Let’s plan ahead. This Thanksgiving I would like to have a number of people over for dinner. As this is a bit daunting to me, I usually like to have all the small details, such as the artsy & crafty decorative elements as well as the main dish to be made well ahead of time.
So, here then are the inspiration for this year’s name cards. Designer Linda from LindaMade just put these together in a whim. They came out great, and I’d like to use her tutorial as an input for our own set of cards.
Incidentally, I think it makes total sense to make a set of cards that are non-themed and truly whimsical that would work year round and have them on hand for any kind of (smaller) dinner party. That way spontaneous dinner parties on Sunday can also look glam.
Materials
– Scrapbook paper: in solid colors and in patterns. Tip: 8 x 8” paper is most practical & economical, as each card is a square of 4×4”.
– Ruler
– Scissors with straight & decorative edges
– Pre-cut/self-cut felt flowers, paper flowers, or flower stickers
– Sewing machine
– White Gel Pen or letter stamps and white pigment ink
Color Choice is Key to Seasonality
Tip: to Choose a celebratory Fall Color scheme to make these suitable for a Thanksgiving Dinner party. If you happen to come across this post in July, you can use beach shell motives with pastel blues, greens, ochres and whites instead.
Step-by-Step Project Tutorial
Step 1: Cut 4″ x 4″ squares from patterned scrapbooking papers to the number of table place setting cards you’ll need.
Step 2: Fold each square in half, so that the place cards can stand up.
Step 3: Now, cut an equal number of 3.5″ X 1″ rectangles from solid craft papers with decorative scissors. These smaller rectangles will be used to write the names on.
Step 4: For each card, center your solid-colored rectangle over the bottom-half aka the front half of your folded square. Look at the picture.
Step 5: Next comes the fun bit: laying out the flowers. Place them on top of your double-rectangles into a pleasing arrangement. Leave a good piece of the solid rectangle open so that there’s still room for (long) names.
Step 6: Put it all together under your sewing machine needle and stitch around the name rectangle with a long stitch.
TIP: If you’re nervous about the flowers and papers moving while you sew, you may secure them with a glue stick, just make sure the glue dries before you sew so your needle won’t get sticky.
source: image / idea: Linda Made, who made these cards exclusively from upcycling materials already found around the house.
