Inside: I’ll show you how to make these modern painted tea towels to add some fun to your kitchen this Easter.
Hopefully it feels like Spring where you live. Here in So-Cal I have to admit, I’m feeling a bit jipped cause we didn’t even get much of a “winter.” I see you rolling your eyes at me right now thinking “uh, paradise problems…” but seriously, I long for some cozy days. I want to wear my boots too!
Ok, so hopefully you’re done rolling your eyes at me and are ready for what I have in store for you today. Not just one project idea, but 7 Creative Easter Ideas! That’s right! After I show you my String Art Inspired Painted Tea Towels, which were really easy by the way, I have some amazing bloggy friends who are showing off their projects too! So be sure to visit each link at the end of this post to check out some more ideas!
What do you think of these Painted Tea Towels? Pretty cool huh?
Every time a holiday rolls around, I have a bit of a dilemma. I’m not one to go all out decorating for every holiday partly because I don’t like to spend money on things that are only out for a month, and partly because my style tends to be a bit more modern than cutesy . So I’ve started to make my own decorations so that I can give them a bit of a modern twist.
And so I whipped up some of these Painted Tea Towels that definitely have a modern vibe. I love the look of string art and thought, why not mimic the look of string art with my (really fancy) painting technique. That was a total joke, wait till you see what I mean by “fancy.”
Supplies List
- White tea towels or flour sacks (I accidentally bought really large ones, so I ended up cutting one in half to make 2 towels.) Try to get ones that are smooth.
- Craft paint that works on fabric or a fabric medium to add to some craft paint.
- A small piece of contact paper.
- An xacto knife.
- Scissors
- Thin pieces of cardboard. (Cereal boxes work perfect or the back of the pads of paper that realtors leave at your door.)
- A mechanical pencil or something with a small tip
Step 1: Make your template: Draw an egg the size you want it to be on a piece of paper and tape it to the non sticky side of your contact paper. Then cut it out using your xacto knife. Once you have your cut out, peel off the back of your contact paper and stick the stencil to your tea towel where you want your egg to be. Press down on the edges really well.
Now for the really “fancy” painting technique. You may have seen me use this technique before when I painted chevron stripes.
Step 2: Create “strings” with paint. (Mix your paint with a fabric medium if necessary) and put a thin puddle of paint onto a paper plate. Then take the edge of a thin piece of cardboard and dip it into the paint. (Your cardboard needs to be wide enough to fit across your egg shape.) Now, use the edge of the card board like you would a stamp and start stamping in all different directions.
Step 3: Paint a border: When you have enough “strings” you will need to finish it off with a border. I dipped the tip of my mechanical pencil (without lead) into the paint and drew the paint on around the edge of the stencil. When you are done, peel off the contact paper.
To add the grass I just stamped green paint using short pieces of cardboard.
And that my friends is all there is too it! Be sure to read the directions on your paint. Some fabric paints need to be set with heat.
I really dig the modern twist on cutesy that I have going on here don’t you?
Alrighty…ready for more fun Easter and Spring ideas? Let me turn it over to my bloggy friends! See how talented they are?
1) Cadbury Mini Egg Easter Sundae by Whistle and Ivy
2) Tangram Bunny Art by Persia Lou
3) Fall Wreath Transformed for Spring by Homemade Ginger
4) String Art Inspired Painted Tea Towels by Hey There Home (you are here 🙂
5) Baker’s Twine Carrot by Keeping it Simple
6) Cross-Stitch Bunny Canvas by Cutesy Crafts
7) Twine Wrapped Easter Eggs by Cook and Craft Me Crazy
Marcia says
Thank you so much for sharing this cute idea! Your instructions were so easy to follow that this project came together very quickly! We made these tonight as an activity for Easter with about a dozen girls around the ages of 7 -11. They all loved it and they were so proud to show everyone what they had done! They were all excited to go home and help their mothers by using them to dry the dishes!
