Place Cards for a Garden Party or Tea Party

With the most basic crafting skills, anyone can make unique and pretty place cards for a garden or tea party. Show guests where to sit as you extend the garden theme to your table with these easy to make place cards.

Seed Packet Place Cards

Empty seed packets can be purchased from a variety of sources online, or you can make your own using a simple template. Either draw or stamp a garden design onto the blank seed packet, leaving a place to write your guest's name. Place the seed packet name card into the tines of an old fork and push into a container filled with sand.

Tip: Have the seed packet place card do double duty as a party favor by filling with seeds from your own garden or some that you've purchased for that purpose.

Flower Garden Name Cards

A construction paper flower with petals large enough to write a name can make a whimsical place card. You can also add a paper leaf to an artificial flower, providing a place to put a name. Small flower pots filled with sand can hold your place card flowers, or gather up an assortment of bud vases or pretty bottles to decorate your place settings.

Garden Bug Place Cards

Make colorful butterflies, ladybugs or dragonflies from vellum or card stock and attach to a coffee stirrer or small straw after writing your guest's name. Suitable templates for garden bugs can be found online, or draw a simple bug freehand. Poke the straw into a sand-filled teacup making it look like your friendly garden bug has alighted on the rim.

Tea Bag Name Cards

Color your garden party table with various patterned teacups from thrift stores and antique shops, and use the tea bag for a place card. Use store bought tea bags, but replace the tags with some you've made from plain card stock to which you've added a name.

Recycle Greeting Cards for Place Cards

Many greeting and note cards have flowers that are too beautiful to throw away. Save cards with flowers or garden scenes on the front to be re-used as place cards at your party. Try to pick cards where the greeting can be cut away without damaging the picture, then gently tear and trim the card front from the back. Stamp or add stickers to the plain back of the card along with the guest's name. Slipped into the tines of a fork or plastic holder (like found in flower arrangements), the place card can stand in a bud vase or bottle.

If there's room to add the name on the front, a place card for your garden or tea party can also be made by putting the greeting card in an inexpensive picture frame as an extra keepsake for your guest.