Seating Chart Savvy

Our seating chart is a work in progress. It started with a vision and has been a work in progress ever since. The vision was a cork board with strands of twine draped across it. I envisioned plantable paper hearts hanging from the twine by vintage clothespins. Well, some of this worked out and some of it not so much.

I got a corkboard through our local freecycle network, however, it's a bit smaller than we needed. So, instead of having one heart per person, I decided it would work better to have one heart per couple or family, since they will be seated at the same table anyhow. Problem one solved.

Next, I attempted to make my own plantable seed paper. While it's not the most difficult DIY task I've attempted, it was a bit too fussy and time consuming for my liking. It was hard to make the paper thin enough to cut easily and it takes a really long time to dry. Giving up my kitchen table to a bunch of drying paper for a week was not part of my vision. Instead, I settled for handmade paper that I upcycled from various craft projects I had on hand and no longer needed to keep. Problem two solved.

Now for the vintage clothespins. I tried to get free clothespins through our local freecycle, but apparently nobody was willing to part with their beloved clothespins (which is good, it means they're using them instead of a dryer - cheers for eco-friendliness!). Instead I opted for purchasing new ones, however, I chose to go with bamboo since it is a wood that can replenish relatively quickly. Problem three solved.

So, the picture above is still a work in progress. In the end the hearts will overlap slightly in order to fit them all on the board. But overall, I like it!