UPcycle | DIY summertime table settings

Summertime is the perfect time for dinner parties. Outdoors or indoors, people’s schedules are more flexible and socializing in the cool afternoons with friends is where it’s at.

To make the most of your summertime supper clubs or small gatherings, spend less on the décor and more on the food and beverages by upcycling items for new decorations.

Two easy projects you can do the day before are rehabbing old silverware and recycling old t-shirts into napkins.

These projects are not only inexpensive, but also quick fixer-upper projects that will impress.

Recycling old t-shirts is great way to create napkins for a bright, summery table setting. I usually have a pile of old t-shirts on hand in my craft room, but if you don’t have any you’d like to get rid of, check out the Goodwill or thrift stores for used t-shirts. If you are looking for specific colors, then I suggest grabbing some at the thrift store.

T-shirt napkins

What you’ll need:

One t-shirt per every two guests (makes two napkins)
Measuring tape
Scissors
Bleach
Plastic dishpan
Garbage bags
Rubberbands or twine
Wide ribbon
Sewing machine if available for fun stitches

-Cut each napkin from the t-shirts in approximately 12” x 12” squares.

-Roll up your new napkins and wrap rubberbands or twine around them, leaving material showing.

-Place the napkins inside a plastic dishpan sitting on a garbage bag (just to make sure you don’t get bleach everywhere) and sprinkle or pour bleach over them, moving them around to get them covered well.

-Let sit for about 30 minutes and then wash in cold water one cycle and dry.

-Iron flat and add colorful stitches by hand or by a machine if you like. You don’t have to do this, but it can add a little unique flavor.

-Fold nicely and tie with a colorful piece of ribbon or twine.

Funky Fresh Silverware

What you’ll need:

Your old silverware
Spray paint and/or acrylic paints
Masking tape
Paper plates
Wire rack

-Clean silverware well, making sure there is no debris and that the surface area is polished.

- For spray painting: Tape lines on handles in a design you like and spray with your chosen colors.

-Set on wire racks or paper plates to dry.

- For canned acrylic paint: You can use tape as well, but this works well just dipping the handles into the paint.

-Let the extra paint run off the ends of the silverware.

-Set on a wire rack to dry or you can hang with clothespins on a clothes line.

-Place newspaper or garbage bags flat under racks or clothes line to keep paint from getting on any surfaces.

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Twinkle VanWinkle ponders, creates and discovers cool stuff about music, movies, food, fashion and so forth. Her thoughtful writings and interactives give great advice about healthy food, cooking tips, DIY projects, fashion and more. She’ll teach you a thing or two about music as well. Along with producing dynamic entertainment content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.