The sunflower has been adopted as a symbol of happiness, strength, a love of the sun and sunlight. Because the sunflower always turns its face to the sun, it has also come to symbolize faith and the constant search for light, or enlightenment. Everybody loves sunflowers!
Here are a few ways to incorporate the irresistible beauty and warmth of the sunflower into your next summer get-together.
Vintage Sunflower Tabletop
Use Antique Single Flower Vases
For an updated twist on a traditional centerpiece, an assortment of vintage-style green and yellow bottles, each holding a single sunflower, are lined down the center of the table creating a garden of sunflowers with their faces looking up to the sun!
How to Make Sunflower Placemats
Sunflowers come in many different colors and sizes—from mini to giant. Our super-size sunflower placemats make a big impact and are easy to make!
What You’ll Need:
- Cardboard circle – approximately 10″ in diameter
- Salal leaves – 20-25 leaves in various sizes (fake leaves can work too for a longer lasting placemat)
- Glue
- Yellow spray paint
- Brown paint
- Sponge
Step 1
Cut one cardboard circle for each placemat. (This is a good use for old cardboard boxes!) Each circle should be about 10″. I used a dinner plate as a template to trace a circle onto the cardboard, which worked perfectly. Use the sponge to add brown paint to your circle, leaving a bit of the original cardboard color showing through to create a textured look for your sunflower center.
Step 2
Cut all of the salal leaves from the stem and spray paint them yellow. Once they have dried, glue the wider end of the larger sized leaves to the edge of the cardboard circle.
Step 3
Glue the smaller leaves between each of the larger leaves.
With fresh salal leaves, the sunflower placemats can be made a day or two before you plan to use them. Keep them flat and in a cool place.
