Planting a Kiss - A Luncheon Theme

2017 - Weddings and Anniversary
My niece is one of the organizers of an annual luncheon at her church.  The lunch is intended to raise money for the church youth group and their mission outreach.  Each year an overall theme is announced and various hosts decorate tables that address that theme (or deviate from the ideas  - whatever pleases them).

This year my table was inspired by thinking about a celebration of family weddings and the potential for planting seeds of kindness within the family and in the world - all of which was inspired by Plant a Kiss.

So I began with Amy Krouse Rosenthal's and Peter H. Reynold's Plant a Kiss (HarperCollins, 2011).  (See/hear the book at http://bit.ly/plantakiss2).  From the publisher: "One small act of love blooms into something bigger and more dazzling than Little Miss could have ever imagined in this epic journey about life, kindness, and giving. Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Peter H. Reynolds team together in this simple and timeless celebration of love."
The idea of planting kindness and beauty resonated, as the rest of the ideas developed and lead to wildflowers, and roses, and a celebration of those who were invited to attend.  My next step was to locate some flower packets so each of us could return home and start our own planting.

I found these packets of seeds at American Meadows which carry seed packets especially designed for weddings.  American  Meadows has several options for seed packets to use as wedding favors.  For this luncheon - since it was not actually a wedding, the "from our wedding" packets would not be so appropriate but this more generic seed packet seemed just right.  Locate it at http://bit.ly/wildflowers2.  The sentiment printed on the packets seemed to fit perfectly with the overall idea of planting kindness and beauty.

"Commit random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty."

Tied with a lace ribbon along with 3 other flower seed packets these seeds made a complimentary favor to accompany Plant a Kiss.

Then came the next project - something that would commemorate or recognize a marriage in each attendees family.  So I solicited photos of a wedding special in each attendees life.  Some sent me their own wedding picture, others sent their parents' wedding picture, and even a 50th anniversary picture from a celebratory cruise.  Copies were made in black and white and put in a small white frame to serve as place holder. The same picture was used as a feature in an "exploding" box.

The exploding box idea grew from an idea found in many places on the Internet.  I actually took a 4-inch square box, and cut the sides to allow the box to explode. Inside the box, the sides were decorated and a small bouquet of flowers were held in a square of styrofoam edged with lace to conceal the sides. The top of the box (see upper right in the picture) holds the box together.  A gold doily was affixed to the top of the box. A silk flower plucked from its stem poked through the lid. Finally a name tag was placed on the lid with a ribbon.  The label was created using a precut card with a 2 inch x 4 inch shipping label cut with a circular punch (and since the punch was a little larger than the label, positioning the punch in an appropriate spot created a flat line along the top of the label.  The final step was to use a heart shaped punch to remove a part of the white label so the heart shape could reveal the pink.  There is a great video on how to actually create the exploding box. Although this video features the box as a photo box the idea of how to make the actual box if you are so inclined is great.  Use your own creativity in decorating the inside and deciding how many layers to create.  To me the actual making of the box was not the fun part - but the decorating was fun.  If prefer to think of the boxes as gift boxes rather than photo displays.  I can imagine an engagement ring being in the center of this bouquet of flowers, and small items from dating days decorating the insides of the box: a ticket or picture from a first date, lyrics of a favored song, a silk flower, or whatever recalls special moments.  The making of the box is of less importance to me but what the box contains or brings is what it is all about.

Six purple Mason jars, pint-sized, filled with an array
of roses and wildflowers - pinks, peach, and purples create
the center piece.

The center piece was the last major item to be created.  I used flowers from the same theme as those in the box and on top to create a collective center piece.  The vases were vintage purple mason jars, simply filled with silk flowers.
The table was covered with a basic white table cloth. In the center we scrunched a cream colored lace cloth and put a gold doily in the center.  This created the placement for the six vintage arrangements.

Since we had mixed creams and whites in the basic background we chose a cream and white china pattern to accent the blending of the creams and white.
Each place setting was assembled.  A napkin rose was placed in the middle of the plate.

Making the napkin rose was a very simple process.  Check out the Million Ideas Club for a simple but effective video showing how to fold the rose in 72 seconds.  http://bit.ly/napkin-rose.

Plant a Kiss