How to: Elegant Party Napkins

Project and photo courtesy of
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores

Skill Level 2: Some sewing experience needed

Approximate Crafting Time: 1 1⁄2 hours for four





SUPPLIES & TOOLS:• Cotton fabric – 1/2 yd. makes two napkins
• Basic sewing supplies
• Rotary cutter, ruler & mat
• Sewing machine with 1 spool of matching thread
• Fray Check
• Iron
• Flowers of choice
• Trims or Ribbon of choice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut fabric into 18" squares.

2. Using sewing machine: Turn edges under 1/8" then another 1/8" and sew with a straight stitch.

3. Place a drop of Fray Check at each corner and allow to dry.

4. Trim corners.

5. Fold napkins in different styles: Fold accordion style and tie at bottom, fold with a pocket to tuck in flowers or stems, gather in center and tie. Get creative!

Tea Parties & Simple Sewing

When I was in high school, I took all the college-prep classes. My friends took Home Economics. BUT NO....not me. Now, I wish I had! I would love to learn to sew! I can "piddle" at the sewing machine, but nothing major or involved.

A few years ago while going through my divorce, and enjoying my new found freedom, I began to have monthly tea parties at my house. I really enjoyed these! I loved planning them, making the invitations (that's when I first got into card-making) and cooking all kinds of treats for the party. I even began to make my napkins to match the "theme" of the party.

One September, I had an apple-theme...One January, I had snowmen/snowflake winter theme...One April, I had violets...you get the idea.

I had no sewing experience WHATSOEVER even though I had bought a sewing machine 10 years before and had piddled around making curtains and one very simple skirt back then. But I looked at some dinner napkins I had and said "how hard can it be?" I really enjoyed that simple sewing fun and my guests were so impressed! (None of them sewed...haha) but I think it was more the fact that I went through the "trouble" and matched the themes.

It's the little things that really count with people. It was the point that I took the effort and decorated the table with my best china + tablecloth + fresh flowers + several different types of tea in different teapots, made the napkins to match my themes, made invitations (that also matched the themes, of course!), and spent time in the kitchen preparing delightful little dishes just for them. I wanted them to feel special and know I felt blessed to have them as friends!

Even though I'm married now and love my new husband so much, I miss those times & wish I had friends who lived close to me now that I have moved away from my old ones. I would so enjoy having tea parties again.

It's hard today to make new friends. And sometimes it seems like people are so wrapped up in careers and family that they don't care for anyone else. So I'm really praying that God will send some special friends into my life now...who live in the same county please!

Mary Janes Farm

Found an awesome website & magazine! Oh my goodness! These farmgirls put me to shame! They cook, they sew, they can & preserve, they are awesome. I had better get my butt busy on all those crafting projects cluttering up the house! Mary Jane's Farmgirl Connection is a wonderful place to get great ideas & these down-to-earth women really are honest, warm & friendly! There is a real comaraderie among them. And, girls, you know that is so hard to find in our "look-out-number-one" world.

I found the magazine Mary Jane's Farm at my local Barnes & Noble bookstore. I had never heard of it! I know, I know, where have I been! Ha! Now my husband, who dreams of gardening & farming, would be delighted that I stumbled upon such a heart-warming 'homesteading' site, but we'll just keep this our secret. :-) I wouldn't want to get his hopes up, hehe.

Somerset Life

Where have you been all my life? How long have you been around since I discovered you last week? What a charming and dreamy book! I want to jump right into the pages and live there with all the inpiration! I have been dreaming and planning Prim Rose Hill Studio for a while now and this just makes me want to stop everything else in my life and go for it! Ok, realistically I still have to keep the "day job"...after all, who can give up a pie-job with state benefits, but oh the wonderful things I could enjoy doing in any spare time I can find! Now...if I could just win the Mega Million, I would have all kinds of time to be creative and crafty! :-)

Prim Rose Hill Greetings

I have been a "crafty-kind-of-person" for long time now. My fondest childhood memories are the times I spent working on a particular arts and crafts project. Our bathroom wall at home consisted of my paint-by-numbers bunny rabbits and my room was cluttered with hand-painted items, various sewing projects in different stages, and lots of crayons & paint bottles! Fortunately, my painting has progressed a bit, but I still have lots of paint bottles!

I wanted a blog to share my sewing projects, art designs, painting, and just things that give me inspiration. I realized I was saving alot of Word documents with different "ideas" for future hopes of inspiration, so why not make it easy and put it in a blog? 'Cause we all know that everyone is blogging nowadays. :-)

What style do I like? I used to love painting shabby chic colors and anything floral. But lately I've been drawn towards the simple primitive and americana styles. So from there we get the name "Prim Rose"...my love for Prim and my love for shabby chic Roses. (Yep, I live on a Hill too!)