DIY Decorated Rolling Pin (Using Napkins)

The day that my daughter sent me a picture of her rolling pin, I fell in love with them. I had to have my own decorative rolling pin, but the problem was there weren’t too many of them out there. Pioneer Woman has one, but instead of paying 53.00, I decided to make my own with a $4.00 rolling pin and a single napkin.

The only thing is, this rolling pin is for decorative purposes only. If you want a pretty rolling pin that you can cover in dough, pick up Ree’s. If you just want something pretty and affordable to decorate your kitchen, or give to your mom for mother’s day, then follow my easy peasy tutorial. I promise you, it’s the easiest thing ever! Now that I’ve done this once, I can whip them up in about 10 minutes.

Supplies:

• 1 Rolling Pin (try the dollar store or thrift shop)
• Mod Podge Matte Finish (I only had gloss on hand)
• 1 Beautiful Napkin
• White Chalk Paint
• A Small Brush

Instructions:

1. Before you start anything, cut the length of your napkin to fit with just a wee bit of overlap. If the napkin is wider than your rolling pin, don’t worry about the overhang, as you can trim it later. (See image below.) However, if you are using a pin similar to the one in my main image, you’ll want to also cut the width to the exact size since it doesn’t overlap the edge.
2. Paint the area of the rolling pin that you want to decorate. Don’t skip this part. I skipped it with my first one and my vibrant colors looked dark and muddy. Set aside to dry for about an hour or two. I have essential tremor so ignore my crooked paint lines. *wink*

3. Once the paint is dry, brush mod podge over the entire area.
4. Wait a minute or two for the mod podge. You want it to be sticky, not sloppy wet. I’ve seen some tutorials where they mod podge little by little as they are rolling. Can you say mini disaster? That’s not a great idea. Mod podge, wait a minute, then roll.
5. Napkins are normally 2 or 3 ply. You’ll need to separate the layers so you have one very thin sheet.

6. Lay the napkin color side down on a flat surface.
7. Place your rolling pin near the edge. Make sure it’s straight before you put it down, and then gently roll until you get to the end.
8. Important: Don’t worry about wrinkles, and don’t try to smooth them out with your fingers. Wrap the pin in plastic wrap, and then you can gently smooth and press it. Remove the plastic wrap, but expect to have some wrinkles.
9. Depending on the type of rolling pin you are using, you’ll probably have a bit of overhang on the edges. I like to trim mine to about 1/4 of an inch. Mod podge the inside edge, press the edge down with the brush (not my fingers) and smooth with plastic wrap.

10. Brush the entire area once again with a layer of mod podge. The image above was my first pin, which wasn’t my favorite because I didn’t paint it first and the colors turned out dark and muddy, but it’s the one I took pictures of. Argh.

11. Finally, set it someplace safe to dry where the mod podge area is elevated. And voila–you have a beautiful decorative rolling pin!

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