How to Use Napkins in your Journals

I absolutely love using napkins in my journals, as they are such a quick and easy way to add some beautiful decoration to my journal pages. In this blog post, I am going to share one of my favourite ways to use them so that you feel confident adding them too.

*You can click on any of the images below to enlarge them.

Step 1: Find a napkin image that fits well with the size of your journal pages. I'm using a journal junk, so the two pages I'm using are different sizes. You can find some beautiful napkins online and I bought my butterfly napkins here.

Step 2: Once you are happy with the placement, you need to start gluing the napkin onto your page. I'm using Mod Podge as I find this works really well. You will need to go gently to avoid tearing your napkin and make sure you add it on top too, to act as a layer of protection.

Step 3: For extra decoration, you can add torn book pages and die cut papers to your journal page too.

Step 4: To help everything look like it belongs on your page, I recommed adding a layer of watered-down Gesso on top of the added papers and around the edge of the napkin.

Step 5: The Gesso also provides a useful primer so that you can add pretty splashes of watercolour on top. I'm using Kuretake Gansai paints.

Step 6: You can leave the paints as they are, or for a softer muted look, you can blot away some of the paint whilst it's still wet.

Step 7: For extra interest, you can add a little stamping on top of your painted papers.

Step 8: I think quotes make a great addition to your journal pages. I offer quotes as part of the printables in my shop, but you could also cut them out of magazines.

Step 9: To help tie the quote in with the rest of my page, I rubbed some brown distress ink around the outside of it.

Step 10: One of my favourite ways to add some finishing touches is by rubbing my beautiful soft pastels from Jackson's Art onto various parts of my page. It really helps to add some depth.

Step 11: You can finish off your journal pages, by adding a little writing to your spread.

*Some of the links contained within this blog post are affiliate links. This means that I earn a small commission if you choose to make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

I do hope you've enjoyed this blog post and that it's given you confidence to use napkins in your own journals too. If you would like to watch a video of this process, you can find it down below, Helen x