1. Begin the Thanksgiving place mat by choosing one color of Foamie
sheet that will be the base color. I chose brown in this example. Take
this sheet and mark off 1 inch measurements down the short 12 inch side
of the sheet. Make these marks one inch from the edge. Also mark off 1
inch sections on the opposite edge, one inch from the edge. Then, use a
long straight edge to connect the markings to make straight line. You
should have twelve one inch wide horizontal lines marked on your sheet,
with a one inch border on all the sides of the 12 x 18 inch rectangle.
2. Using a craft knife or Exacto blade, gently pierce the Foamie sheet
along the lines. You can continue to make the cut along the line using
the blade, or switch to using scissors. Remember to not cut all the way
through, you want to leave a one inch border on either side of the
place mat.
3. Continue with the Thanksgiving place mat by measuring and cutting
one inch vertical strips (12 inches long) from your other colors of
Foamie board. Here I used yellow and orange. If you are using two other
colors like I used, you will need 5 strips of one color and 4 strips of
another color. Cut these out.
4. Begin weaving the strips through the base of the place mat. Go over
one strip, and under another strip. Weave the entire strip in. When it
is weaved in, gently push it all the way to the edge of the place mat,
as flush as you can with the beginning of the cuts. Then, secure each
edge to the base with a little bit of glue.
5. Now begin weaving a strip of the opposite color (in this case,
orange) through the base strips. Alternate the opposite from the yellow
strip… going under first instead of over. Then push it next
to the first yellow strip. It will not touch the yellow strip, but will
be about one half inch to one inch away. Then secure the ends of the
strip with glue. Continue weaving strips like this, alternating colors.
6. When you reach the last two strips to weave in, it is best not to
glue them down right away. Wait until you have them weaved in, then
move them around left or right until the placement and spacing between
them look right, then glue to secure. Your Thanksgiving place mats are
ready to use. They can be wiped clean with a damp cloth after use.
