Country-Style Monogrammed Placeholder and Cloth Napkin DIY

Howdy, blog friends! It was so fun hearing from so many of you in the comment section on my last post! What a treat to reconnect with those of you who still like to meet up this way. ❤️

If you follow along with me on Instagram, you know that I collaborated with my friend Marian (a.k.a. Miss Mustard Seed) this past week. We’ve shared fun experiences several times throughout the years (HGTV.com articles, my Chapel Market, her “Layla’s Mint” milk paint!) so it was really neat and nostalgic to create together again!

Marian shared a super cute paper leaf project and her beautiful Fall mantel:

(Photo: Miss Mustard Seed)

If you haven’t seen her post about it yet, you will definitely want to click through this link: Simple, Natural Fall Mantel

I shared about some placeholders and cloth napkins I revamped, but I know not everyone is on Instagram, so I thought I’d share about them here today, too. I got the placeholders at Michaels a while back, and although they were cute as-is, I was inspired to make them look more like the antique crocks I inherited from my grandma. I recently (serendipitously) discovered a paint combo that just happens to look almost exactly like the color of an antique crock, so while the steps of this DIY are fairly no-brainer, you’ll want to save the names of these two colors for future use! Here’s how the leaves looked straight from the store:

I started by painting the letters and veins a color called Raleigh Sorrel (by Benjamin Moore), and then lightly coated the surface of each leaf with a color called Tony Taupe (by Sherwin-Williams). I like to keep sample pots of both colors on hand for projects like this. I used an artist brush to apply the Raleigh Sorrel, and used a foam brush to apply several thin coats of the Tony Taupe in order to achieve a super smooth finish. Next, I added little (Raleigh Sorrel) speckles to give them a little more crock-style character, and then sprayed them with a coat of non-yellowing sealer.

Such a great color match, right?

Once I completed all of my leaves, I moved on to my cloth napkins. I could hardly believe how well they coordinated with the rest of my fall-themed table, but I wanted to add a little more country style flair to the top and bottom edges.

Nothing a little Fabric Fusion and pretty trim (from Joann) couldn’t fix! I even used a little on the end of each piece of trim to make sure the threads wouldn’t separate.

Anywho, sometimes it’s the little things, ya know? 🥰 Oh, and I should mention I think I felt inspired to use the color green on our (Fall) table because all the leaves are still very much attached to the trees, and the temperature is still very much in the 80s. 😅 Happy crafting, y’all!

Layla