DIY Red, White, And Blue Gingham Chargers
Creating Patriotic Gingham Charges With MMS MilkPaint™
Hello to Summer and all of the wonderful Summer gatherings! Today I have a really fun DIY to help with decorating for all of the fun Summer gatherings this year and for many years to come!
When I think of Summer décor, I am reminded of the vintage gingham tablecloths, and so I thought it would be fun to use Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ to create charming painted gingham chargers with the help of their Tricycle, Ink Blue, and Ironstone colors.
Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ is perfect for this project because it is non-toxic, and the added finish of Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkWax-ECO™ also makes the chargers food safe. Wooden chargers are the best base for this project; however, you can upcycle whatever chargers you have around as long as you add Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkGrip™.
I love the charming nature of the gingham and how the chargers look paired with my project from last month: The Patriotic Pennant Banner using Flow Blue, Tricycle, and Ironstone. You can see the full tutorial for the pennant banner HERE.
Video Tutorial
For your convenience, I have created a step-by-step video tutorial for you. You can watch it below. Then, follow along with this step-by-step picture tutorial!
Now, let’s get painting!
Supplies Needed
To create your own DIY Gingham Chargers with MilkPaint™, you will need:
Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ - You can use whatever color you have on hand, but one of the colors needs to be white. For this project, I used Tricycle, Ink Blue, and Ironstone.
4 (14 inch) Wooden Charger. I used these 14-inch wooden chargers from Woodpeckers Crafts. (This is an affiliate link which means a commission is earned if you use this link at no cost to you. Thank you for helping to support Country Peony!) I love to purchase my wooden products from Woodpeckers Crafts for all of my crafting and home décor projects. You can use my code “countrypeony” for 5% off your order at Woodpeckers Crafts!
Painter’s Tape
Craft Paintbrush
Lint Free Cloth to apply the wax
Step 1: Mix The Ironstone MilkPaint™ For The Wooden Chargers
Mix 1 part MilkPaint™ to 1 part water. A “part” can be any unit of measurement you wish. I used a tablespoon.
To paint the base for the four wooden chargers, I used 3 tablespoons of MilkPaint™ in Ironstone to 3 tablespoons of water.
Step 2: Paint The Wooden Chargers With MilkPaint™ In Ironstone
Paint 1 thin coat of Ironstone MilkPaint™ onto the four wooden chargers.
Make sure to paint the sides of the charger.
Then set them aside to dry.
Step 3: Mix The MilkPaint™ For The Gingham Effect
To create the gingham look, you will need three different tints of the same color. So, I created two custom colors and the traditional Tricycle color.
For the lightest color, mix 1 tablespoon of Tricycle and 2 tablespoons of Ironstone with 3 tablespoons of water.
For the medium colors, mix 1 tablespoon of Tricycle and 1 tablespoon of Ironstone with 2 tablespoons of water.
Then, create the pure Tricycle color with 1 tablespoon of Tricycle and 1 tablespoon of water.
Mix all of the color combinations and set them aside.
Step 4: Paint The Gingham Pattern Onto The Chargers
Painting The Tricycle Chargers
Start at the bottom of your charger, and tape off a horizontal line with the painter’s tape.
Then, use a piece of tape as the spacer, and continue to add horizontal stripes.
Make sure to press the tape down firmly, so the paint doesn’t bleed through and seep underneath.
Paint one thin coat of the lightest paint onto the charger inside the horizontal lines.
Don’t apply too much paint to avoid bleeding.
Set it aside to dry. Once dry, remove the painter’s tape.
Then, tape off vertical stripes.
Paint the vertical stripes with the medium color, and set it aside to dry.
Once the paint is dry, keep the vertical tape on and tape another row of horizontal stripes on the same row as the first set of horizontal stripes.
Then paint the blocks with the pure Tricycle color. Set it aside to dry.
Once dry, remove the painter’s tape to reveal the cutest gingham patterned chargers!
Painting The Ink Blue Chargers
Then, mix the Ink Blue color combinations for the gingham pattern.
For the lightest color, mix 1 tablespoon of Ink Blue and 2 tablespoons of Ironstone with 3 tablespoons of water.
For the medium colors, mix 1 tablespoon of Ink Blue and 1 tablespoon of Ironstone with 2 tablespoons of water.
Then, create the pure Ink Blue color with 1 tablespoon of Ink Blue and 1 tablespoon of water.
Then, paint the Ink Blue color combinations onto the chargers to create the gingham effect.
Step 5: Apply Miss Mustard Seed’s MilkWax-ECO™ Natural To The Chargers
With a lint-free cloth or brush, apply Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkWax-ECO™ Natural to the top and sides of the chargers. Gently rub the MilkWax-ECO™ onto the charger.
This will not only protect the paint job, but MilkWax-ECO™ makes the chargers food safe.
MilkWax-ECO™ is natural, food-contact safe, that is made with beeswax and walnut oil. It is also plant-based, which makes it vegan-friendly!
Wait 3-5 minutes, then with a clean, lint-free cloth, buff the MilkWax™-ECO into the charger.
Finally, wait 5-7 days before light use and 30 days for it to fully cure.
Gently hand wash and air dry to clean.
Step 6: Decorate Your Favorite Summer Table With The Chargers, And Enjoy!
Place your custom gingham chargers onto a wooden table, followed by white plates or glass plates. Then accessorize with wicker, textured glasses and a simple floral arrangement to let the gingham shine.
Finish with a fun decorative runner. I chose my Patriotic Pennant Banner from last month to act as the complement table runner, and I love the final look!
I believe this is such a charming tablescape for Summer, and you can use any color of Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ you have on hand to create a truly custom look for your next event!
Thank you so much to Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ for having me, and thank you so much for following along today. I hope you enjoy experimenting with Miss Mustard Seed’s® MilkPaint™ as much as I do!