Handmade Gift Exchange: Hand-Painted Tea Towels

I was so excited to take part in the Summer edition of the Handmade Gift Exchange. Twice a year, Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous, hosts a Handmade Gift Exchange where you give and get a handmade gift! So, what's my fascination?  I've always had a fondness for pen pals.  In high school I had a pen pal from England who I wrote for years and when I first met my husband, and still to this day, we write each other while he's fishing in Alaska.  There's something so exciting about getting something (other than bills) in the mail and something even more exciting about gifts in the mail.

My giftee was Rhonda from the amazing Mrs. Greene who hails from Michigan.  I totally failed at being super creative (especially as I see all the other gifts that were made), but I hope that I was at least a little creative in creating two Michigan inspired hand-painted tea towels.

The first was a "Home is Where the Heart Is" towel and the second featured the Brook Trout, the state fish of the Great Lakes state.  Pretty fitting coming from a fishing family, don't ya think?

Both were made by printing a photo, cutting out the silhouette and using the stencil to paint on the Ikea tea towels.  Pretty dang simple with pretty awesome results.

Check out all the amazing gifts that the other exchangers made at Craftaholics Anonymous' HGE linky party!