I wanted to find a fall DIY to feature all of the beautiful leaves before they were gone. This DIY is really easy and super fun. Get your girlfriends together for a crafternoon and make this tea towel DIY as gifts or for your kitchen. Does anyone feel intimidated by DIY’s? I received messages and comments talking about how great DIY’s look but that the person could never attempt it themselves! Most of the DIY’s I attempt are quick and easy. I plan most of my blog content on the weekends so they have to be, I don’t have all day. If you are wanting to start to DIY, this tea towel would be a great first project. You can’t go wrong as the pattern is whatever you make it.
Step by step tutorial on how to create a DIY Leaf Printed Tea Towel.
Step 1: Get your materials
Leaves, these can be foraged in your neighborhood or yard, and you want to look for thicker leaves that have defined spines on the back as that’s what creates the details for the leaf, fabric paint, tea towel, gloves and foam dabber. For the tea towel I wanted a linen look so chose a thin cotton tea towel that replicated it on a smaller budget.
Step 2: Design time
What do you want your tea towel to look like? I made three different versions to showcase how easy it is to change up the design. One is using a tropical leaf covering the area, the other is simply a large fern on an angle and lastly I used smaller leaves only on the bottom.
Step 3: Start printing
I would recommend using paper or plastic on the area you are working as this can get a little messy. First dab your sponge in the paint and make sure there is not too much on the end as your leaf will simply be a blog. You then want to dab the fabric paint on the BACK of the leaf as this is what will give you the best leaf print. Once it is fully covered flip it onto the tea towel. You can then use your hand or a piece of paper to smooth over the leaf. This will ensure the leaf print is detailed.
Step 4: Keep going
Once you have finished your first leaf, you just need to keep going until you have finished your design.
Step 5: How to set the paint
Each paint might be slightly different but to set the fabric paint, wait 24 hours. Then using an iron with a piece of fabric over the paint, iron the leave print on high heat without steam. After 72 hours you can wash the tea towel.
My tea towel is for decorative use! Haha, Mark always laughs at the decorative tea towel. I need a few when guests come over and I want my kitchen to look nice. Are you a fan of the decorative tea towel? One that you keep for show? Let me know in the comments below that I am not alone!
You can also use your newly printed tea towel as a backdrop for photos. The tropical tea towel looks great with this cheese plate. I like to use tea towels to create texture when taking food photos. It’s easy to lay it down and use it as a backdrop or have it on the side of a bowel.
If you are lucky enough to have some kitchen pieces on display. Hang your tea towel with these items to add a pop of colour. I love how this green fern turned out! It’s simply but has great texture. Also can my kitchen look like this ALL the time! I love the stylized look but it’s not always easy to maintain.
Or you can actually use the tea towel! There’s a novel idea. Since this has the pattern along the bottom it would be easy to clean. I like how this adds some colour to my white kitchen. There are so many unique leaves you can find out in nature.
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