Salal Chargers
Published July 20, 2012
Simple salal leaves from your garden make beautiful placemats
Looking for a pretty way to dress up your table this summer? Try making these homemade chargers.
Made from fresh salal leaves, these chargers will act as beautiful backdrops for your dinner plate. If you are fortunate enough to have some fresh salal in your garden, you can make these in just minutes.
Materials (For 6 chargers)
- 4 large bunches of fresh salal
- 6 round, straw or plastic placemats
- Glue and Glue Gun
- Raffia, hole puncher, metallic pen (optional)
Round chargers are always traditional and pretty but oval and square can look just as dramatic. Whatever shape you choose, work around the size and shape of your dinner plate. Square plates would look fantastic on square chargers. Simply cut a large, round plastic placemat in the shape of a square. (It should be 2 “ larger in diameter than your dinner plate.)
To get started, carefully remove the salal leaves from the stems and wash them of any dirt or residue. Let dry.
Begin gluing the salal leaves around the outside edge of the placemat. Always working from the outside edge toward the middle. Continue slightly overlapping the leaves until the whole placemat is filled.
These salal chargers are now ready to use. If left to dry, the salal leaf will turn a lighter green and the edges may curl. To avoid the curling of the leaf, simply weight the chargers down with some heavy books and let dry. You may be able to re-use these for a few more dinner parties.
Use the leftover salal leaves for nametags on the place settings. Simply punch a hole in the end of the leaf and write the guest’s name with a gold or silver pen. Attach a piece of ribbon or raffia and tie around a linen napkin. Place on top of the plate.
