How to Make Easy DIY Gold Animal Place Card Holders

*This post contains affiliate links. Originally written on 11/24/2014. Updated on 11/16/2024

I love an easy DIY that makes a big impact and these gold animal place card holders do exactly that! I saw these from Nate Berkus at Target years ago and I immediately thought I could recreate them using kids plastic animals. These lions are simple to transform with a little gold spray paint and they look so elegant on a holiday dinner table or any table!

Aren’t they cute? Unfortunately, I didn’t have $9.99 a piece extra for place card holders in my holiday decorating budget, and I’m guessing some of you might not either! Great news, they are super easy to make and I’m going to show you how.

Also, If you don’t want to use lions, you can find lots of animal figurines in the toy section at stores like Target, Walmart, and Amazon. I found my lions at the dollar store so you may have luck there too. Any animal will work as long as there is a place to make the cut to hold the place cards.

DIY Gold Animal Place Card Holders Tutorial

Materials Needed:

1. Kids plastic toy animals
2. Metallic gold spray paint (or your spray paint of choice)
3. Hack saw (or any small hand saw or sharp knife)
4. Cardstock or little tags for the name cards
5. Drop cloth, newspaper or cardboard to protect the painting area

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1

Cut a slit into the top of the animal’s head or wherever makes sense on the animals you have, deep enough to hold the place card. I tried using an X-acto knife first but mine was too dull so I used a hacksaw and it was pretty simple. The hardest part was keeping my fingers away from the blade so be careful!

Step 2

Once the slits are finished put a piece of paper in them to keep paint out. In a well-ventilated area, set the lions on newspaper and spray several thin coats of spray paint on all sides of the animals. Let the paint dry to the touch between coats.

I used and love this paint sprayer hand attachment for spray paint cans!

Step 3

Write or type your guest’s name on the place card and insert it into the slit. That’s it!

I love the way the lions turned out! Spray-painted gold, these adorable place card holders will take your table to the next level and are a great way to put smiles on the faces of dinner guests of all ages.

More Ideas

Painted another fun color, they would be great for a themed kid’s birthday party. There are so many ways to tailor these to your party or decor. If you don’t need a name card, you could also use these on tables at an event to display a table number.

FUN FACT: Did you know that place cards are also called escort cards? I had no idea, I learned this while writing the tutorial. I guess it’s true when they say you learn something new every day :)

Don’t feel like DIY’ing completely? No worries, I found this animal set that is already gold. All you would need to do is make a slit and add your cards!

Are you hosting any holiday gatherings this year? How are you decorating?

Looking for other easy DIY projects? Check out my Target gold desk accessories knockoff here. We have lots of DIY tutorials on the site so type what you’re looking for into the search bar to find other projects.

Cheers!