Making beautiful do-it-yourself plywood napkin holders

Napkin holders are considered not only an obligatory attribute of any festive table, but also a decorative piece of kitchen interior. They can be either purchased ready-made in stores or made with your own hands from plywood. The technique of manufacturing such accessories does not require special experience, it is enough to determine their color, shape, and also prepare drawings.

Plywood napkin holder is an essential item for both everyday and holiday table. Previously, paper or plastic cups were used for paper napkins, in which they were laid out in the form of a funnel. To date, the supply of napkins in this way is considered a sign of bad taste and can ruin the overall impression of the owners of the house. A napkin holder made of plywood, in addition to its main purpose, also performs a decorative role, being an original table decoration. To make this accessory harmoniously look with other serving items, you need to select it individually, taking into account the uniform style of dishes.

The very first plywood napkin holders appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, but at that time they did not differ in a special design. Now on sale you can find many beautiful models of open, closed type, as well as with curly coasters. They are usually placed on the table at the rate of: 1 item for 4 persons.

Despite the fact that this element of decor is presented on the market in a huge assortment of models, many prefer to craft it with their own hands from plywood.This is because the process of making napkin holders takes a minimum of time and does not require special knowledge and experience. To make such a product with your own hands, it is enough to read the description of working with plywood, especially when it comes to sawing parts, during which you can’t rush.

The main feature in the manufacture of plywood napkin holders is the fact that you need to cut the material by holding the jigsaw strictly at an angle of 90 degrees, while the tool should always move exactly from top to bottom. All parts (leg, bottom, sidewalls) must be cut exactly along the marked lines.

Before you start making napkin holders, you should prepare the material and basic tools. For crafts, you can use plywood 4 mm thick. If the design requires a base, then you will have to separately buy plywood with a thickness of about 20 mm. When choosing plywood sheets, special attention should be paid to its quality (it is best to give preference to grades 1 and 2), the absence of defects, and shelf life. As for the tools, you will need a set consisting of:

• a pencil;
• sand paper;
• jigsaw;
• cardboard;
• varnish for wood;
• needle file;
• wood glue;
• tassels;
• rulers;
• electric burner.

When making do-it-yourself plywood napkin holders, you can apply various design ideas, but for beginners, experts recommend choosing models of simple shapes with a minimum number of curls. Besides, Before starting work, you will need to prepare drawings according to which you can make templates for cutting parts. The drawings must necessarily contain the dimensions of the future product. To simplify the task of creating templates, draw a sketch of a napkin holder on paper. This can be done manually, if you have experience in drawing, or you can print ready-made ones from the Internet.

To date, the most popular models of napkin holders include several models.

Products in this design are considered quite spectacular. Most often, white color is selected for the background of napkin holders. The side walls of the product have an uneven edge, so if you put red napkins, you can get the effect of bloody smudges.

A plywood napkin holder in the form of an elegant girl is often referred not only to the Ballerina model range, but also to Dancer, Lady with a Fan, and Snow Maiden. The main feature of these napkin holders is the holder. It is located in such a way that laid out napkins around the bottom of the silhouette of the “plywood lady” form a skirt. You can also make napkin holders in the form of a girl with a dress. Napkin holders “Ballerina” are designed for 10-30 napkins, they have an original style and give the interior of the room airiness, a complete look.

Outwardly resembles a real piece of furniture, only has less functionality and small size. This model can be placed on a daily dining table.

Napkin holders of this type are usually chosen by people who love adventure. They are made of laser cutting plywood, instead of sails, napkins of any color are fixed on supports.

The napkin holders “Bouquet”, “Peacock”, “Mouse” and “Pigeons” look no less interesting in the interior of kitchens. The only thing that they are difficult to make on their own, because it requires complex schemes and the ability to work with the tool.

In order to make do-it-yourself plywood napkin holders look beautiful and prolong their service life, the surface of the product must be varnished. This is done using a flat wide brush with a long synthetic pile. It is advisable to apply the varnish slowly, so that stains and noticeable scratches do not remain on the surface of the decor item. It is worth noting that with varnish it is necessary to cover not only all visible parts, but also the entire product. To slightly muffle the shade of the napkin holder, it is recommended to use matte varnish, and for brightness - glossy.

Some novice masters apply a sponge instead of a brush when applying varnish, but this is a gross mistake, because the sponge is very “watching”. It can only be used to create individual decorative effects.

After the plywood napkin holder is ready, you can proceed to the most crucial moment - decorating it. To do this, you can burn out a beautiful ornament on the product using an electric burner (after drawing simple patterns with a simple pencil) or use the decoupage technique. Napkins, painted with acrylics, also look elegant.

Most masters when painting napkins use acrylic painting. For To perform a decorative coating of this type, you must have brushes, lint-free rollers and spray guns in cans. First, the plywood is covered with a thin layer of paint (a background is made for the future composition), moving the brush along the wood fibers. Then the product is coated with a primer, dried and the pattern you like is chosen. It can be applied through a stencil or with a brush, after drawing the contours with a pencil.

At the ends of the product you can place ribbons with bows. To give a napkin holder a more spectacular look, you can create glare using gray paint. The inside of the product must be covered with a stain. As for the color design, for napkin holders from plywood, you can choose any shades, taking into account not only personal preferences, but also the design of the room, season. For example, a green palette is recommended for products that will decorate the festive New Year's table, pastel colors are appropriate for the spring period, well, and in summer you can decorate products in rich colors.

To apply this decoration technique, you will need to prepare brushes, multi-colored paints (for background coating), napkins with patterns and varnish. First of all, the workpiece is gently sanded and wiped from dust, then you can proceed to decoupage it in the chosen style. An original solution is the design of a napkin holder in the Provence style. After priming the surface of the plywood, varnish-glue is applied, then a fragment of the decoupage card is applied. You need to smooth it with your fingers from the center to the edges. Then re-coat with glue.

Once the glue dries, you can do background decoration. Using small pieces of foam rubber with tamping movements, a lavender-colored paint is applied to the surface of the napkin holder. Without waiting for the paint to dry completely, you can immediately add other shades, while you should make sure that the color transitions are smooth. It is recommended to cover the edges of the product with darker tones. The result is a very stylish piece of decor.

For those who know how to use an electric burner, there are huge opportunities for creating an original decor on plywood. Thanks to this tool, you can decorate not only the main part of the napkin holder in the form of patterns consisting of thin lines, but also its edges. This decoration technique is ideal for those who draw poorly, but love pyrography. To create a beautiful ornament, it is enough to purchase ready-made stencils and schemes for burning on wood in the store. On napkin holders, you can burn flowers, animals, hieroglyphs, as well as various inscriptions.

Beginners can decorate napkins with varnish mixed with stain - the result is spectacular products. Such a coating is applied to the finished product with an adhesive brush, while the surface should be pre-treated with sandpaper and degreased. Such decoration can only be done on a perfectly smooth surface. Before applying stain mixed with varnish, plywood must be treated with a damp sponge. After the coating dries, you can see the color saturation, if it is insufficient, then another layer is applied.

You can find out more information on this from the video below.