I first fell in love with the antelope pattern a few years ago when I saw it on a large area rug on my Instagram feed, ever since then I’ve seen it on more and more home decor items and I think it’s here to stay for a while. As much as I’m a huge fan of cheetah print, I think antelope is more suited for a Thanksgiving tablescape - no real reason behind that opinion other than antelope gives a Fall vibe and let’s save the cheetah print to mix with Christmas tartan, ok?
Alright, let’s start the DIY. This is very easy, you need no artistic skill to make these.
Materials:
1. Chargers - I used old ones I had and sprayed them white to start. You can purchase chargers at Michael’s, or most home stores
2. White spray paint ( I like rustoleum 2 in 1 paint primer in the flat finish for this project)
3. Two shades of brown craft paint or acrylic paint. A medium brown and a tan/ light brown or even beige will work, and white acrylic paint
4. Foam craft brush
5. Regular small paint brush for dots
6. mod podge or clear protective sealer
Step 1: lay your charger out in a well ventilated space, and spray them with your two in one paint primer. I use a flat finish, white spray paint for a nice base to paint on. Let them dry completely
Step 2: once charger is dry, using your foam brush and darker shade of brown, paint a wide vertical strip down the center of the charger
Step 3: using the same shade of brown, paint the the edges of the charger with a vertical stripe
Step 4: using the lighter shade of brown or tan, paint in the remaining two areas
Step 5: while the paint is still wet, use the foam brush and blend the seam of the stripes together, painting in an up and down vertical motion. You can leave brush strokes showing, it doesn’t need to be perfect. This will add a little texture to the background
Step 6: With your skinny paint brush and white acrylic paint, you are going to start the spots. Paint them close together on the dark brown stripe sections, and space them apart on the lighter stripe section. Make sure to vary the shapes of your spots, change up the angles and directions to give a natural variety
continue the spots, spread out on the light section, and closer together on the darker sections
Step 7: Let the spots dry completely, seal the chargers with a clear coat of mod podge or varnish
Style them on your table, you’re done!
I like to use clear glass plates with these chargers, don’t want to cover up all my hard work! I paired my Thanksgiving pattern napkins with them and I love how the patterns play together.
If you try this at home, please share a picture, I’d love to see! @katiehermanart
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Make it pretty,
Katie