In the Cottage Greenhouse … DIY Nature Place Cards

~ Trenda

Look at the latest sparkle I’ve added in the Cottage Greenhouse! I found this quaint and quirky vanity tray mirror covered in a layer of dust at a local Thrift Store for only $1.00! When I found it, I had no idea where I was going to put it, but I couldn’t bear to leave it there forgotten and forlorn.

Now, look how perfectly charming it looks in The Cottage Greenhouse!

Instead of the usual cosmetics and perfumes that sit on a vanity tray, I loaded my Greenhouse vanity tray with a few of my antique metal floral frogs and a tiny silver platter with ruffled edges I topped with a chunky cloche. A crystal watering can fits in perfectly with this garden vignette.

Pretty DIY place cards are propped up on the prongs of antique floral frogs. They look fetching in this greenhouse setting, but they’re especially sweet when I use them in a Nature themed tablescape!

To make this flower place card I cut an image from an old garden book that I was lucky to find at a library sale for only $1.00! I cut the flower image into a smaller rectangle and rounded the corners of the card to soften the edges, then inked the edges. Complete instructions for all Nature place cards below.

To make this little card under the cloche, I photo-copied a favorite vintage green and white crocheted table runner onto cream card stock, then cut the paper copy into small cards. I punched out a round tab from an old book page and distressed it by inking along the edges. Then I stamped the tab with a letter “T” and stapled it onto a bit of lace.

I love the look of this unique and layered place card and made it by first laying a lace handkerchief on the copy machine. Then I placed a cloth napkin on top of the lace handkerchief, closed the lid on my copy machine, and copied the layered cloths onto cream colored card stock. Look at the beautiful texture on the card below and how the photo copied lace looks like actual lace overlapping the card.

Instructions for DIY Nature Place Cards

1. Instead of using decorative papers or colored card stock for this project, I used an assortment of materials … a page from a garden book, a vintage green and white table runner, a lace handkerchief, and a floral napkin. I love the look and visual texture of materials photo-copied onto cream colored card stock. So use your imagination when making your place cards and have fun looking for the textiles or other images you want to photo copy for your place card backgrounds.
2. After making your photo copies, cut the paper copy into the shapes you desire for your project. I cut my photo-copied paper into petite rectangles to fit in my antique floral frogs.
3. For variety, I left some of the corners of my cards square, other’s I rounded using a corner punch I have. If you don’t have a corner punch, you can round the edges of your place cards with scissors.
4. No inking is necessary, but if you want to add an antique or aged look to your place cards, ink the edges of your cards using a blending tool and stamp pad. I used Tim Holtz’s mini ink blending tool and Tim Holtz’s Distress Ink Pad, Color: Vintage Photo
5. To add stamped images to your cards, you will need cling or acrylic stamps or wood block stamps. I used an acrylic bird image stamp, an acrylic bumble bee stamp, and a set of wood block miniature alphabet letters I bought at CVS for only $1.00. (Seems I’ve found a lot of good deals for only a $1.00!) I used the alphabet set to stamp the letters at the top of my card to spell PRETTY.
6. Punch or cut out round tabs using old book pages and staple them to the card on top of a bit of lace … or use buttons and glue the lace to the button and attach both to the card.

A little embellishment for a lot of charm!

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

In other news … my dear Richard cleaned out and organized his sprinkler pipes, fertilizers, and tools that were in the Cottage Greenhouse and he built two more sets of shelves for my bedding plants and greenhouse accouterments. ❤ Now I have twice as much room for planting and playing in the Cottage Greenhouse! Coming soon … pictures of my new addition, plus a Greenhouse tablescape using my Nature place cards!

WELCOME SEPTEMBER!

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

Thank you for reading my blog. To have all my posts delivered directly to your email address, just click on FOLLOW in the post above … or click on my site: cottagegreenonthelake.com

Follow me on PINTEREST at Trenda@cottagegreenonthelake.com