Thanksgiving dinner is one of the only meals where I feel 100% comfortable using place cards — anyone else with me? Typically the idea of telling people where to sit, especially when hosting close friends and family, can feel a bit buttoned-up for my liking. But when entertaining large groups and out-of-towners, creating custom place cards are a detail where I love to get creative. I’ve been bookmarking inspiration for using fabric stiffener for quite some time and trying to think of just the project for using it (aside from the popular string or doily pendant). I kind of fell in love with the idea of spelling out names with craft cord, and thought that it could make quite a unique “place card”. Set atop a horizontal napkin on modern dinnerware, they ended up being a super inexpensive project that gave this table design the extra oomph it needed!
- craft cord
- sewing pins
- foam board
- parchment paper
- fabric stiffener
- paint brush
Place parchment paper over foam board. Twist craft cord to spell name of guest, pinning into foam board as you twist. A simpler option is to twist cord into guests’ initials.
Once pinned in place, use paintbrush to saturate cord in fabric stiffener.
Once dry, remove pins and carefully slide names off of parchment paper and place at each place setting.
