Apple Stamped Placecards

I found this idea, and although my mom is hosting Thanksgiving Dinner at her house, I had to make these placecards!

I sliced an apple, carved out the rounded lines to simulate the lines of a pumpkin, dipped it in orange paint, and stamped away!

Some tips:

• I used a pen to "carve" the rounded lines. It was easier to manipulate than a knife.
• Stick a toothpick in the back of your "apple stamp" at an angle to use as a handle. 
• Test your stamp on a scratch piece of paper. I did this to get extra paint off the stamp as well. 
• I put my paper on a mouse pad (you could also use craft foam sheets) before stamping. This ensures that you will get an even stamped image.
• Any paper would work, but I used vellum.

Let your stamped images dry, then use a paint brush to add the leaf and stem. After everything is dry, cut out your images, and use a marker to write the names on top.

I bought SPALT napkin rings from Ikea. They have this perfect little slit in the top for placecards! I can see myself using them for all sorts of fun place settings in the future.

If you like the idea of stamping with apples... but you don't have a need for pumpkin placecards, create other fun designs with your children! We used melon ballers to carve out the circles in these:

Have fun!