Have a Ball

Flowers don't have to go in a vase. Try this low-fuss idea.|Julia Hamilton

Celebrate a special meal by hanging your centerpiece from the chandelier. Using a sphere of florist foam and seasonal flowers, it's easy to fashion this arrangement. Small chrysanthemums work well because the flower heads are fairly flat and long-lasting.

• Step 1: Submerge the florist foam in water long enough to moisten it slightly. (If it's too wet, water will drip on the table.) Cut the chrysanthemum stems to about 2 inches long. Insert the stems, one at a time, into the foam, until the blossoms completely cover the sphere.
• Step 2: Cut two 5-inch-long pieces of twine or cording. With florist pins, attach the center of one piece to the bottom of the sphere. Repeat with the second piece of twine or cording, so that the two pieces cross. Use additional florist pins as needed. Tie the ends of the twine or cording to the chandelier, positioning the sphere at the desired height.
• Step 3: Attach pieces of bittersweet to the sphere, using florist pins to anchor them. On the table, provide additional accents by clustering gourds, oranges, and mini pumpkins in a bowl or basket.

Try these other creative ideas for combining flowers and spheres of florist foam.

• Cover small spheres with blooms, and display them in a large bowl.
• Elevate blossom-covered spheres on candlesticks or inverted wine glasses.
• Glue moss to clay pots, and fill each pot with a sphere of flowers.

 

MATERIALS

• florist foam sphere
• chrysanthemums
• twine or narrow cording
• florist pins
• bittersweet branches
• gourds, oranges, and mini pumpkins
• fashionable fowers

 

"Have a Ball" is from the November 2004 issue of Southern Living.

Printed from:
http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/have-ball-00400000007267/