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DIY Table Runner Runway and Place Cards | Airplane Party Theme

Table Runner Runway Decor. Click the picture to read the tutorial.Several months ago I shared with you about my son’s first birthday party. We did a “First in Flight” Theme (see it here to get the full party layout.) One of our centerpieces for the whole event was the Table Runner Runway with paper plane place cards and cloud place card holders, so I want to share with you how we made them.

What You Need

Directions

1. First you will want to gather your supplies and lie out a cardboard box or some type of firm cover onto your work surface as the paint can permeate the table cover.

Table Runner Runway Step 1

2. Carefully tape straight lines of delicate surface tape to create a road down the center. I would recommend having the road about 6 inches wide and using small strips of tape as opposed to one continuous piece. It is *key* to use delicate surface tape because all other tape will tear holes in the tablecloth.

Table Runner Runway Step 2

3. Roll on the gray paint to cover the landing strip. This may take two coats, so let the paint dry in between.

Table Runner Runway Step 3

4. Before the paint is completely dry, carefully peel off the painters’ tape. I suggest pulling it away from the paint rather than towards it. Doing it this way while it is still a little damp will prevent the paint from getting ruined and will help give you cleaner lines.

Table Runner Runway Step 4

5. Once the gray paint is dry, use your foam brush to paint white dashed lines down the center of the runway. I used one the width of how long I wanted the dashes.

Table Runner Runway Step 5

6. Paint a striped line across the bottom and the top of the road to mark the beginning and end. You can even add other accents like the child’s age at his/her end. Let dry.

Table Runner Runway Step 6

7. To accent the table, we made cloud place card holders with paper airplanes. First, we bent paperclips to hold the planes. Simply bend the long outer part downward.

Table Runner Runway Cloud Place Tag 2

8. For the clouds, form the air dry clay into balls, flatten the bottom, then made it look all lumpy like a cloud. Make sure these are not too small as they will not hold the weight of the paper planes otherwise.

Table Runner Runway Cloud Place Tag 1

9. Stick the long end of the paperclip into the center of the cloud while it is still soft. I suggest doing this with the paper plane already inserted so you can make sure the paperclip is balanced properly to hold the airplane, then remove the paper plane to let the cloud piece dry.

Table Runner Runway Cloud Place Tag 3

10. Paint the clouds white and let dry.

11. Fold the paper airplanes. Write each child’s name on the wing, considering which direction the plane is going to be flying (I had them all point to the end of the runway), then stick them into the paperclip.

12. After we set the places, I put all the plates upside down on the table in front of each spot and labelled them “Hangar 1”, “Hangar 2”, etc. using the address labels (I added text online and printed them, but you can also write it on by hand.)

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-Is your child having a plane-themed party? Be sure to take pictures and share them on my Facebook page!

4 Comments

  1. You did an awesome job! It’s amazing all the details you thought of including, even the way the planes were pointing. What a great memory you made for your son and his friends.

  2. Wow I love the creativity you have going on for this! Definitely will use for my son when his birthday comes up! good job!

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