Though the holidays have passed, I thought I would share a quick and (dare I say) cute centerpiece I made for a holiday party sponsored by SPAN, of which I am the VP of Technology. And yes, centerpieces are a form of technology. Didn’t know that, did you?
Centerpiece
I made them using simple glass vases, a few purchased for less than $5, and a few were ones I had received with flowers in the past. I wrapped the glass in some cheap but beautiful ribbon from Michael’s, with the help of my roommate. Then, the fake snow, plastic wreath, and (cinnamon-scented) pinecones were another Michael’s discount purchase, and I just wrapped that around the base.
Now, here is where it got fun. In the middle, I was going to put miniature, battery-operated candles. But then I realized that, duh, the holiday party was during the day. Candles would not be effective. So, after talking to Lilo on the phone one night, she suggested I use some desert plants. Aha! Brilliant!
So, the day of the party, I went to a local park and tried to cut some palo verde and mesquite branches. But I felt too creepy in a busy park, trying to cut trees, so I didn’t. Then I went to the huge (and quiet) parking lot behind Park Central Mall, and tried to cut some branches. It was there that I learned a lesson. Regular scissors, no matter how strong, are not enough to cut through thick, desert branches. So, after gnawing at the branches with the scissors for a while, I gave up. On my way home, I stopped a flower shop and bought those purple things you see.
And so the centerpieces were done. But it also gave me an idea. When I retire and open a flower shop (this is after being a crossing guard, substitute teacher, college professor, and furniture/quilt maker), I will stock my shop with not only flowers, but also things like branches from palo verde and mesquite trees. I believe it is a brilliant idea, and I could make such wonderful “desert bouquets.” I need to get some clippers and try again, if not just to make a pretty arrangement for the house.
On a related note, Michael’s starts their holiday-decorating discounts super early, by mid-December it seems, so I got a lot of the holiday stuff at a deep discount. I have another holiday project that was super cheap (the aforementioned “My homemade holiday gifts: An all-day Christmas Eve disaster”). I will be blogging about that in the future.
