Summer Cherries Tablecloth Weights

We have a new backyard fire pit and barbeque grill (more on that to come very soon!) so we’ve been spending a lot more time than usual out back for dinners and s’mores. I set food and drinks on a sweet, old table covered with a vintage tablecloth from my collection. There’s often a good breeze blowing through our yard in the evenings and I’ve always used fishing weights hung from drapery clips to weigh down the corners of the tablecloth. I even have a set packed away in our camping gear for our many outings throughout the year. The weight clips work just fine as-is, but after having so much fun crafting with Plasti Dip a couple of weeks ago and with this sweet card image as reference, I came up with a much more charming version of tablecloth weights. (Click here for free Summer Cherries card label downloads.)I had all of the supplies I needed in my studio, but if you’re just setting out to craft this same project, it could get a little costly for just one set of four tablecloth weights. Therefor I recommend you craft a lot of these and package up multiple sets of 4 to keep on hand as the most awesome host gifts ever. They would also more cost effective in quantity for a large outdoor event with cherries hanging from all the tables.

A few of the items I started with for my weight project are:

• 2-ounce cannonball sinkers (found wherever you can buy fishing supplies)
• Metal curtain clips (found at most homewares stores, Ikea has the best price for bulk.)
• Scrap green leather (repurpose swatches, thrifted purses or skirts!)
• Plasti Dip Create Your Color w/tints (see more info on this product in my last project here.)

I mixed up some bright red Plasti Dip in a small aluminum cup using the clear dip and the red tint.I hung the sinkers from the clips and attached the clips to a cake pop stick (shown above stirring) for dipping. Slowly into the Plasti Dip just to the wire loop and slowly back out.I hung each sinker to dry from my studio clothesline.Once dry, I dipped again, this time I just brought the dip to the hanging sinkers.While the sinkers were drying, I cut out cherry leaf shapes from folded leather pieces based on the shapes shown on the reference card. I kept the middle section wide to create dimension when crimped in the next step. I used galvanized fencing wire, just slightly narrower guage than a wire hanger and much easier to bend. Using needle-nose pliers/wire cutters, I cut a 6- 8-inch length of wire. Using the pliers, I made a loop in the middle, tucked the leather leaf into it and cinched it tight. I trimmed away the top length of wire about 1/4 inch above the leaf crimp and created another loop for the clip to attach. I trimmed the bottom section of wire about 2 or so inches below the leaf piece and and created a semi-closed loop at the end for attaching the sinker.Once all sinkers were completely dry I removed the drapery clip and hung them each from a wire stem,  closing the loop with the pliers.I attached the clip to the top loop and bent its loop closed.Here’s my newly crafted set of Summer Cherries tablecloth weights.You can certainly add more than one wire and sinker to the curtain hook for a cherry-bunch effect, but 2-ounces of cherry per corner works just fine for my little table and tablecloth.