Dollar Store Fabulous Centerpiece 2 feet tall

 

 

The Dollar Store offers some great foundations for creating amazing things. Sometimes you just need a little direction to get them done. This is a tutorial of a centerpiece I made for my Valentine’s Day Tea party. It would be equally lovely for a wedding or other special event.

The Vase Base

First I started with some glassware:

The Glass Stacking

2 Tall clear glass Dollar Tree or Dollar Store vases

1 Clear glass salad plate from Dollar Store

1 Clear glass fish bowl shaped candle dish From the Dollar Store

A bottle of clear Gorilla Glue Super Glue (I also like E6000. You may also use Clear Gorilla Glue, very sparingly!)

Dollar Store “Dress up” Pearls

A bottle of acetone fingernail polish remover and a few Q-tips, to gently clean up any glue drips, but if you use the glue sparingly, you shouldn’t need this. Don’t just use your fingers unless you want tacky fingers for the next few days!

First clean everything really well. Then put some glue on the bottom of one vase. Not a lot. (Clear Gorilla Glue Dries grows to 3x’s its size.) Then carefully center it on your salad plate. Walk away and let it sit for a few hours. The glue continues to set for 24 hours. Next, carefully put glue around the rim of the vase. Place the 2nd vase UPSIDE DOWN on the first vase. Again, walk away. Work on the flowers or something while you wait. Lastly, Put some glue on the bottom of the fish bowl shaped candle holder, and center it on top of the inverted vase.

OPTIONAL: After the vase dries completely, you may add some drooping pearls, ribbons, or an item of your choice to hang from the edge. I used Dollar Store Girl’s “Dress Up” pearl necklaces.

THE TOPIARY BALL

I ordered my 6″ Styrofoam balls on Amazon. They came in a set of six, because that is how many I was making.  Paint the ball some sort of grass or leaf green. Then let it dry. When it is dry, use hot glue to attach it to the glass tower you made. I poked in some nails first to help stabilize the ball.

SIDE NOTE: The first one I made, I carefully covered the entire thing with Spanish moss before I put in the flowers. Guess what?!? You cannot tell the difference! However, it took a long time, and I felt as if I were creating a really ugly Chia Pet!

THE FLOWERS

Dollar store flowers are usually too bright, and fake looking. They are, however affordable! Here is what I do to make the fake look fabulous.

You will need:

Dollar Store Pink Roses approximately 4 bunches (I used Dollar Tree)

From the Dollar Store Pink Rose buds also 4 bunches

Dollar Store White Roses also 4 bunches

Also from the Dollar Store White craft Berries 2 bunches

Champagne Pink Spray Paint (Mine was Krylon)

Gold Spray paint (Krylon’s. Use bright gold or antique. For a darker look, use bronze.)

Wire cutters or Tin Snips (I use my tin snips for this, because they are easier on my hands!)

First, remove all of the labels, It is easier to do it before you alter the flowers. Then I took the roses and the buds outside and I just stuck the stems into my lawn. If you are worried about painting your grass, you may want to use cardboard, and poke a hole in it with a craft knife. (Carefully!) and then sticking your stems through.  Pre-make 14 holes, or a many holes as you have bunches of flowers and berries.

SPRAY PAINT IS THE SECRET TO MAKING CHEAP SILK FLOWERS LOOK EXPENSIVE!

Use the champagne pink spray paint, spray the flowers. Shake your paint really well! Not shaking means you may not get even coverage, and usually you also don’t get all of your paint out of the can! They do not need to be completely covered!  You should see some of the original pink. (Mine started out Bubble Gum pink. Ugh!) Then let them dry at least 15 minutes, unless it is hecka hot outside, then you can just wait a few minutes.

Now bring out your white roses and berries and put them into the holes on your cardboard too, Or stick them into the lawn. Hey, its fast! Using a light hand, about 12-14 inches way, spray the tops of the berries, and all the flowers with the gold spray paint. You can use your imagination here, but the end goal is to have them look as if they were brushed with gold, and NOT to be painted pure gold. Let dry a few hours outside, or your house will stink like spray paint, or work outside on this project, after about half an hour of drying time.

Cut the stems of your flowers with your tin snips to be about 3″long. Start poking them into your ball randomly. Use the berries sparingly. Try to keep them random, and not lined up in a row.

Tie a coordinating bow or ribbon onto the seam between the vases where they are glued together.

You may place candies or mints on the plate. What a gorgeous center piece and it costs less than $20!!

I hope you can tell by the pictures how beautiful these are. I received many compliments, and they were perfect for my Victorian Valentine’s Day Tea Party.

The Tea Party

 

Have Fun! and get ready to impress!! This would be a beautiful wedding centerpiece, or tall flower arrangement for your home or event. It is a lovely Bridal Centerpiece, or Wedding Tree.

~Cynthia

P.S. You can do other variations of altering silk flowers from the Dollar Store. I have also used bronze spray paint to antique them, and another time I shabby chic’d them by using ivory spray paint.