Spring Bling: A Cherry Blossom Table Makeover With Decoupaged Napkins

Decoupage Pretty Napkins Onto Furniture to Bring a Little Bit of Spring Inside Your Home All Year Round

One of my favorite things about living so close to Washington, D.C. is being able to enjoy the world-famous cherry blossoms that bloom here every spring.

In 1912, Japan donated 3,000 cherry trees to the United States as a symbol of friendship. Planted around the Tidal Basin, the trees look beautiful when the blossoms burst in their pink and white glory. The blooms usually peak around late March or early April depending on the weather.

Those last few weeks of winter weather can be tough when you are so over the cold and ready for spring. I found a way to force a little Spring indoors—by decoupaging pretty napkins onto furniture.

I found these cherry blossom napkins at the party supply store. We also sell several patterns of decoupage paper here in our online store.

The cherry blossom napkins were perfect to decoupage onto this little three-legged table. The table is sturdy and has a great shape, but it was beat-up and dated. It needed an awesome spring bling cherry blossom makeover.

Now I can enjoy a little bit of D.C. spring all year round!

First, I painted the table Soft White by Real Milk Paint Company, the environmentally-friendly milk paint we carry at our shop All Things New Again in Leesburg, Virginia. I added a product called UltraBond to the paint because I wanted a smooth finish on this table. UltraBond is an “adhesion promoter” which means it helps the paint stick better and prevents that “chippy” look that milk paint is famous for.

Next, I applied the paper napkins around the front and back panels of the table with Mod Podge.

Read my Tips for Decoupaging Paper Napkins onto Furniture.

I tried something new for me. After the Mod Podge dried, I distressed through the napkins with sandpaper. My mom is crazy about this look and does it on all of her decoupage pieces. It makes me nervous! I just spent all this time arranging the napkins perfectly and smoothing out the air bubbles being extremely careful not to tear the delicate paper.

And now you want me to run sandpaper all over it?!

I was skeptical, but I took a deep breath and did it anyway. The sandpaper kind of burnished the napkins into the wood making those little cherry blossoms look like they have been there forever. It also distressed away parts of the design revealing bits of the white paint. I decided the paint job needed a little bit of distressing now too so I just took a little off around the edges for a more cohesive shabby look.

And then I added some BLING!

Dixie Shine is a metallic foil product from Dixie Belle Paints, the no-VOC chalk/mineral paint we also sell at All Things New Again. I like Dixie Shine A LOT.

Because I like everything to look like Vegas, baby!

Here’s a link to my metallic foil tutorial.

On the cherry blossom table, I added some gold shine around the edge of the tabletop. Then I distressed through it a little bit after it dried so it wasn’t too much Vegas, baby!

This is Washington, D.C. after all. 🙂

~  Courtney

Here’s the finished table!

Thank you for visiting the All Things New Again Blog!

All Things New Again is a family-owned furniture and paint boutique located in Leesburg, Virginia about an hour or so west of Washington, D.C. We offer hand-painted furniture, home decor and several lines of paint for your next DIY project. Find our full schedule of painting classes and workshops here. Follow our All Things New Again Facebook page and tune in every Friday at 8 pm (eastern time) for The Furniture Painting Friday Show featuring painting ideas, instruction and encouragement for furniture artists of all skill levels.

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