I’m totally obsessed with Vampires. The elegance, the sophistication, the mystery…. If only I could sit at a table full of them! A girl can dream. Until then… a table setting suited for a Vampire Dinner Party.
Yet again, I was inspired by some Halloween decor I happened upon, to create some place settings. But much like the Skeleton Hand Place Card Holders…. if you’re not into assigned seats, this project can do double duty and will still work for you!
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I found these small wooden coffins at Michael’s (among their Halloween decor obviously). Honestly, there are so many things I can think to do with these, but since I’m constantly inspired by Vampire Style, I immediately knew that these little coffins would add a charming touch to a Vampire Dinner Party place setting. Luckily they were on sale for only a couple dollars, so I bought a bunch of them!
For this place setting I decided to go with a black & red color palette. Last year, around Christmas time, I purchased these red velvet charger plates from Michael’s…. I could envision them paired with black dinner plates, and knew it would make a striking combination. I topped the Black Matte Plates
Shopping tip – always check the fabric napkin section at thrift stores…. I always buy up any dark or rich colors… you just never know what color may work perfectly with your design. Last week, I thought those plum napkins (also a thrift store score) worked beautifully with the Skeleton Hands, and this week I thought for sure I’d use red napkins… but after a bit of playing, I liked how it looked to keep it all dark.
Now for the fun part…. I found this awesome faux barbed wire at Walmart (again – the Halloween aisle). It’s actually rubber!! What?!?! So cool! Not that barbed wire has anything to do with Vampires, but I loved the interest and the contrast that the wire provided when wrapped around the black dinner plate.
Lastly, I topped each dinner plate with one of the coffins. The coffins were painted, decorated, and contained a place card for each blood thirsty guest. As I mentioned earlier, if you’re not the Seating Card type… These coffin boxes look great closed and would make for a nice surprise if filled with chocolate or candy..
To make the coffins:
What you’ll need:
- Small Screwdriver
- Small Paint Brush
- Black Paint
- Red Paint
- Decorative elements
- Card Stock (for Seating Card)
- Silver Pen (for Seating Card)
1. I removed all of the hardware… ugh – tedious! I suppose if you’re feeling lazy, you can just paint the whole thing, hardware and all… But I liked the mix of the silver hardware with the black wood, so off it went.
2. I painted the outside of each coffin top & bottom by hand, as well as the inside lip.
3. Once dry, I painted the inside a bright red.
4. Once dry, I reattached all of the hardware.
5. I used a bunch of different elements to decorate the tops of each box. I had some black foam puffy alphabet stickers that I adhered to the box spelling out RIP. I also happened upon a box of “faith based” foam stickers at Walmart…. not my usual kind of purchase, but the box had several shapes of crosses that I thought would work perfectly for this project. I adhered the crosses to the top of the box, and painted over in black. I also picked up some cross jewelry at a thrift store (some cross pendants, and a pair of cross earrings. I glued the jewelry onto the boxes using E600 glue.
6. For the Seating cards, I traced the coffin shape onto the black cardstock, and then cut it out a smaller version.
7. Using a silver pen, I added a decorative border, and the guest’s names.
Now…. pour a pitcher of your finest O negative…. and enjoy!
Stay tuned as I get to work on centerpieces and a menu to complete the Vampire Dinner Party!!
These DIY serving pieces would work perfectly for a Vampire Worthy Buffet…. serve cocktails or appetizers on this Ornate Gothic Serving Tray…. Serve snacks or dips in these Black Gothic Bowls, and Display a decadent dessert on this Black Beaded Cake Stands.
For another Red & Black Table Setting idea, try these DIY Black Cupcake Stands paired with a Red & Black Black Widow Cupcake.
Love love love!
Thanks Sue!!!