Mini Canvas Place Card Tutorial

When your wedding involves a sit-down dinner for your guests then it adds a whole new element of planning before the day – and I’m not just talking about the menu! Directing your guests to their seats can be more than just a listing or a sign; with these personalised mini canvas paintings it can be a place card, decor and a wedding favour all rolled into one. If you’re having a large wedding or are not super confident in your painting skills then this could be a fun bridal shower activity. It’s great to use regular old acrylic paint as it dries faster and is cheaper, but you can always use oil paint if you’re wanting them to be a bit more authentic!

What you’ll need:

Mini canvas
Mini easel
Paint (red, yellow, blue and white are good – but you match the colours back to your theme!)
Paint brushes of varying sizes
Parchment paper
Scissors
Pen

What to do:

Prepare your canvas with a nice thick layer of white paint (it will give it a more authentic look) and allow it to dry completely.

Try a couple of different methods of painting some flowers such as close up of one bloom or a bouquet. For the bouquet, start with dots of pink or red and layer over thick blobs of orange, yellow and white.

To define the roses in the bouquet, get a thin paint brush and do a tight swirl or narrow C shape at the top and put a few flicks down for the petals.

Follow it up with some rough green strokes for the leaves and stems and then add a little bit of blue, yellow and white for texture if you like.

Once your little work of art is done, cut a strip out of your parchment paper and cut a small triangle out of either end. Using an inky ball point pen, write your guest’s name on the parchment. If you can do calligraphy then go for it, but you really just need it to be neat and legible.

Prop your parchment name tag on your easel and put it on their plate to direct them to their seat. A work of art!