diy place card holders

Dear 2016,

I think we all can agree, you have been a rough year to stomach. While I'm looking forward to putting you in the past, dang are you flying by.

Dear Halloween,

Oops. My bad. Maybe we'll catch up next year?

Dear Thanksgiving, 

I'm not going to let you sneak up on me like your friend Halloween did. I see you there peeking around the corner. I'm ready for ya.

Last year Heather & I celebrated Thanksgiving with some of her extended family. This was awesome because A. Heather's family get-togethers are always a loud & rowdy time, & B. We did not have an actual table in our apartment to eat at for our Thanksgiving dinner. This time around we're more prepared. We have a table, we're working up a menu, & I'm attempting to create a happy little tables scape. These place card holders are totally unnecessary at our Thanksgiving (two seats with two people doesn't leave a lot of room for seating debate), but I love any excuse to DIY something.

You'll need:

• Black & white polymer clay
• An x-acto knife
• Wire
• Gold leaf paint
• Pliers (not pictured)

First, mix your white & black clay together to make variants of gray. Your largest amount of clay should be closest to white, with the smallest amount the closest to black. Next, mix all the variants of gray together. Don't mix them thoroughly - just enough to get a marbled look without mixing them to the same hue. Divide your marbled clay in balls roughly the size of a half dollar. 

Place your divided clay in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Cooling the clay will help keep the shape as you handle it in the next step.

Using an x-acto knife, cut away at the clay. Cut as randomly as you like, just make sure you cut the bottom flat so the placeholders sit steadily. 

Next, use pliers to bend your wire into a holder. Bend the wire into a triangle about two inches up, bend another triangle behind the first, then wrap the end of the wire underneath both triangles. 

Stick the wire holders into the top of each marbled placeholder. 

Bake for 10 minutes at 275º. 

Once cooled, paint the bottom half of each clay piece with gold leaf. 

Our T-Day menu so far includes some of the standards: a vegan roast (maybe stuffed with cranberries?), some type of green bean, & mashed potatoes with brie cheese.

xoxo,

-m.e.

P.S. A definite on the menu this year - mini pumpkin cheesecakes.