DIY Leather Place Cards & Dried Floral Runner for a Casual Thanksgiving

Man, November has been a tough month to get back into the DIY swing. This year I leaned more into Halloween decor than usual which meant I didn’t have a lot of general fall/Thanksgiving pieces ready. I also didn’t realize how short the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is this year either, so I’m already playing catch up while trying to make sure  I’m staying sane with work, blogging, freelancing, and real-life holiday prep haha… So this might be the one and only Thanksgiving post this year, let’s make it count!

I have been absolutely loving the dried florals trend and have been drying to try it out. This tablescape came together so easily solely because the dried florals carry all the visual weight without the same fussiness as fresh flowers. The looser and more organic you scatter them about, the better!

Base
Start building your tablescape with a neutral, linen foundation. I like to use a runner as a visual border for the florals to grow from and break the borders. Layer lots of long, flat, pieces (like fronds or feathers) on top to create an organic runner. I’m counting the candlesticks as part of the base layer since you’ll want to arrange those before the florals. I kept the candlesticks matching then played with textures and height with some simple DIY terracotta pinch holders and modern brass options.

Main Attraction
You don’t need a ton of dried florals to make this work. In fact, most of the dried pieces are from half of a bridesmaid bouquet from our wedding! You can buy dried florals online, or, even better and cheaper, dry your own. Just hang your flowers in a cool, dry area until they’re done. When flowers dry, they’ll take on a similar tone so you don’t need to worry about color coordinating, just vary up the textures. To add a little more dimensions I added some fresh dahlias into the mix as well.

Finishing Touches
Make guests feel extra special with almost no extra effort and set their seat with gold flatware and DIY leather place cards. I found a few scraps of jewel-tone green leather and used a white chalk marker to write the names. I love the contrast of the cooler tone against the dried florals and the organic edges!