3 (Easy) DIY Hostess Gift Ideas for the Holidays

Looking for a thoughtful hostess gift you can make quick and easy before headed out to holiday parties? Check out my list of DIY hostess gift ideas!

If there’s one thing I know about the holidays, it’s that this is the busiest time of year for entertaining! There are parties galore this time of year, so I partnered with Martha Stewart Crafts® to create 3 hostess gift ideas that are easy to make and awesome to receive.

If you don’t have time to make a full blown gift from scratch, which few people do this time of year, you can embellish a store-bought (or handmade) item and still have that special DIY touch. No need to reinvent the wheel. These DIY hostess gift ideas teeter the line between full blown handmade gifts and store-bought goodies. You in?

DIY Hostess Gift Ideas

I’m sharing three hostess gift ideas today, but there are soooo many more you can try! AND lots of options for pairing each DIY gift too. Here are some ideas…

Make a stenciled greeting card with a box of homemade cookies (or super pretty meringues) for the hostess with a sweet tooth. Try a stenciled cafe apron paired with a book – like Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection, that features over 100 cookie recipes! I used one of my mustard color DIY half aprons for this one.

Or what about reusable wax fabric wraps for food leftovers, stenciled with a cute pattern? A set of stenciled napkins or tea towels that match your hostess’ style or what about a wine tote (complete with a bottle of wine). So many possibilities.

All of the DIY hostess gifts I made today are created the same way, with the same stenciling technique. So, I’m just going to share steps for one of the three projects. But keep in mind, they’re all made the same way. You can stencil any of the hostess gift ideas this way, not just napkins.

In addition to the winter greens napkins set, I also made a whole bunch of greeting cards (with lots of different designs), and a cute stenciled village cafe apron. Here’s how to personalize your hostess gifts for the holidays…

Materials Needed for Hostess Gift

• Martha Stewart Winter Greens Stencil (used for napkins + greeting cards)
• Martha Stewart Adhesive Stencil, Holiday Xmas (used for greeting cards + apron)
• Martha Stewart Snowflake Wreath Stencil (used for greeting cards)
• Martha Stewart Family Friendly Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Craft Paint in Seaweed
• Martha Stewart Family Friendly Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Craft Paint in Snowball
• Martha Stewart Metallic Gold Paint
• Martha Stewart daubers or Martha Stewart foam pouncers
• item you want to embellish (in my case, a napkin set)

FYI – Martha Stewart’s Family Friendly Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic can be used on wood, glass, canvas, metal, paper, terra cotta, and fabric. And the stencils and silkscreens are washable, reusable, and work on many different surfaces too.

Adhesive Silkscreen vs Adhesive Stencil

Back when I was making Halloween home decor, I experimented with Martha Stewart silkscreen stencils and they worked great. So this time around, I used a combo of the silkscreen stencils and the adhesive stencils I’ve been using all year.

I’ll be sharing the instructions for the silkscreen stencil today, but the adhesive stencil process is exactly the same. The only difference is the silkscreen material is more flexible (kind of like fabric).

Instructions for Personalizing Hostess Gifts

The great thing about using stencils and silkscreens is anyone can use them – any skill level! They’re great for the occasional crafter or the experienced DIYer who just wants to save themselves some time.

Step 1: To get started, wash and dry your napkins (or anything that you’re using that is fabric – like an apron, clothing, tea towel, etc. This will ensure that any treatment or coating that sits on the surface of fabric has been removed. And then iron, if necessary.

Step 2: Next, remove the adhesive backing from the silkscreen. And if you’re using a silkscreen like mine, that has multiple designs and you only want to use one, then silkscreen design that you are using can be cut away from the others if desired.

Step 3: Attach the silkscreen to the napkin and push the silkscreen down all the way around with your hands. This will ensure it is adhered to the surface before painting.

Step 4: Squirt a small amount of Martha Stewart’s Family Friendly Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic onto a paper plate or paint palette. For this napkin design, I used Seaweed, but this paint is available in 60 colors.

Then, dip a Martha Stewart dauber into the paint and dab off excess paint onto your paint palette before pouncing a thin layer of paint over the the silkscreen. One coat of paint is all you’ll need.

Step 5: Now, while the paint is still wet, carefully peel the silkscreen off the fabric surface of the napkin to reveal the finished design.

Step 6: To create a napkin pattern like mine, repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 in different spots on the napkin until it is completely filled.

Additional Painting Techniques to Try with Stencils

After you get the hang of using these Martha Stewart stencils and paints, you might want to take your projects up a notch with a multi-color design.

I had so much fun with a two-toned, ombre technique (which you can see in some of the evergreen greeting cards). To get an ombre two-toned look, I used Seaweed and Gold.

I applied my silkscreen to the surface of the card, making sure it was pressed down firmly, and then used the dauber and Seaweed color paint to start covering over the stencil. After adding a small section, I switched to the Gold paint and then mixed / overlapped the two colors together while using the dauber. Once completed, I removed the stencil to reveal the ombre effect.

You can also opt for multiple colors (that aren’t ombre-d together), by being very selective with the way you use your dauber. Only apply paint to the stencil windows where you want that color to go. And then move onto the next color when the first is done. Repeat until the entire stencil is covered.

Cleaning Your Silkscreen or Adhesive Stencil

When you’ve finished your hostess gifts, clean the silkscreen or adhesive stencil off with soap and water, while the paint is still wet, and let it dry before re-attaching the silkscreen to it’s backing again for storing.

You can find Martha Stewart products exclusively at Michaels.

See a hostess gift idea that you might try? Which one is your favorite?

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I have partnered with the Martha Stewart team and Plaid Crafts for this post.  All expressed opinions and experiences are my own.