We started using India ink on some craft projects recently and have fallen in love with it. We were experimenting with another DIY and were having a hard time getting the right saturation with just using watercolor or food dye. Paul suggested using the India ink and it worked so well! India ink is a really bright and saturated ink that is colorfast after it dries. It works extremely well for so many things if you are trying to get a watercolor look on different surfaces. For this project we got a cheap paper cotton tablecloth from the Oh Happy Day Shop and then used spray bottles to create the watercolor look. Just a warning, it is very color fast so wear clothes you don’t care about dyeing.

Materials: White paper tablecloth, spray bottles (1 for each color), India ink, water

Step 1: Lay out your paper tablecloth in an open space (we recommend outside.) If you do it inside, you may need to lay out newspaper or cardboard around the edges so the ink doesn’t spray onto your floors.
Step 2: Pour a little bit of India ink into a spray bottle, add a little water (around .5″) to dilute the ink. You may need to play around with the proportions to find the right vibrancy.
Step 3: Spray the ink onto the tablecloth. If you twist the nozzle, you should be able to change the consistency of the stream (ranging from a mist to a direct spray.)
Step 4: Repeat step 3 with different colors. For this tablecloth, we used Red, Bright Red, Grass Green, Green and Teal.
Step 5: Let dry. This usually takes about an hour.
Step 6: Once the tablecloth has dried, you can use an iron or steamer to help remove the wrinkles.
Step 7: Place on a table and enjoy!

Photos by Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day