By: Shelly Kim

Hi everyone, it’s Shelly Kim of @lettersbyshells. Today I’ll be showing you how to create this fruity paper placemat for your summer tablescape to go along with the utensil holders in my last tutorial. These paper placemats will utilize a watercolor technique with Mildliner Highlighters. The finished product is a great foundation to any table setting. Let’s get started!

Materials Needed:


Step 1: Sketch and Letter the Words

Begin by sketching out the words, “summer vibes” with the DelGuard Mechanical Pencil. Next, use the Zensations Brush Pen in Fine or Medium to trace over the lettering.

Step 2: Add Color to the Ceramic Dish

Next, it’s time to add color to the ceramic dish to use as our watercolor ink. Draw a few strokes on the ceramic dish using the Mildliner Highlighters or Mildliner Brush Pens. Feel free to use any colors of your choosing. I used the colors Light Orange and Dark Orange.

Step 3: Use the Watercolors to Draw Oranges on the Placemat

Dip your paintbrush in water and then blend the colors in the ceramic dish. Next, use the color picked up on your brush to paint a circle with triangle shapes inside to create an orange illustration.

Step 4: Add Detail to the Orange Illustration

To add more detail to the orange illustration, paint light strokes inside each triangle. This will give your illustration more of a realistic effect. If you need to dip back into the ceramic dish to pick up more color, do so as often as you need to.

Step 5: Paint More Oranges

To add some variety to this paper placemat design, I included a few oranges like we walked through in the earlier steps, but also added several shaded in circles. Feel free to add your own ideas here, as well.

Step 6: Add Stems and Leaves to the Oranges

Next, use Mildliner Highlighters or Mildliner Brush Pens in green to add green watercolor to the ceramic dish. Then, use it to paint stems and leaves on top of the circles to finish the orange illustration. For the stems, paint a light upstroke and for the leaves, paint an almond-shaped leaf.

To add more color and variety, paint individual leaves around the cardstock to fill the negative spaces using the same techniques.

Step 7: Use Your Paper Placemat

Once you’ve finished adding more leaves to fill the negative space, you’re finished. Feel free to laminate these placemats to make them last longer. Alternatively, they will work perfectly for single use, as well.

For more tablescape inspiration, check out 4 DIY Napkin Tags Perfect for Spring.