DIY: Numbered Burlap Placemats

Whew! I'm finally back! I've spent the past week packing and moving like a mad woman. But now, we're officially back in beautiful New England. I haven't had 2 seconds to blog until now. Now that I can, I want to share a little project I completed back while we were in the midwest.

This is part 2 of the tabletop make-over I mentioned here. All you need is burlap, a sharpie marker, some printed numbers, and an X-acto knife. I just so happened to have all those materials laying around my house from previous projects, so it didn't cost me a cent!

Step 1: Print out desired numbers in a stencil font (if your ink is low, it'll look like mine):



Step 2: Cut out the numbers with an X-acto knife. I placed a piece of cardboard behind the paper so I wouldn't scratch up anything else.. that happens enough around here! :)



Step 3: Use a placemat you already have as a guide to cut out pieces of burlap for your new mats. Tip: cut along the threads of the burlap for an even, straight, & less-fraying placemat.



Step 4: Lay the paper stencil on top of the burlap and trace the outline with a Sharpie. Then, remove the stencil and fill in the middle with the marker. {You can also just leave the outlines.. I was tempted, but decided to go with the full-coverage option ;) }



When you're finished, it should look like this:


To secure the edges, sew a small line about 1/4" from the edge with a similar, tan-colored thread. Then, lay them on your table and do your happy dance!


Such a cheap & chic fix for a boring tabletop. I couldn't help thinking that this would be a genius idea for a big family like the Dugars- each kid would have a number! We have friends with 13 kids, and when they need to make sure everyone's there, they count off by birth order. Numbered placemats just seem perfect, eh? :)

Or, of course.. it could just be the two of you (like us) & you'll love it just as much!