Polka Dot Table Runner

I've been trying to come up with ways to keep myself from turning my dining room table into a catch all. Every tie I clean it off, it seems within seconds to be covered again by mail, craft projects, to do lists and more. So far my best defense has been trying to keep some kind of decoration on it, but a centerpiece isn't always good enough. So the other day I thought up this table runner! It's so cheap and easy to do, that you could change it almost every day if you wanted. It would also be super cute as a party decoration!



To make your own all you need is:

Scrap book paper or Card stock (here I used card stock)
Large circle hole punch (you could use a fancier shaped punch if you prefer)

That's it! Two supplies! How great is that? I will also point out that as long as you don't feel the need to attach these to a backing of some sort, you can re-use your punch outs in several other crafts later on :)



I am addicted to ombre color schemes lately, so I chose several shades of orange for my runner, but you could use any combo of colors or patterns. Start by punching out your polka dots. I punched out about 3 12"x12" card stock sheets worth of dots for my table (53" in diameter). You could also arrange your dots in a sunburst pattern, in which case you'll likely need more dots. Experimentation is key here, and you can't mess up!



Once you have your dots punched out, arrange them as you see fit! I started with my white dots on one side spaced pretty far apart, and then went to light orange, orange and dark orange. PLay with your spacing and colors until you come up with what looks best for you and your table.



In the end, I couldn't resist adding my ombre pom pom centerpiece as well. Complimentary colors make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Paint Chip Gift Tags

I'm always looking for clever crafts, that can be done easily and inexpensively. These paint chip gift tags fit the bill perfectly. So many companies are making bigger paint chips now that you can use them for quite a bit without people even realizing it is a paint chip sample! The best part: the cost! I happened to have a bunch of paint chips laying around from several painting projects, but if you don't just go to a local hardware or paint supply store and select the colors you wish to use, they are free* (I recommend asking if you may take some if you do not plan on buying any paint). If you fall in love with a color, there are often small sample size paints you can buy for a larger project as well (I recently found a recipe online to mix your own chalkboard paint-- once I finish my project I'll be sharing that with you as well!).

So, back to the gift tags. I used various colors of paint chips, got a fancy hole punch, some white ribbon, and a regular hole punch and what you see here is the result. Just punch out your fancy shape, in my case a leafless tree, from your top paint chip, and overlay it onto a contrasting color chip. Then using a regular hole punch, punch a hole through both paint chips, insert your ribbon and you have a cute little gift tag. These also double as great bookmarks, and you can make them as large as your paint sample chips allow. It is your choice if you want to make them recognizable as paint chips, or do as I have here and just let it look like fancy colored paper (I love paint chips because they are very close in quality to Color Aid, a super expensive item you might be familiar with if you ever took a color theory class in art school--and I have, ouch!).

Another great thing about this project, is that there is little to no waste. I am saving all of my little punch out trees as confetti. These would be adorable at an Autumnal Equinox party later in the year! These hole punches come in a huge variety of shapes, also, so you could easily find one to fit your occasion and I have seen them on sale at almost any time of year at various paper and craft stores around town, as well as online.

More fun crafts are on the way, so check back again soon!