Napkin Rings

With the holidays approaching, I'm sure you have some fancy holiday dinners coming up or maybe you need to whip up a quick hostess gift? I made my star-shaped napkin rings on the HGTV show "That's Clever" a while back. I've included directions here, but you can go to HGTV's site for step-by-step directions with pictures of me making for the camera. By the way, my fingernails don't always look that good! I believe those pictures mark the last time I had a professional manicure...over a year ago. I think I'm in need of a holiday spa day.

GOLD STAR NAPKIN RINGS
Materials:
star-shaped cookie cutter or star stencil

paper

pencil

scissors

scrap pine wood - pieces need to be at least 4" x 4" in size and 3/4" thick

gloss gold spray paint

scroll saw

1-1/8" circle drill bit

spray adhesive

mineral spirits

150-grit sandpaper

craft gemstones

glue gun and hot glue sticks

1. Create a star pattern by tracing a star cookie cutter or stencil on paper.

2. Photocopy the pattern or make as many napkin holder patterns as needed.
3. Roughly cut out the patterns with scissors.
4. Adhere the paper patterns to scrap pieces of pine wood using spray adhesive.

5. Wearing eye protection, use a scroll saw to cut out the star shapes.

6. Use a 1-1/8 inch circle drill bit to cut a circle in the center of each star.
7. Remove the paper from the wood star shapes.
8. Sand the edges with 150-grit sandpaper.
9. Remove any traces of spray adhesive and wood shavings by cleaning each piece with mineral spirits.

10. Spray the front, back and edges of the wood stars with metallic gold gloss spray paint. Let dry.

11. Arrange craft gemstones in a pattern on a work surface.

12. Adhere the gems to the side edges of the gold star napkin rings with a hot glue gun. Let dry.

You can make these in any shape that will allow for a 1-1/8 inch circle in the center. To the right is a flower shape with flower beads adhered to the edge.

Below is an idea for gift packaging. I bundled a set of four napkin rings with tulle and tied with a ribbon. Ready for a deserving hostess.