Corey Willis says
Thanks for taking the time to let me know that the girls enjoyed the project, Marcia! Have a great day 🙂
Haeley @ Design Improvised says
Wow this is such a cool idea! Love it!
Toni says
Oh my cuteness Corey, this is such a brilliant painting technique! There are probably dozens of projects you could make with it, and your tea towels turned out so well!
Sabrina @ Pink Little Notebook says
This is amazing! You should stop by our PARA Blog Crew Spring Fever Link party & post this!!http://www.pinklittlenotebook.com/para-blog-crew-spring-fever-edition/
tinysidekick says
Thanks for the invite! Just linked up 🙂
Alyssa says
What a great Easter craft to do with kids! They came out so pretty. I just wanted to let you know that I am linking to this post on 4/7 at Simply Creative Living if you don’t mind.
malia says
This is awesome! Love how your mind works! xo
tinysidekick says
Well thanks Malia! I think I’m going to need to do this as a piece of wall art or something too! It was just so easy. Thank you for popping by!
[email protected] of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer says
You are so creative! I love the modern spin you put on these pretty Easter tea towels! SO glad you shared them at our party! PInning XO
tinysidekick says
Thanks Christy!
Lydia says
These turned out so cute! I am really in love with them! And I like that you could use this same method for a bunch of different seasons too (string art painted christmas trees anyone?). Brilliant! Thanks so much for linking up at Much Ado About Monday. We love seeing your beautiful projects each week. 🙂
Sonnet @ SohoSonnet Creative Living says
I love these! Such a great idea I think we are going to make them at a Mommy Easter party my friend is hosting. I will send you pictures :}
Katie Goldsworthy says
These are awesome! Sharing on G+. Thanks for linking at Monday Funday!
Carrie This Home says
These are so cute, Corey! I don’t decorate for every holiday but I like to at least do something little each year for Easter. So glad you shared this at Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop–I’m sharing this on my FB page this morning!
tinysidekick says
Thank you so much Carrie!
Cheryl @ Artzzle says
This is so easy, cute and clever! I’m trying it soon! Found you over at the linky party at SEASONED HOMEMAKER.
Jenn says
LOVE [email protected] I can’t wait to try it!
Angela (Life in Velvet) says
These are super cute! LOVE! Just pinned 🙂 How simple and beautiful! Thanks so much for linking up at Thursday STYLE 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Erlene says
This is genius. At first I thought you actually sewed onto the tea towel until I started reading your post. So much easier to do it with paint. Pinned. Would love to feature this project on my weekly roundup (linking back)
Diana says
This is such a clever idea! I’m with you on the whole, “I don’t feel like decorating for a holiday thing”, especially with smaller holidays. I would love to get more Spring like decor that is more modern and less cutesy though.
Jessica says
Love this idea, Corey! Never would have thought to paint string art!
Britni says
This is brilliant Corey, love it! I would never have thought to make this but I’m definitely going to try your fancy technique out soon.
Brooklyn says
These are darling! I love how simple they are! I thought it was sewn on, not painted! SO COOL! I love how cute they are! WAY TO GO! xo-Brook
tinysidekick says
Thank you! I thought about sewing them, but then I simplified. So much faster 🙂
Katie @ Upcycled Treasures says
These are so cute and I completely forgot about the mechanical pencil trick, which I think you had shared in another post. So clever! Love all the other Easter ideas too, pinned 🙂
tinysidekick says
Love my mechanical pencil. Just found some really cute ones in the dollar spot at Target today!!! Pretty much made my day 🙂 Thanks buddy!
[email protected] says
Loving this Corey! So simple yet decorative. Pinning!
tinysidekick says
Thanks Aniko! They really are so very easy 🙂 Hope you are having a great week.
For My Love Of says
They’re so cute (in the cool, i want them in my house way – not cutesy 😉 ). Sounds easy enough to try out! Thanks for sharing the tutorial! Pinning 🙂
Alexis @ Persia Lou says
Super cute, Corey! Love the technique and the modern cutesy look. 🙂
tinysidekick says
Thanks Alexis! Just what I was going for 🙂