Painted Pots and Blooming Napkins

Materials and Tools:

terra-cotta planter with relief details
ivory acrylic craft paint
water
glaze medium
gold acrylic craft paint
foam paintbrushes
round paintbrushes
clear satin polyurethane or acrylic sealer
felt stick-on furniture pads
green napkins
pink or red napkins
6" terra-cotta pot
small terra-cotta pots
green floral wire
peat moss

1. Mix ivory craft paint with water to achieve a milky consistency. Apply to the terra-cotta planter with a foam paintbrush and let dry.

2. Mix gold paint and glaze medium together. Use a small round paintbrush to add gold highlights to the top ridge and relief details on the pot. Let the glaze dry thoroughly.

3. Spray with a clear sealant. When the sealant is dry, attach felt stick-on furniture pads to the bottom of the planter.

4. To make the napkins, starting with the pink or red one (the flower), fold it in half along the diagonal. Next, lay the napkin on a work surface and fold the middle point of the triangle up, letting it slightly extend over the folded long edge.

5. Fold the bottom edge up until it's just short of the top edge.

6. Roll the napkin from one end to the other. Adjust the "petals" of the rose with your fingers.

7. Next, working with the green napkin (the leaf), fold the square in half along the diagonal. Fold in half again, along the long edge, creating a triangle. Fold in half a third time, along the long edge.

8. Place the flower into the middle of the leaf.

9. Place both flower and leaf in the flowerpot. Fill the pot with all the flowers. Smaller pots can be filled with napkins and placed at each table setting.

10. To make the silverware caddy, whitewash a 6" terra-cotta pot, insert a napkin and fill with silverware.

11. To make placecard holders, whitewash a small terra-cotta pot. Coil a piece of floral wire around a pen, remove the pen and tuck a name card in the coil. Plant in the pot and add peat moss as a final touch.