Thu 16 Nov 2017

Make your own floral placemats

With the holidays just around the corner, it’s time to start planning and preparing your festive décor. When setting a table, your placemats are bound to get a fair bit of attention. Not only are they practical, but they are also important for adding colour and emphasizing the theme of the event. Here’s how to make your own Christmas placemats using festive flowers.

Things you will need:

  • Festive flowers of your choice
  • 12 x 18 inch sheets of contact paper. You need 2 sheets per placemat.
  • Scissors (scalloped edge) for creating a rounded pattern around the edges if desired.
  • Two sheets of firm cardboard (for pressing fresh flowers if necessary)
  • Stiff ruler

Instructions:

  • Select your flowers based on the holiday theme. You can use fresh plant material or silk if you prefer. Remember, you are not limited to flowers, but you can also use various leaves.
  • If you want to use fresh flowers, you should press them first. This means that you should get to work at least a couple of weeks in advance. Use the cardboard and some weights to press your plant material before you use them to make placemats.
  • Once all of your flowers and leaves are ready, you can then plan your design.
  • Peel the back of the first sheet of contact paper away and lay it flat with the sticky side up.
  • Carefully arrange the flowers on this sticky sheet. Once they are in place, do not try to move them. This is why planning is so important.
  • Now peel off the back of the other sheet of contact paper and place it on top.
  • Use your ruler to smooth out any air bubbles.
  • Trim the edges of the placemat if desired.
  • Store your placemats on a flat surface until you need them

If you like, you can use green, red, or white paper as part of your placemat design. Simply stick your flowers to this piece of paper and then cover both sides with contact paper. This will mean that your placemats will now have a top and back side but it will also help the design stand out even more. Remember, if you use artificial flowers for this design, your placemats will usually last significantly longer. Dried or pressed plant material will degrade over time and they will not hold their colour for as long as silk petals.