them after 72.

You can experiment with color, too!