Dreamgiving DIY

The DIY-decorating-table-setting-gift-giving-skills over here at The Dream are DIZZYING.  I just can’t keep it to myself anymore – so I’m ruining a surprise for our Turkey Day guests by sharing what I made them this weekend.  There is STILL TIME if you want to steal this idea… 🙂

I was directed to a very cool DIY project over on Pickles and Cheese, which got the creative wheels turning…

Pottery Barn-inspired burlap placemats

The talented folks over at The Lettered Cottage are to thank for getting the wheels turning.  They Tweeted about this fun DIY project, which prompted a phrophetic re-Tweet last week:

follow us on Twitter @ twitter.com/DrmForeclosure

And that’s EXACTLY WHAT I DID!  (Can you sense the pride I have in myself right now?  It’s ridiculous.)  My masterpieces are still drying, but here’s a sneak peak, followed by the DIY steps.

each guest gets a customized placemat with their initials, which they also can take home with them

here are some... still drying

Items needed:

  1. Burlap – I got mine at a local fabric store for $2.99/yard.  1 yard will yield 4 placemats.
  2. Fabric paint – get at any fabric/craft store
  3. Small sponge brush – got mine for $0.57 at Home Depot
  4. Stencils – mine were leftover from last year’s Christmas Dream Skirt project

cut burlap... I measured 16in width and just cut the fabric in half for the length

Before painting, fray the edges by pulling out a few strands until you get the desired amount of fray along all four sides.

I recommend a setup like this... the box allows for extra paint to bleed through and pins to hold the letters in place.

start with the last letter and work from right to left (to make sure you have enough room)

I like the solid, not faded look - so I loaded up my brush with the fabric paint...

...then I sponged it on the stencil - careful not to use brush strokes as that would pull out the "hair" on the burlap and cause a mess!

move on to the next letter and get them as close as you want them

allow 24 hours to dry!

These are a 3-for-1 deal!

  1. Placemats (which are great because I didn’t have any that matched my new Thanksgiving table cloth!)
  2. Fun alternative to place cards
  3. Party favor!  Each guest can take theirs with them when they go (hopefully, there’s not a lot of cranberry-sauce-spillage)

There you have it!  Am I wrong to be so proud?  I’ll do another post later this week to show you how they look on the table.

About Michelle Fortin

Michelle Fortin is a follower of Jesus, a wife and a mom. She's also an award winning broadcast journalist and public relations professional. Michelle spent nearly a decade working in television newsrooms across the country, both behind and in front of the camera. Training future broadcast journalists in her faculty associate roles at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and at Arizona Christian University was a cherished focus of her post-TV career. Today, she maintains a roster of public relations clients focused on empowering fellow “momprenuers.” She also serves as a speaker for various women's and mom's events. Michelle received her bachelor’s degree from Biola University and Master of Mass Communication (MMC) from Arizona State University. She and her husband, two young kids and English bulldog call Scottsdale, Arizona, home.

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