Christmas Tea Towels

Thanks for Sharing!

Hello, hello! I am Carrie from Lovely Etc. and I can’t wait to share my latest project with you!

With Christmas on the way, my mind has been on how to create some really beautiful and inexpensive gifts and décor and these Christmas tea towels definitely fit the bill!

Supplies

Plain white tea towels

Freezer paper

Iron

Craft knife and cutting mat

Hole punch

Gold fabric paint and paintbrush

Making these is super easy thanks to the magic of freezer paper. If you’ve never used a freezer paper stencil before, let me tell you, it is amazing. You can buy freezer paper from your local grocery store in the aisle with the wax paper and aluminum foil. I have no idea what freezer paper was originally used for but it is absolutely perfect for stenciling on fabric.

To make my Merry and Bright tea towel, I started by creating the design in Picmonkey using the fonts Thirsty Script Bold and EcuyerDAX.

Once everything was looking good, I printed out my design. Then it was time to carefully cut it out.

You don’t need any fancy cutting machines to make freezer paper stencils (though if you have one, it will definitely make it faster!) I didn’t use a cutting machine at all – just a good old fashioned craft knife and cutting mat. This can be a bit tedious but is not difficult. Just lay your freezer paper right on top of your printed design and carefully trace around each letter with the craft knife. Be sure to save the little dots that go in the centers of some of the letters  – you will need them for your stencil.

Line the freezer paper up where you would like it on your tea towel with the plastic side down. Iron the freezer paper stencil onto the fabric. You only need to hold the iron on each section for a few seconds. Be sure to iron on the little dots and other letter centers as well. Ironing seals the stencil to the fabric so that when you paint it, the paint won’t seep under the edges.

Then using a paintbrush, paint on two coats of gold fabric paint.

To make the polka dot tea towel, I simply used a hole punch to punch random dots all over a sheet of freezer paper.

Then I ironed it to the tea towel and painted the dots with gold fabric paint.

Carefully peel off the freezer paper stencil and you’re done! All that’s left is to marvel at how well freezer paper stencils work!

These would look gorgeous to add a little cheer to your own home or they make a fabulous gift!

Thanks for letting me share! If you are looking for more Christmas inspiration, be sure to head to Lovely Etc. and check out my 12 Days of Christmas full of more than 100 handmade Christmas ornaments! And I would love for you to follow along with my crafty adventures on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!