DIY Valentine Decor

Today I have partnered with five of my favorite bloggers for a “three ingredient” blog challenge. The premise of the challenge is that we have to create something using at least three pre-determined ingredients. I created this DIY Valentine decor flower holder using a wooden crate, flowered paper napkins and lots of glue! So can you guess what the three ingredients for this DIY are?

Wrong!

Actually, that’s not an easy answer. Let me just say that we changed the three ingredients about ten times. Initially, the “ingredients” were either too far fetched or too specific. We finally settled on paper, ribbon, and glue. (We had Washi tape as one of the ingredients up until the last minute. Some of the bloggers used it and they should be given a prize! I can honestly say I am thrilled I did not have to include it in my project!)

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see photos and links to all of my fellow bloggers posts!

What You Will Need

A wooden crate (Ideally you want an unfinished wooden crate!)

White acrylic paint (only if the crate isn’t a consistent color)

Printed paper napkins

Tacky Glue

Rotary Cutter

Satin Varnish

Semi-fine sandpaper

Step #1 – Paint the Crate

As you can see from the photo above, the crate I used had different colors of stain. Since I knew the stain would show through, I painted the crate white before I started. If you use an unfinished crate or one that is the same color, then you can skip this step.

Step #2 – Cut the Paper Napkin

I measured the width of each board on the crate and using my rotary cutter, I cut out 2″ strips of the paper napkin. If the napkin is two-ply then remove the second solid color layer of the napkin (after you cut it) and discard.

I cut sixteen strips (one for each board) and had way too much!

Step #3 – Glue the Napkin to the Crate

Add a half teaspoon of water to a generous amount of tacky glue to thin it out. Apply the glue with a paintbrush and cover a board about the length of one of the strips. Gently apply the paper strip to the board. Don’t worry about making it too perfect. (You will sand it later so it doesn’t matter.)

Gently tap the napkin to adhere it to the wood, being careful not to pull it off (it is sticky!).

Continue all the way around until the first board is fully covered.

Add the paper napkin strips to the second board but start in a different place so the napkin patterns don’t match.

Continue until the entire crate is covered. Let dry overnight or until all of the glue is dry. (Don’t continue to the next step until you are 100% sure everything is dry.)