Tea Towel + Frame = Easy Kitchen Art

I'm sure you'll agree there's some tea towels that are just too nice to use to dry up with and whenever I put out my fancy ones for dinner parties they always end up mopping up red wine and getting stained! So I decided to give one of my favourite tea towels the royal treatment - iron it (that will be a first!), frame it and hang it on the wall for it to live a life free from stains and sogginess!
 

I picked this funky Wake Up And Smell The Coffee tea towel that my awesome book club girls gave me for my Birthday this year. It's bold words answer my love of typography and the saying will be perfect over the coffee station which has been on my kitchen renovation wish list.

 

 

Now to find my iron that is packed away in the abyss because it only makes an appearance once a year or so ...  I placed another tea towel over it to protect the print so it wouldn't melt and gave it a really good iron until it was flat and smooth.

 

 

Next was to find a frame to fit the tea towel and for this I carried my tape measure with me EVERYWHERE looking in EVERY shop for the right sized frame. I wanted a black solid frame to give it a gallery type look and in the end I found this one, although it doesn't have the mat surround because it was for a collage of photos, the frame was the right size and after months of hunting I couldn't bare to look any more!

 

 

I laid the tea towel into the frame and smoothed it out flat and then placed the cardboard backing on top with the plain side down to provide a back so you couldn't see through the fabric.

 

 

 

I pulled the tea towel taunt and folded it around the cardboard backing and then secured it with painters tape. I used tape as it's less permanent and can be removed easily if I want to change tea towels. It also meant I didn't have to cut the tea towel in case I want to use it again. I then replaced the backing of the frame and it was ready to hang.

 

 

 

My super handy Mr P hung it for me late last night after I fluttered my eyelashes and with the promise of my home made Pineapple Streusel cake baking and smelling delicious in the oven.

 

Here's a tip: When drilling a hole hold a dust pan underneath to catch all dust .... no mess to clean up!

 

 

 

The coffee print is perfect to go above the coffee station and is the first thing you see when you walk into the kitchen. I can stand and read it while I'm impatiently waiting for the coffee machine to make my morning hit of goodness.

 

 

What do you think of using tea towels as art?

 

Home Coming - TheDIY'ers

The Dedicated House - Make it Pretty Monday

The Grant Life - Life of the Party

 

[All images my own]