Sometimes, the most striking piece in a room is also the most simple to create. Think of a bowl of ripe strawberries, a mason jar full of sea glass, or a few branches of pussy willows set on a mantle. Simple, yet it fills us with awe. A Napkin Lined Autumn Potpourri Bowl is a simple, but wonderful way to bring the scents of fall into your home for the season.
Here, is one of those ultra simple, fast to do projects that can easily become the focal point on a shelf or table.
I wanted to use this to hold potpourri, but this technique is also great for lining bowls and baskets to serve biscuits and rolls.
Napkin Lined Autumn Potpourri Bowl Directions:
Start by grabbing a seasonally colored napkin. (It would help to iron it first, but if you tinker on laziness and develop a rash when you see an iron like I do, just tell yourself that the wrinkles will add to the whole earthiness of the look 🙂
Then, simply tie the four corners. Use a simple single knot. You want to tie near the end but leave a little tail. Confession time… to get my knots nice and tight, I hang on to the tail with my teeth and pull to tighten the knot. (Don’t tell me dentist. I’m sure he’d frown on that practice!)
When you are done, it should look something like this.
Then, find an appropriate sized bowl or basket for your Napkin Lined Autumn Potpourri Bowl. Lay the napkin on top so the right side is showing.
Tuck the napkin into the bowl. The napkin should overhang the bowl.
Now, fill your bowl with potpourri. You can use store-bought. My bag was from Yankee Candle, however, you can easily take a nature walk and collect items for your bowl. Pine cones, acorns, pods, sticks, colorful leaves, nuts all make wonderful potpourri. If you make your own, simply drip some essential oils on your mix, and wah lah… scented potpourri!
Now, your only decision is where to display your beautiful bowl of potpourri. Make sure you put it somewhere that gets a lot of attention but where the scent won’t compete with meals 🙂
It’s always nice to have the pups help with outdoor photo shoots 🙂
We don’t own a sewing machine so I love projects like this. Your site is the best. I have made so many things for my brothers and sisters and even for my mom. We are learning to use carpenter’s tools. My dad is going to help me make chalkboard houses to my little brother and sister for Christmas. This would be a great gift for my mom and grandmas. I will look around for bowls and napkins at our next visit to Goodwill.
I luv you guys. Thanks for my favorite blog
<3 Rhianna
WOW! You have some very lucky brothers and sisters 🙂 We are so glad you have enjoyed Wee Folk Art. And, what a great idea to check Goodwill for the bowls and napkins. I know our local Salvation Army often has both, although there is the wonderful resale shop in a neighboring community that is always loaded with dishes 🙂 And, thanks 🙂
My dad used to tie a hand kerchief like that when he painted the ceiling. Good memories!
We use to tie our bandannas like that as make shift sun hats. Gotta love bandannas 🙂
Hi. I just wanted to let you know I just tried this and it worked! I’m not real crafty although I’m learning, but this made me feel great! I don’t have any potporri but we are going to take a nature walk after naps and do some collecting. Thanks! btw, do you think I could use vanilla on the potporri? I don’t have any other oils at home.
Sure, you could use vanilla extract but I'm not sure how long the scent will last… it's more alcohol based, whereas most essential oils are just that… oil… which tends to hold a scent longer. Here are a few other ideas you might want to try. I often get wonderfully scented soaps as gifts. Unfortunately, most of them irritate my skin. If you have soap like that, you can add it to your nature potpourri and it gives off a lovely scent. Also, you can throw in some cinnamon sticks if you have them or poke some whole cloves into citrus fruit skins. That smells wonderful. You can also spritz potpourri with men's colognes. Many of their scents are woodsy or spicy.
This is so pretty.
A very simple yet useful tip! Thanks a bunch. It’s something that’s been right under my nose yet I never paid attention to. I’ll be doing this to about everything I can find around the house. LOL