Christmas Craft #2: Holiday Clip-Art Cocktail Napkins

My husband and I host an annual holiday celebration at our apartment and each year, I try to concoct new and special touches for the event. Today, I'll show how I created a set of cocktail napkins with a vintage festive feel that our guests can enjoy while we eat, drink and be merry!

This project requires a small number of supplies but the impact is big, if you ask me!

(necessary supplies: scissors, iron-on transfer paper, white cocktail napkins, an iron)

I purchased iron-on transfer paper from Target for about $7, and I ordered 12 of these hemstitch cocktail napkins from Amazon--and I was very pleased when I saw their quality in person! 

Step #1:

First, I found free vintage clip art that I liked from this great site. There are many sites sharing free vintage clip art across the internet, so check them all out! I arranged the images in a Powerpoint document and printed a practice sheet (for sizing) before I printed on the iron-on transfer paper. Remember: images will be ironed onto the napkins as a mirror image of how they look as they are printed! Once I was happy with the size of the images, I printed the clip art using the transfer paper according to instructions on the packaging.

Step #2:

With scissors, I cut carefully and closely around the printed clip art images. I chose a few different images, including a pine cone, a sprig of mistletoe, and various evergreen designs.

Step #3:

According to the instructions that came with the transfer paper, I washed the napkins before ironing on the clip art. I ironed the napkins after they came out of the dryer, and kept the iron at the highest cotton setting with the steam shut off. Per the directions, I laid out a wrinkle-free pillowcase on my dining table and set that under the napkins rather than using the ironing board (apparently a no-no for this process). Then, I laid the clip art I wanted on each napkin with the wrong side up. I ran the iron over each transfer for 2 minutes until it adhered.

Step #4:
I allowed the iron-on transfers to cool completely. Then, I peeled the paper backing off of the napkin to reveal the designs. Like that, I had custom cocktail napkins for this year's fete!

(all images via Meet Me in Philadelphia)

What do you think? 

I can't wait to share them with our guests at our holiday party!