Indian Corn Thanksgiving Place Cards

Thanksgiving place cards don’t have to be fancy or expensive to be great for your family gathering.  We made these super cute and easy Indian Corn Thanksgiving Place Cards, and they look amazing next to our elegant dinnerware.  I love knowing that I can do a simple project with my kids, and they can feel like they are a part of the holiday planning.  Check out our easy to follow tutorial.

Indian Corn Thanksgiving Place Cards

You may be used to the idea of Thanksgiving Place Cards being a fancy printed item, or perhaps a ceramic piece that you place a specially printed card into each year.  Let’s rethink that, and instead enjoy some of the fun parts of the holiday by using a super cute and easy kids craft instead.

See that smiling face above?  She is proud of her work, as she should be.  These simple place cards are made with her own hands, and don’t they look amazing?  I have always loved the colors of Indian corn, and transforming them in this fun craft was perfect.

Since the bird and I were in charge of Thanksgiving place cards this year this is what we came up with. (I’m sure I saw it somewhere – but I can’t remember where.)

Bubble wrap is a favorite tool for many things, but I never thought about how it could be used to paint this simple but effective Indian corn pattern on our Thanksgiving place cards.  I think they turned out super cute. She had a blast making them. We got the bubble wrap at the Dollar Tree – everything else we had on hand, but just in case, the supplies are listed below.

Supplies Needed: 

Bubble Wrap

Brown, red, orange, and yellow craft paint (I invested in this inexpensive set of craft paints since it had so many different colors that come in handy)

 

Paintbrush

White paper

Brown paper (old paper bags work great)

Scissors

Cloth for cleaning up paint covered hands

Apron for keeping clothes clean

Start by gathering up your supplies to make these Thanksgiving place cards.  I also recommend putting down paper or newsprint on your table or work surface.  This is to protect it, just in case your little ones get a bit too excited about using paints and make some spills.

Put a small amount of each paint color onto a plate or surface for your kids to dip their paintbrush into.  Then, have them simply paint the bubble wrap.

Encourage them to mix and match the paints so they make a strip of each color and look festive like real Indian corn would appear.

The bird liked swirling the colors together.  I prefer a more methodical approach with strips of each color on the bubble wrap.  Let your kids choose their method, and just have fun.

Once you have a good piece of bubble wrap painted, hep your child flip it over onto the white paper.  We used a large piece over the entire table, but you could also use basic copy paper or even card stock.

Pat the bubble wrap….ooo I love that chubby little kid hand!

Peel the bubble wrap off the paper carefully.  Make sure you lift up so it doesn’t smear.

As you can see, it makes a fun pattern all over the paper.  You can cover the entire paper if you have a lot of Thanksgiving place cards to make or just small areas at a time.  Whatever you and your kids prefer works.

Show off your masterpiece to your little brother.

This fun time showing off your work also gives the paint time to dry before the next step.

Have mom cut out corn shapes.  If your kids are old enough, this is the perfect time to help them with their scissor skills.

You or your child can cut “husks” from a paper bag. I just cut simple 2″-3″ wide strip.  Then crinkle them up. This was a fun part and Sam helped crinkle.
Staple or tape the husks to the corn and write a name.  You can also glue the Thanksgiving place cards together if you want, but stapling or taping is a bit fasterand less messy.

These super cute Indian Corn Thanksgiving place cards are a perfect fun idea for your family dinner table this year.  They are super cute, easy, inexpensive, and most of all – fun or kids to help create.

More Thanksgiving Ideas:

• Paint Chip Turkey Thanksgiving Place Cards
• 3D Thanksgiving Card
• Thanksgiving Placemats: Free Printable For Kids To Color
• 15 Ways To Make Thanksgiving Fun For Kids