How to Cut Place Card Holders from Branches

Add a bit of rustic nature to any tablescape with this simple tutorial on how to cut place card holders from tree branches. If you have a pile of wood lying around as I did, even better!

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Step #1 Pick Your Wood By It’s Thickness

The very first step to making place card holders from branches is you need to take is to actually get yourself a few tree branches. I had a pile laying around from when I trimmed my willow tree earlier last spring. I intended to burn it all, but this works too.

Maybe you have a pile of wood or a tree that needs to be trimmed? Get to work! At the very least you could probably ask in a local Facebook Group for some tree branches.

Wherever you’re getting it from you need to decide on the thickness you want. I chose a piece on the thicker side. This is about 2″ thick in diameter.

Step #2 Decide the Height & Number of Pieces

The height and number of pieces will determine how long of a branch you need to use, or how many branches you will need. Or you could let the number of place card holders dictate this. For example, you need 6 place card holders and you have a branch that’s 2 feet long. Therefore, you would get roughly 4″ pieces.

I chose 3″ pieces. I didn’t use any logic when deciding this, it just looked about the right height. But I did choose to make a few taller ones. I had considered making them into candlesticks (still may do this), but I chose to make them just taller versions. These would coincidentally also make great menu holders for the center of the table!

Step #3 Making Your Initial Cuts

Whatever saw you have on hand or have available to you will work. But the easiest one to use by far, in my opinion, is the miter saw. This was the one I chose to use, but you could use a hand saw and a miter box, or even a circular saw if you feel comfortable and have a long enough branch.

The first cut you will make will be to even the bottom of the first piece. Take a slice off just to flatten it so it will sit flat on the table.

Then you will measure and mark your next cut, I chose 3″ so I measured from the bottom up and marked the 3″ mark. Lined it up with my blade and cut.

I want to caution you, tree branches are not symmetrical so be sure to have a very firm grasp on the piece and have it secured so it doesn’t move when the blade starts to go through it. Keep your hands as far away from the blade as possible as a general rule, but especially now.

I forgot to secure mine on my miter saw and had a piece fly off, which was scary and dumb. Learn from my mistake!

In hindsight, if you had a table clamp and a hand saw this would have been way simpler. But since I’m working without a workshop, I made what I had work. You can, too. Just keep safety at the forefront.

Step #4 Create The Top Cut Card Groove

Now comes the tricky part. I sat there contemplating how I was supposed to get a clean cut wide enough to stick a card in it at the top of this 3″ piece of wood. And all without chopping my fingers off. At first, I tried using a handsaw, though admittedly without the miter box which would have actually worked. Without the miter box, it most definitely did not work.

Back to the drawing board. How can I cut the top of this small piece of wood without chopping my fingers off?! I thought about all the different saw options I had, but no options seemed like good options. Jigsaw? No. Circular saw? Definitely not. Table saw? Hmmm. I sat for a moment thinking about how in the world I would do that safely and not cut the entire piece in half.

Ultimately I decided to create arms to hold this 3″ piece of wood upright on my miter saw. So, I put a scrap piece of wood behind it and a scrap piece of wood in front of it. I squeezed it firmly at the very end as if it was a pair of chopsticks. Heh, get it? Chop Sticks? Pun 100% intended.

So, firmly grasping the very end of the board gave it stability, kept it in place, and also ensured my hands were nowhere near the wood if it became unlodged.

Step #5 Cutting the Groove Evenly And Deep Enough To Hold A Card

The first one I cut I noticed I was not getting the groove evenly on both ends. One end was more shallow than the other. So, I went back and discovered if I moved the blade back and forth through the whole top it created an even groove. Maintain the same depth if you can while you move it back and forth, otherwise, you will end up with a slope.

There was also the issue of making sure I made it deep enough that a 4″ tall card would sit upright. Therefore, I needed to make my cuts at least 1/2″ deep. Though some lean closer to 3/4″ because I was not sitting there measuring each one, I eyeballed it admittedly.

It really is as simple as that. Unless your wood is dirty and you feel the need to brush it off. Mine really wasn’t bad as far as dirt and it was quite nicely dried, but not brittle.

Free Poetry Cards & Menus

If you really like this project and would love to have those poetry cards go ahead and visit this post and download them for free! But I’m going to offer you yet another option with some free menus!

Download For Free

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These two different options fit on a single 8.5″x11″ piece of paper. Simply print and cut in half to have either option, 4.25″x5.5″. And if you choose to make a taller wooden place card holder, then you have the perfect menu holder for your table center!

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