DIY Spring Napkin Rings (How to Create a Vinyl Stencil with Cricut)

I am the proud new owner of my FIRST Cricut machine guys!! I’ve watched so many other creators make some amazing projects on their Cricuts throughout the years and I had a huge list of ideas going in my head, so I finally bit the bullet and bought one for my ever-growing crafting arsenal.

And this project was my first test of using my new Cricut Joy Xtra! It is such a cute and compact machine that fits perfectly on my workspace and is a really manageable size for creating the type of DIY projects that I like to do. It is also soo user friendly and easy to setup. I was working on my first project within minutes of opening the box.

I have had these unfinished wood napkin rings sitting around my studio for a while now just trying to think of the best way to decorate them. I will admit that I am not the best when it comes to freehand painting so I was nervous to just jump in and decorate them. But I got inspired from some stencils that I saw online and thought…how hard could it be?! So I enlisted my friend Lisee to design me this cute folk art inspired floral pattern and I created my own vinyl stencils using the Cricut. Then I applied paint to the stencils and I held my breath and when I removed the stencil, I was actually shocked to see that it worked!! lol

Follow along below to get all the details and tips on how I painted these adorable stenciled napkin rings, perfect for any of your upcoming Spring entertaining.

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PAINT YOUR OWN SPRING NAPKIN RINGS (AND HOW TO CREATE A VINYL STENCIL WITH CRICUT)

Supplies:

STEP 1: You are going to begin this project by creating your stencils using the Cricut Joy Xtra machine (or whatever cutting machine you have). Download the Spring Napkin Ring Stencil image from the link above.

Create a new project in Cricut Design Space and upload the stencil image into the program. When it asks you to select image type, click “simple”. Then, manually remove the background by clicking inside the flower petals and leaves. It should look like the image above. Choose “cut image” as your upload type. And add the image to your canvas.

You may need to resize the image once it uploads. You want the width of the stencil to be 0.75”. Duplicate the image to create as many stencils as you need — I made a set of 6 napkin rings so I created 6 separate stencils. And adjust their positioning so they are fairly close together in the top left corner of the page. I adjusted all of my stencils to be horizontal but it doesn’t really matter either way.

Once your design is ready, click “make” in the top right corner. Select “on mat” for how you will load your material for this project. Make sure your design is in the top left corner of the mat on the screen.

STEP 2: Cut out a piece of removable matte vinyl (any color will do since this will just be used as a stencil and discarded after) that is just a bit bigger than your design. You can use the guides on the image of the mat on your screen as a guide to how big of a piece of vinyl you will need. Stick it down to your sticky machine mat in the top left corner and load the mat into your Cricut.

Click “go” on Cricut Design Space and your machine will begin cutting out the stencil!

STEP 3: Remove the material from your sticky mat. Use a weeding tool to gently lift up any of the excess vinyl material from your design. Since you are creating a stencil, you want to keep the negative space of the design and remove the positive space (or the places you want to paint). So this includes removing the background around all the stencils and then removing the individual flowers and leaves.

STEP 4: Cut out a piece of clear vinyl transfer tape that is just big enough to cover your design. Peel off the backing and press down the sticky side of your transfer tape to the front of your vinyl stencil. Use a scraper tool to make sure it is stuck down well.

Use a pair of scissors to cut out each individual stencil so you have 6 separate long stencils.

STEP 5: Now it is time to paint the base of your wood napkin rings! Pick out a color palette for your project and give the wood napkin rings about 2 even coats of paint. I painted the inside of the rings as well, but that is optional. Allow this paint to fully dry overnight.

STEP 6: Once your base paint is fully dry, you can begin to adhere your stencils. Carefully peel off the white backing of your first vinyl stencil, making sure that the full vinyl stencil design is still adhered to the clear sticky side of your transfer tape. Carefully press the transfer tape down to the center of your wood napkin rings. Try to line up the edges of the stencil with the lines on either side of the ring. I found it easiest to adhere it at the center first then press down both sides. You do not want any air bubbles so smooth out the tape as you adhere it around the ring.

STEP 7: Gently pull off the clear transfer tape so that your stencil is now adhered to the wood napkin ring. Do this as slowly and carefully as possible to make sure none of the details lift up as you are removing the tape. At this point, I would recommend going in with your scraper tool again and your finger nail to make sure your stencil is completely stuck down with no air bubbles. Mostly focus on the edges of your cut out shapes where you will be applying the paint. You don’t want paint to bleed under the stencil so make sure it is stuck down really well. This is the most important step of the project to ensure success!

STEP 8: Once you have gone over the stencil a few times with pressure to make sure it is stuck down REALLY WELL, you can begin painting! The best technique that I found for this step was to use an old paintbrush with worn out bristles — you could also use a special stencil paintbrush but I just used what I had on hand. Make sure the brush is completely dry and dip it into your paint color of choice. Blot the tip of the brush a few times on a rag so that there is only a little bit of paint left on the bristles, then apply the paint inside the stencil cut outs by taping it up and down — do not paint back and forth! You want to apply the paint in more of a blotting technique to avoid pulling up the edges of the stencil.

Repeat as needed until you have covered the whole cut out space, then move on to the next color with a new dry brush. After you make your way around the whole stencil, go back for a second coat of each color, applying the paint in the same way.

STEP 9: As soon as you finish your second coat and you are sure that all the small cut out details are completely covered with paint, you will want to immediately remove the vinyl stencil. You want to do this before your paint fully dries to avoid pulling up any attached paint. Carefully pull off the vinyl stencil starting at one end and lifting gently to reveal your flower design.

STEP 10: After your painted design has dried for a bit, you can now add a clear coat on top! I used a clear glossy spray paint, and I love the way the glossy finish looks on the napkin rings. Take these outside and suspend them on some wood dowels or skewers. Give them about 2 even coats of clear spray paint on every side and allow them to fully dry overnight.

And your napkin rings are now ready for your spring tablescape!

I’m obsessed with how these turned out. Are they perfect? Not exactly. But I actually love how handmade they look and it turned out a lot better than I could have possibly freehand painted! lol

I love all the possibilities with these unfinished wood napkin rings, I kind of want to make a version for every season! And I’m already thinking up what other ways I can use vinyl stencils now that I have my new Cricut Joy Xtra!

I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend! xo Rachael

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Hi! I'm Rachael
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