Holiday Chalkboard Placemats

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Main

These quick and easy chalkboard placemats are the next step in my DIY holiday tablescapes this year.  I always like to combine cute and functional, so I was looking for a way to keep kids entertained while still giving adults something pretty to look at.  The chalkboard vinyl from Silhouette is perfect for doodling while everyone is waiting for their holiday treats.

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Adhere Chalkboard Vinyl

To start, I covered cheap vinyl placemats from Walmart (less than a dollar a piece) with Silhouette Adhesive Chalkboard Vinyl by simply rolling the vinyl slowly over the top and then trimming the excess with a pair of scissors.

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Screenshot

The decorative designs on the placemats would all be cut out of white vinyl, so I just scrunched them all into about a 9″ x 25″ piece to save material.  I always have a heck of a time cutting long pieces of vinyl like this because I don’t insert the media straight and then it feeds all crooked…enter my new Silhouette Roll Feeder:

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Vinyl Roll Feeder

If you do a lot of large vinyl designs, then this might be an accessory you’d be interested in.  It has a few slots on one end that allow you to slip the roll feeder under your CAMEO and kinda lock it into place.  Then you sit your roll between the adjustable arms and feed it under the guide and into your machine.  After a little practice, I’ve definitely found my vinyl is feeding straight now.  I don’t use the little blade attachment they include though…maybe I’m just not using it properly, but it doesn’t cut right for me!

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Thanksgiving

Once my vinyl was cut, I transferred it to my chalkboard placemat using transfer paper.  The title design was easy to center because I could make marks with chalk and erase them later!  I just eyeballed the corner designs though.

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Thanksgiving Detail

The “family” quote can be found here in the Design Store and is super easy to weed.  The oak border pieces were cut using this design and I love how intricate they look…at this size, they were a bit of a pain, but I was looking for a border that coordinated with my split leaf napkins.

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Christmas

While I was making up placemats for Thanksgiving, I figured I might as well start ones for Christmas too.  This gorgeous title from Kolette Hall cut perfectly and I added these intricate snowflake flourishes to the edges to match my split snowflake napkins created in this earlier post.

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Chalk Detail

I wanted to show how well the chalkboard vinyl works…here I’m using chalk markers that I found at an office supply store, but regular chalk works just as well.  I thought it could be fun to use the chalkboard placemat as a placecard for Christmas dinner.  For Thanksgiving, I’m thinking of asking my nieces and nephews to write down what they’re thankful for this year.  Although I didn’t have any at the time of photographing, it would be nice to add a piece of chalk to each place setting (maybe folded into the napkin).

Holiday Chalkboard Placemats by Annie Williams - Blooter

And speaking of photographing…I’ve been trying to get this project posted for a while now, but it seemed like the world was working against me!  First, the lighting has been terrible lately in my dining room…so sorry the placemats look much grayer than they actually are, but I did my best!  Then, my first guest kept showing up in frame and eating my greenery…don’t worry, she didn’t actually manage to eat any, but I think she is going to tear apart my home once all of the Christmas decorations are up this year.

I’d love to hear what you think!

10 Comment

  1. Wow, these are fantastic! I don’t have a Silhouette, but I’d love to find a way to create these!

  2. Annie Wills says:

    Thank you Sharon! I don’t know if you have a Hobby Lobby near you, but they do sell a chalkboard vinyl that is similar to the Silhouette brand (the Silhouette brand is a bit of a lighter color and smoother than the HL) as well as pre-made vinyl designs…so you could probably create something similar using those products. HTH!

  3. These are beautiful, Annie! I gave up on trimming with the cutter on the vinyl roll feeder, as well.

    1. Annie Wills says:

      Thanks Kelly!

  4. Carol says:

    I appreciate the creativity. I noticed the napkins with your name on it. It looks embroidered. Nice addition to the look.

    1. Annie Wills says:

      Thanks so much Carol!

  5. Denise says:

    Annie, This is such a great idea! I was just looking for vinyl placemats for my cats and couldn’t find any I liked with a christmas pattern! I have a cameo but I don’t have that nice vinyl tray. I’ll have to put it on my xmas list for next year.

    Thank you for sharing and Happy Holidays!

    1. Annie Wills says:

      Thanks so much Denise! I’m so happy you found it inspiring!

  6. Danielle says:

    I love your combinations of typefaces. What are they?

    1. Annie Wills says:

      Hi Danielle! These are actually designs available for purchase in the Silhouette Design Store – #52050 and #50720.

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