Place Cards

Even when there are small numbers, having place cards as part of your table decor can elevate a dinner to an occasion. And what better time than at Christmas to take a few minutes to place a card with a person's name at each setting? It makes everyone feel just a little special.

There are endless ways to personalise each setting, some requiring a little more time and effort (like buying a small gift for each person and wrapping it), but some of these ideas take only minutes and can be done even at the last minute.


Cutting a slip of paper, writing on the person's name, and slipping it between the tips of a pinecone is fast and easy. If you wish, you can take the time to paint the tips of the cone or add a little glitter.


If you have access to a birch tree, select a branch that is about an inch in diameter and saw small segments into tiny logs. Cut a slot along the top, write your card in contrasting coloured paper, and slide the place card into the slot.


If you are baking, you can monogram an icing initial onto a cookie for each person as a delicious and ready-to-eat place card.


Three small candy canes can be used to support a name card.


Just tie them together with a ribbon to create a tiny stand.


Small Christmas balls can be pressed into service with ribbon threaded through the metal loop and tied in a bow to hold a place card in place.



Small fruits such as mandarine oranges become place card holders with the insertion of two old-fashioned hair pins.


Push the hair pins through the rind until only the loops are still visible, positioning one directly in front of the other. Then, simply guide the name card through the middle of the wire loops.

Table Transformation

Back on May 26th I posted an entry about finding this table in my friend’s backyard under a tree and mentioned that I planned to restore it. Well, many months later, the work is finished. After a really good scrub with soap and water and a drying in the sun, I gave it a complete sanding to remove all the loose flaking paint. Unfortunately a lot of the green went with it, revealing a white layer underneath. The knob crumbled into several pieces leaving behind a red plastic fragment, so I went off to Lee Valley Tools and selected a ceramic knob to replace it. After cutting off a rotting portion of the legs to even it out, my table transformation is complete!

Rescue Mission

While gathering flat rocks from the garden of a friend of mine to complete a little corner in my backyard, I noticed this wee table under a tree towards the back of her garden. “Why is that table out in the elements?” I asked, “Are you hoping the paint will peel off?”

To which she replied that no, she wasn’t trying to do anything with it. She had just left it out there and did I want it? Well, you can imagine my response. Already I was thinking of all the possibilities of how one could use a little table like that! So, after I’d loaded up the back of the van with layers and layers of flat rocks and a few pots of various ground cover, I spread a garbage bag across the back seat and placed the table upside down, securing it with seat belts before heading on my way.

Once home, I placed it on the patio in our backyard to give it a closer look and beamed at my treasure. It seems a shame to have to scrape away all the peeling paint because it is a very pretty shade of green. What I didn’t realize when I saw it in the woody area of my friend’s garden (because the legs were stuck in the earth) is that the bottom portion of the legs have already started to rot away and though you wouldn’t know it from the photos, it is leaning very badly to the right. I will have to cut the bottoms of the legs a little to even everything out.

The weather has done quite a lot of damage, so I am hoping that with some work I will be able to rescue it. Restoring it for use wil be such a fun project. Stay tuned for the results!