Party Centerpiece Instructions
You can use almost anything that fits your theme and pleases your eye to create a centerpiece for your next party. Decorated tables set a festive mood and allow you to express your taste and personality. Centerpieces create focal points and provide icebreaker topics for guests who don't know one another. Decorations and centerpieces also tell your guests that they were worth the effort you made to create a beautiful tablescape.
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Things You'll Need
- Seasonal or colorful natural objects
- Grapevine
- Mistletoe
- Ornamental fruits and vegetables
- Spray paint in gold, copper, silver, white and seasonal colors
- Gold, silver and copper bells and bowls
- Ceramic and glass figurines and ornaments
- Bead strings
- Jewelry findings
- Silk, organza and tulle fabric
- Silver, gold or copper foil
- Medium and small Mylar balloons
- Floral tape and wire
- Hot melt glue gun
- Clear hot melt glue sticks
- Floral picks
- Swizzle sticks
- Wooden or bamboo skewers
- Chopsticks
- Wreath and candle holder forms
- Balloon weights
- Boxes, platters and stands
Instructions
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Locate seasonal, colorful and natural objects that reflect your party's theme, such as river rocks, nuts and seed pods, thistle and cattails, plus grapevine, mistletoe or ornamental fruits and vegetables.
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Gather embellishments such as gold, silver and copper bells and bowls; ceramic and glass figurines and ornaments; bead strings, jewelry findings, silk, organza and tulle fabric; silver, gold or copper foil and medium and small Mylar balloons.
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Spray one-third of the vines, leaves, nuts and seed pods with gold, silver or copper paint and another one-third with bright, seasonal acrylic colors. Leave the rest of your natural items unpainted. Allow everything to dry for three to six hours before you give everything a second coat.
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Make floral picks using your painted items, some dried flowers, vines, leaves or grasses and your available embellishments. You can purchase the pick portion from floral or craft supply houses or use swizzle sticks, wooden or bamboo skewers or chopsticks. Secure everything with floral wire and tape or a hot-melt glue gun and clear glue sticks.
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Wrap the wreath and candle forms with bead strings, ribbon, lengths of gathered tulle, organza or silk, dried vines or mistletoe. Insert the picks into the wreath and candle forms wherever they provide the most visual appeal. These will be the basis for various parts of your main or secondary centerpieces.
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Arrange your ornamental fruits and vegetables, glass or ceramic figurines, bells, bowls and balloons as you wish. Examine your arrangement from several different lines of sight, including the entry to the venue, between the head table and other tables and from any hallways or approaches.
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Move items around as needed until you like the effect. Centerpieces with multiple focal points are more interesting, according to Divine Dinner Party website owner and dinner party planner Karen Dreisigacker. Add height where needed, using small boxes, foam blocks, pans, stands or platters, without blocking guests ability to see the head table and each other. Ideal centerpiece height is less than 12 inches, according to David H. Friedenberg, Ph.D., and Deanna Chew-Freidenberg, Ph.D., authors of "Advice with Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee."
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Tips & Warnings
Use balloon weights to keep balloons in place rather than tying them, to make it easier for guests and servers to move them as needed.
Tropical fruits arranged in a pyramid work well as luau centerpieces, while an arrangement of ornamental gourds and Indian corn surrounding a Jack-o-lantern, embellished with black cats, bats, ghosts and witches on swizzle sticks works well for Halloween.
You can also grace your table with a white foam cone stocked with rows of strawberry or cherry, blueberry and coconut lollipops for a delicious Fourth of July centerpiece.
References
- Photo Credit pasta centerpiece: kitchen decor image by nextrecord from Fotolia.com
