Pomegranate Place Cards

In Greece, pomegranates are a symbol of abundance and good luck. It’s a New Year’s tradition to have pomegranates in your house and in some regions, even to break one on the ground, allowing the rich red and juicy seeds to come out of the fruit, thus promising a new year filled with joy. But through my many travels, I’ve found that other cultures see pomegranates as a symbol of fullness, fertility and prosperity.

This year, I’m using pomegranates as a place card for my New Year table setting, with each of my family and guests monogram on it. And the best part of it: each guest will get to take his/hers home for good luck in their house in 2014!

I already had all of the materials, but if you don’t, they’re not that expensive: I used a Martha Stewart Monogram Stencil Set, a medium size foam pouncer, and some Martha Stewart acrylic craft paint, color Lake Fog. I was actually thinking of buying some silver paint to match my white and silver dinnerware, but I tried this light gray that I found in my craft supplies, and it looked just right!

For this five minute project, follow these simple directions:

Lay the pomegranate on a flat surface, with the cleaner and shinier side facing you. With one hand, hold the monogram on the pomegranate tightly, while applying paint with the pouncer using your other hand. Apply first on the left side of the monogram and then on the right side (the round shape of the pomegranate does not allow for the monogram to lay flat on it).