How to Make Marble Place Cards

With the holidays right around the corner, I’ve got cozy dinner parties, family feasts and holiday events on the mind. And while I find myself dreading party planning that ends up being expensive or overwhelming (been there before!), it’s comforting to find simple, DIY details that will make a dinner party feel special, without the expense or the stress. And that’s why I’m so excited about these little DIY marble place cards! I feel like they make any table setting look 👌 without breaking the bank. All you need is one set of tiles and a paint pen, and you’ve got a gorgeous DIY for about ten dollars 👊!

Do you know calligraphy? It works great on these tiles as well 🙂

I partnered up with my friend Christina Marshall for her expertise on this marble place card post. She has the most gorgeous calligraphy and was gracious enough to provide helpful recommendations and tips. Read below!

YOU’LL NEED:

• Marble Tiles
• Paint pen, or calligraphy holder, nib and ink (see below for specifics recommendations!)
• Optional: Sandpaper

Recommendations for writing tools: Deco Color or Sharpie paint pens work well if you are not experienced in dipped pen calligraphy. An ultra fine tip works great to create faux calligraphy or even just fancy handwriting. Christina tested those, and they worked great. Even craft smart paint pens from Michaels would work.

The artwork here was created using a dipped pointed pen method. You can use any calligraphy pen holder (straight or oblique). Christina used the brause 66 nib. For the ink, Daler Rowney’s FW acrylic ink worked well.

DIRECTIONS:
01. Remove each tile from the mesh tile sheet.
02. Optional: Sand the back of each tile to smooth out any rough spots.
03. Make sure the surface is clean with no dust. A simple wipe with a paper towel is fine, if it seems dusty at all.
04. If using the paint pens, shake them really well for a few minutes. Press the pen down on a piece of paper until the paint comes out. Then write on the tile surface! You can use a laser level or a ruler to make sure you write straight, but since the tiles are so small, I don’t think you really need to.
05. If using the calligraphy pen + nib, write as you would on another other paper surface. If dipped pen calligraphy is new to you, know that it’s awesome but definitely a practice skill. You will need a whole other tutorial to cover how to actually do calligraphy! If you are curious on how to get started, we found this helpful tutorial 🙂
06. Whether using paint pens or calligraphy, set out to dry for maybe 5-10 minutes. Then they should be good to go!

I love seeing how the green ink intensifies the color of the leaves. And you could use any ink or pen color to match the place cards to any color theme. Gold, plum, blush, gray…I feel like there could be so many great color combinations 😍

Enjoy your party planning!

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A little about Christina Marshall

Christina lives with her husband, Jordan, and their two kids in beautiful Santa Barbara. Her business, Gold and Sea Calligraphy is about creating beauty through creative lettering. Whether it be your wedding day, welcoming in a new baby or just a sign in your home, Gold and Sea Calligraphy is here to see the normal things in life recognized as they truly are: extraordinary.

Beyond spending time with her family, Christina enjoys rock climbing, drinking craft coffee, going to Harry Potter world and anything sic-fi.

If you want to check out Christina’s work, you can visit Gold and Sea Calligraphy here!