Video Tutorial: Napkin Decoupage Wood Stocking Sign

Watch me make it start to finish, including my three-ply napkin surprise and the velvet ribbon bow trick.

How to Make a Napkin Decoupage Wood Stocking Sign (Step by Step)

Step 1: Paint the wood stocking

My stocking cutout had a little blemish, so I gave the bottom part a quick coat of FolkArt Matte paint in Vintage White. It’s really close to the color of the wood, and it gives such good one-coat coverage.

Go thickest right over the blemish and thinner toward the edges. It doesn’t need to be perfect, since the napkin covers most of it. Skip the cuff area, because the tin tile goes there later.

Step 2: Add a base coat of Mod Podge

Brush a generous but even coat of Mod Podge over the bottom of the stocking (not the cuff). This is the undercoat, so satin, gloss or whatever you’ve works.

I pour it right onto the project so I don’t dirty a paint tray, then wipe off any extra. Let it dry completely. A little tacky is fine.

Step 3: Separate the napkin layers

Put a tiny piece of painter’s tape on the front and back of one corner and pull the layers apart. You only want the printed top layer.

Trust but verify! I thought my Michaels napkin was two-ply, and it was actually three-ply, so I had to do this a second time.

Step 4: Press out the napkin creases

Since this is a big piece, I pressed the napkin flat first so the fold lines would not show up on my stocking. My heat press mat must have taken PTO, so I put a piece of cardboard underneath instead.

Once in a while, it’s worth it to go the extra mile. So much better.

Step 5: Heat press the napkin onto the stocking

Line up the napkin. I kept the pattern straight up and down to match the top line of the stocking. Lay a parchment paper square on top to protect it.

Start at the top and heat press your way down, smoothing as you go to avoid wrinkles and bubbles. I got a couple of wrinkly spots, but unless you’re getting real up close and personal, you’ll not notice.

Step 6: Sand away the extra napkin

Use a mini sanding tool, a sanding block or a Dollar Tree nail file to remove the extra napkin around the edges.

Only sand in a downward motion: file down, lift away. Do not go back and forth like you’re filing your nails, or the napkin will lift back up. You can skip the top edge, since the cuff covers it.

Step 7: Cut the faux tin tile cuff

Line up the top of the stocking on the Dollar Tree faux tin tile (not right in the middle, so you don’t waste it), trace around the edge with a fine-tip Sharpie, and cut it out. You’ll lose the stocking’s jute hanger, so plan on a sawtooth hanger or Command strip.

Heads up: once you cut into the tile, the adhesive backing falls off, because it’s only secured at the four corners. I trimmed mine a little more to get rid of a lip at the bottom and a strip with no texture. Much better!

Step 8: Spray paint the tin tile

Silver didn’t fit this cozy palette, so I took the tin tile outside and gave it a quick coat of Behr chalk spray paint in Chiffon Cream from Home Depot.

Normally I’d reach for FolkArt, but lately I’ve been cheating on it with Behr chalk paint. Top-notch quality, and the color is perfect here.

Step 9: Glue on the cuff

Add a couple dabs of E6000, then a couple dabs of hot glue next to them (not on top). Set the cuff in place.

Keep the hot glue lines tiny. Faux tin tile is plastic, not actual tin, so a big blob can melt it.

Step 10: Distress the tin tile and edges

Dip a piece of clean dish sponge in FolkArt Matte Coffee Bean, tap most of it off on scrap paper, then lightly brush over the raised sections of the tin tile. Start conservatively, because you can always add more.

Then lightly brush the same color around the edges of the stocking for a burnt wood look. It’s a small detail, but up close it makes a world of difference. Ten out of ten, would do it again.

Step 11: Add the greenery and pine cones

My Hobby Lobby only had oversized greenery within reach (I didn’t want to get banned for life for climbing the shelves), so I cut the sprigs in half. I made a bundle with three pieces pointing left and two pointing right, since odd numbers look best.

Hot glue the bundle in place, then hot glue a few mini pine cones on top. It doesn’t have to be perfect in the center, because the bow covers it.

Step 12: Make the velvet ribbon bow

Thin velvet ribbon is only pretty on one side, so my usual bunny ears method doesn’t work. Instead, make a figure eight with loops the size you want, pinch the center, and wrap a short piece of ribbon around the middle.

Hot glue one end of that short piece on the back, wrap it around the front, and glue the other end on the back too. Now the good side faces forward everywhere. Trim the tails at a 45-degree angle and hot glue the bow onto the greenery.

Step 13: Add a hanger

Add a sawtooth hanger or a Command strip to the back, and hang it anywhere you like for Christmas.