Spruce Up Your Holiday Table with Homespun Décor

Thanksgiving is almost here, and a great way to add a homespun touch to your holiday

table is to make paper craft décor for it.

I’m Teri Anderson, one of the Go-to Gals from Paper Crafts magazine, and today I’m sharing a few simple ideas for sprucing up your Thanksgiving table.

Place card

Placecards are a card great way to assign out where everyone sits around the Thanksgiving, plus they allow you to add a just a pop of color to the table. Dig into your patterned paper stash and cut a few 3” x 5” rectangles. Fold them in half so you have a bunch of tent cards. You are going to use just one side of the tents. Use letter stickers to spell out your guests’ names and then decorate them with embellishments.

Candle Centerpiece

A candle provides a perfect, yet simple, affordable and practical, centerpiece for the holiday table. Wrap a little patterned paper and twine around it. Then add a few handmade leaves to it. Finish it off with a stamped and fussy cut sentiment.

Napkin Ring

Carry the theme through by making napkin wraps for the table. Roll up your napkins. Wrap a strip of patterned paper around them. Staple the paper’s ends together. Decorate the paper strips with store-bought or handmade leaves.

For my place setting here, I created all of the leaves myself.  They are easy to make. In fact, I made them while watching a favorite crime show late at night. You just need: a little bit of cardstock; scissors; a pen; floss or thin string and a needle.

Leaf Accent: Step 1

Draw a number of leaves on cardstock. Don’t worry if they look different or are not perfect. You want that handmade look here! Cut them out with your scissors. (You can speed up the process by using your die-cut machine to cut them out!)

Leaf Accent: Step 2

Wad up your cut leaves and then flatten them out. That will give them just a little bit of texture.

Leaf Accent: Step 3

Next, take a piece of floss. Knot one end and stitch it through a leaf. Add one more knot and trim away the excess floss.

Leaf Accent: Step 4

Repeat those steps over and over. The end result will be an assortment fun leaves to decorate your napkins, candles and placecards with. To make your leaves a little different from each other, add a few cuts along the edges.

Easy peasy!

For more great ideas for setting your holiday table, check out the “Set the Table” feature in the November/December 2012 issue of Paper Crafts magazine. It’s on sale now. Be sure to check out the beautiful Pine Boughs Table Settings, by Betsy Veldman at Paper Craft Connections.

November/December 2012 issue of Paper Crafts magazine

Take care,

Teri