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It's as easy as using lace fabric as a stencil to spray paint a lacy pattern onto butcher paper!
Using this technique, you can produce tons of funky and brightly colored tablecloths on the cheap. Plus, your handmade, fancy butcher paper can also be used for decorations around your venue, like hanging hearts, or a photo backdrop. Or, when it is all said and done, the patterned paper can even make pretty end-papers for your wedding album!
What you will need:
- Butcher paper
- Spray paint
- Lace
- Spray adhesive
- Clear acrylic craft finishing spray
For my demo I'm using lace doilies instead of lace fabric.
First spray your lace with spray adhesive.
A literary table runner PERFECT for bookish weddings
Here's an amazing idea with the DIY instructions to go along with it for a table runner, perfect for you literary types.
Now place your lace onto your butcher paper, sticky side down. Then spray-paint your lace and paper!
Let the paint dry and peel your lace from the paper. If you want, save your lace — you can spray-paint through the same piece of lace over and over again if you are making several table coverings.
It looks awesome! Be sure to give your final piece a coat of clear acrylic craft finishing spray so that the color does not rub off onto your guests!
Joy used this craft to make multi-colored tablecloths for her state park wedding. I *LOVE* that she used board games as her centerpieces!
With her extra paper she cut out some hearts and hung them up!
Alec, the handsome groom:
Then we had the idea to hang some of the paper on the wall and use it as a photo backdrop! Isn't Joy gorgeous?
After the lace-patterned paper made such a splash on her wedding day, Joy decided to use some as the endpapers for her wedding album. The album is by Leigh-Ann at Freckled Nest. So wonderful!
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this is awesome. I was totally thinking of using paper for table cloths on picnic tables. This would be perfect. Do you know if you can spray paint over the same piece of lace several times with a different color….Don’t want to have to buy lots of lace.
Yes you definitely can re-use the lace! Just allow your piece of lace to dry in between uses. If you do it right, it will become a horrific brown color. 🙂
LOVE this idea! Also, that bride is positively glowing!
This is so cool!
Hmmm, considering my ceremony dress is definitely incorporating lotsa lace, that could be really cool. I’m trying to think of a way to do a paint lace runner down the middle of tablecloths (See OBB, now you’ve got me planning YET ANOTHER DIY project, my man’s gonna murder you) using fabric paint. I did use spray fabric paint once before but it sucked, if I can figure out a non commercial kind mixed in a squirt bottle, it could just work…/plotting
I have used normal canned spray paint on fabric before. We decorated multiple t-shirts using a stencil and normal krylon (or whatever brand you want spray paint. The t-shirts also wash well.
You can also use extremely watered down household latex paint in a handheld garden sprayer. It’s something we do in theatre a lot. Just make sure you use a high water to paint ratio. It should be about the consistency of skim milk. It’s really a fun way to paint!!!
I use this technique on plain wooden bracelets i get from an educational art supplies store.
I prime them with acrylic paint and spray over the top! easy!
the lace i use is really cheap from an op shop, just old lace curtains and stuff.
if you are going to try this on other surfaces, just be aware that some kinds of spray paint eat into materials like rubber, plastic or foam.
I had seen this awhile back and I’m so glad to see this bride again! I’m totally stealing the games for centerpieces idea and the directions for making the “lace” table coverings will be so helpful. Thank you!
Man that’s an awesome idea! I’m going to use the idea for scrapbook paper. Also, what a gorgeous bride! The lace backdrop with the dress is sooo sexy!
Whoa! I never thought of this! I absolutely love the idea! How crafty! <3 May use this for future parties!
Do you think you can employ this technique directly on walls?
I don’t see why not! Just be sure to do a practice run somehow beforehand. Doing several light coats of paint (rather than one heavy one) will be extra important because gravity will *not* be on your side.
Would love to use it on paper tablecloths and make ‘lace’ placemats for each guest. A unique accent that hasn’t been done to death.
I really love this idea. So creative and beautiful. Also a great valentines day dinner place mat or table runner idea.
I’m really into adding something handmade into our wedding. So far the “love” and the “thank you” sign, center piece vases next… hopefully they look as nice as your post! Fingers crossed.
I love this! So beautifully simple..thanks for sharing!
I think i love you! this is AWESOME! was thinking of how to incorporate our lace and steel theme for our outdoor wedding without breaking the bank and bingo! so Thank you!
I’m thinking of doing this – such a great way to avoid the hassle and expense of renting or buying linen. And add color! Any one have thoughts on flowers that would complement such bright, multicolor tables? our theme is based on some pakistani bus art we like which is super bright and fun (with red as the predominant color) and I’m concerned that with lots of colors and patterns, it’ll look too busy. suggestions for keeping it from looking like a jumble?
I would either do every table a different color for a truly rainbow look, or pick a theme of 3-4 colors and repeat each one once or twice, which will give it coherence. Either way I think it will be cheery and awesome! I am debating whether to make table runners with this method or doing the entire table cloth.
Ooof course I’m led back to OBB whilst on the pinterest hunt for some way to NOT shell out on tablecloths! Love it.
I ended up doing this for my wedding last month and they turned out great! It did take a while – 2 or 3 solid afternoons for 16, 8ft long tablecloths. It also took a while to find an old lace curtain that was big enough at a thrift shop, but I was able to get 2 for 7$. I ordered 4ft wide butcher paper online. I used a paint sprayer (not a garden sprayer) I had for painting a deck. They’re pricy if you don’t have it already but may be possible to borrow from a homeowner who has one. Originally I thinned the paint but that was a mistake – the result was super wet and took a long time to dry. Using straight latex wall paint in the sprayer worked great. I did one with spray paint and the fumes were awful. Much prefer the latex sprayer. The latex paint also didn’t require the acrylic spray over top and I used lots of leftover paint I had on hand or got from freecycle. And I ended up doing them in multiple colors (about 8 red, 3 teal, 2 orange, 2 green, 2 purple) and i was afraid it would look like a hodge podge but it looked great! In the end I was glad I did it and thought it was worth the effort though my friends thought it took too long, but said that at the wedding it looked good. In the end though, it wasn’t something people really noticed compared to other DIY decor I had.
Wow, another person with the name Joy. We are so rare. Also i just may do the lace thing.
Loved this art…very beautiful