DIY Rustic Birch Napkin Rings
These DIY birch napkin rings are a quick and easy way to add a rustic, log cabin touch to your table setting. All you need is a small log and a few tools and you’ll be done by dinnertime!
Our property has beautiful birch trees all over and seeing them as part of our view never gets old. We barely have any grass growing in front of our house because the birch trees take most of the nutrients for themselves. Some people have suggested that we cut them down to allow for a lush, green lawn but that doesn’t interest us. We love the birch trees that surround us and wouldn’t give them up.
We recently had to cut down a small, dead birch tree on our property. Thankfully it was off to the side where it wasn’t really visible. But it needed to go so my husband took his chainsaw to it. Most of it was cut up and used for firewood in our wood-stove.
Our oldest daughter enjoys wood-burning so my husband sliced up some of the pieces for her to work on. I snuck a few of these from her and turned them into napkin rings in just a few minutes.
Supplies You Will Need
- Log-I chose a birch log because we had one on hand after downing a dead tree. I also love the look of the birch bark and how Alaskan it is. You can use any type of wood that you have available! You don’t need very much, depending on how many napkin rings you want to make. I made five which used less than six inches of a log.
- Miter Saw-My husband already had his miter saw out to cut pieces of wood for our daughter to wood-burn so I used that. It makes smooth, clean cuts. A tabletop saw or handsaw would work too, or whatever tool you’re comfortable with using to cut wood.
- Drill with a Hole Saw Bit-I used a 1 3/4″ hole saw bit on our drill to make the holes in the center. You could use a slightly smaller or larger bit. This size allowed the napkin to fit perfectly.
- Clamp-You will need to hold the piece of wood secure to keep it from spinning while you drill.
How to Make Birch Napkin Rings
Start with a birch (or any type of wood) log. Not too wide in diameter, about two inches. Using a saw ( we used our miter saw but a tabletop saw or hand saw would work too) cut the log into small slices, about one inch thick.
Next, set the piece of wood on a sturdy surface and hold it tightly with a clamp. Otherwise, it will spin when you try to drill it. Use the hole saw bit on your drill to cut out the center of the piece.
Don’t throw the chunk of wood you cut out away, they make great fire starters!
All that’s left to do is brush off all the sawdust and wipe it off with a rag. Clean it well or you will have sawdust on your napkins! Now you can tuck your cloth napkins right through the center.
I decided not to coat these with stain or anything to protect them. I figure they will be fine without that and if they split, I will toss them in the woodstove and make a new set.
These DIY rustic birch napkin rings are an easy project using a few basic tools and a piece of wood, something that we have plenty of around here! And if they can’t be used any longer, they won’t end up in the trash but will help start a fire, whether it’s in a wood stove or a fire pit.
We love the beautiful birch trees that are all over Alaska and this is a simple way to bring them into the home. For a tutorial on making your own cloth napkins, head to this post.
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