Hostess with the Mostess®

I have somewhat of an obsession with grapewood branches lately… in addition to their naturally fabulous, unique look, they’re so versatile when it comes to the different ways you can dress them up for parties and weddings. They also make great LOW table centerpieces – which is wonderful when you want to do something different than the usual short bunch of flowers.

Added bonuses: Grapewood branches are affordable, easy to work with, AND highly reusable. (I actually use the ones I own as decor in our home when they’re not making an appearance at an event… makes storage easier too!)

Pictured here are the grapewood centerpieces from the Berry Sweet Baby Shower.

Because we did several small tables at the restaurant where this party was held, I wanted to mix up the centerpiece designs so that the tables didn’t get too monotonous, and these worked perfectly for one of the 3 different styles…

They were quick & easy, which is always helpful when you need to create several centerpieces in a very short timeframe, and the naturally unique shapes of the wood made each one look a little different on it’s own.

Below is the DIY info for how to create these exact centerpieces, which feature pink and red (also great for Valentine’s Day!), but of course you can replicate this exact design with any color palette you like!

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BERRY SWEET GRAPEWOOD CENTERPIECES

You’ll Need:
• Grapewood branch(es) – Base the branch size on the size of your table. These were small, 36″ square tables, so I used the small 10″ size ($9 at bloomsandbranches.com), but also used a larger 18″ branch for an accent piece for the party. For a standard dining room table, 18″ would be ideal.
• Bellani Pod Balls – ($2.99 for 6 at save-on-crafts.com) – like the hot pink and red ones used here.
• Fresh Floral Blooms – Just a few per arrangement; various shades of red & pink roses and gerbera daisies were used here.
• 3-D Craft “Glue Dots” or Hot Glue Gun
• Floral Wire
• Strand of acrylic beads – I cut the strands these strands from a Diamonds Beaded Red Curtain ($19.99 at shopwildthings.com). You’ll have WAY more beaded strands than you need, but you can use the additional strands all throughout the rest of the party!

Directions:
1. Position the branch on the side that you want it to rest on the table.

2. Glue 1-3 bellani pods to the branch, depending on the size. (In some cases you might be able to tightly just squeeze the pods into certain areas on the branches and avoid glue altogether.)

3. Trim the stems of the flowers to 2″ and add them to different areas of the branch. Use floral wire to secure them, unless you’re able to find crevices to insert the stems in a secure manner (which is actually often the case!).

4. Cut the beaded strands to size, and simply drape them casually around the branch.

DONE! Super easy, and you can also do them “assembly line style” if you’re creating several.

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{Photos by Jillian Bisinger}