Easter Table Setting and some DIY Placemats

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ByMarci


Happy Spring! 
I hope most of you are starting to see signs of Spring and getting to enjoy the outdoors again like we are!  I’ve been working on my Easter table this past week.  I saw this tutorial for DIY custom placemats on a blog one night when I was doing some LATE internet searching and I cannot for the life of me find it again!?!?  As soon as I find it I will post a link but for now, I’ll just have to go off my memory.  (scary)  I made a few tweaks to mine which I will explain below.    
The basic idea behind this project is to use pre-cut cork board squares and scrapbook paper to create a custom looking placemat.  Here is a picture of my finished product and an explanation of how I made these placemats… 

To begin, I purchased some pre-cut 12×12″ square cork tiles from Hobby Lobby.  (4 to a pack/ $6.99).  Then I picked out some scrapbook paper (also from Hobby Lobby-50% off of 59 cents) that I thought would look good with my Easter dishes.  I chose this weathered/chipped board looking paper.  Both the paper and the tiles are the exact same size so I didn’t need to cut anything to fit.  Before gluing the scrapbook paper to the cork tile I had 1 sheet of the paper laminated at Office Depotas suggested in the original tutorial.  Then, I painted the back and sides of the cork board tile that would be showing after gluing the paper to the top.  **sidenote- this step was not included in the original tutorial I found but I decided to add it because I didn’t like the remaining cork tile exposed against the paper I chose.  So, I painted the rest of it with some left over sample paint from our kitchen cabinet makeover.  (Dove Wing by Benjamin Moore).    After the paint dried, I glued the laminated paper to the cork board with Mod Podge and secured it with clothespins around the edges to let it dry.  After the glue dried and I took the clothes pins off, I did not like what I saw.  I did not like the laminated look of the paper!  It wasn’t natural looking to me and it looked more like a kid’s placemat than something for a nice lunch.  SO, I decided for the next placemat, I was NOT going to laminate the paper first.  I figured, the paper only cost me 30 cents, the cork tiles are going to be reusable, why don’t I just replace the paper if they get messed up during the meal.  Then I can change them out with the seasons!?!  So for the next placemat, I painted the cork tile and glued on the UNLAMENTED paper with Mod Podge and I liked the finished product SOOOO much more!!!! 
Here is a picture of the placemat by itself…
 Here is a closeup of the scrapbook paper…

 

 

 

One more closeup of the scrapbook paper next to this adorable little robin’s egg nest.

Blue dishes- Gordon’s Home .  White plate & Napkin - Pottery Barn.  Nest & wrought iron napkin ring –Hobby Lobby

(I found these napkin rings on clearance from Hobby Lobbylast Spring 4/ $ 3.99!!!  Their clearance sale is going on now!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I’m satisfied with how these placemats turned out for the amount of time and $ I put into them (which was hardly any!) If I try this project again, I will probably use these pre-made cork boards instead of the tiles just to see if I like the look any better.   If anyone else tries them let me know. This may be a little trickier because you will have to cut the scrapbook paper to fit the size of the cork board and round the corners.  (I’m so not good with scissors)
 
My Easter centerpiece for the table…
I made this tree out of a silver ice bucket, some cypress limbs I cut down from a tree outside, and some Easter egg ornaments from Hobby Lobby.  

 

 

 

closeup of the speckled egg ornaments

 

 

Happy Easter everyone!  Enjoy the weekend.  Do something outside!
Remember, when life hands you lemons, turn them into something lovely!
-Marci