Starry Holiday Table Runner
My friend's husband and my husband decided to start their own business this year while both of us had buns in the oven. Needless to say, we're pinching pennies this holiday season...which is a great opportunity to get creative! My friend and I created this fun project for my kids to work on, and we spent a crafty afternoon creating a simple, low-cost holiday table decoration with high impact. The kids had a ton of fun painting and, what's more, the table runners double as wrapping paper!
What You'll Need
- kraft paper (1 roll) - You can cut it in half like we did to fit 2 runners on the table
- paint (1 tube) - watered down
- foam paintbrush / sponge brush
How We Did It
Unroll the kraft paper along the width of the table with approximately 10 inches more to hang over each side, then cut. (We cut ours in half length-wise to create two side-by-side runners.) Squeeze about a tablespoon of white paint onto the paper plate and mix together with water using a sponge brush to create a creamy but not runny texture. My kids became experts at finding just the right consistency.
We used star stencils and a sponge brush to paint the stars on the craft paper, but really any design could be used. My two-year-old was content to dab paint just in the middle of the stencils so I helped her fill out the rest of the star.
My seven-year-old worked independently at the other end of the paper taking creative liberty as to where each star would go. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. That's part of the charm!
Here's how our table runner turned out.
We also made place cards with the kraft paper by dabbing white paint onto letter stamps.
After breakfast, you can recycle the runners and wrap a last minute gift!
Simple & Cheery! Love it! What a fun afternoon with the kids.
posted by: Kim on 11.29.2012
-comment on thisthis looks so fun! kim, what kind of stencils did you use? dont want to make a trip to the craft store so wondering if there's some easy diy stencils to make
posted by: Kara on 11.30.2012
-comment on thisWe used a Martha Stewart stencil from Michaels (I'm a total sucker for pretty packaging) but you could use anything. You could make a star shape potato stamp. Or I often draw my own templates on cardstock or another thick paper. Cut it out and voila! I did a google search for "free star templates" and found this one. It looks similar to the star shape we used. Enjoy! http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/templates/ig/Christmas-Templates/Star-Template.htm
posted by: Heather and Ingrid on 12.1.2012
-comment on thisWhat a great idea! I will have to try it with my boys this holiday season!
posted by: Heather on 11.30.2012
-comment on thisthanks for this idea - now my table settings are all set for my holiday dinner parties this year!
posted by: Tara on 11.13.2012
-comment on thisI LOVE this idea--especially using the leftover runner as wrapping paper! I cannot wait to do this for Thanksgiving.
posted by: Jillian on 11.13.2012
-comment on this