Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Valentine Centerpieces Ah la DollarTree

DollarTree offers wonderful items to make adorable Valentine Centerpieces.  First off, I love making topiaries and thought of a wonderful version (twist) on the popular crepe paper flower topiary.  I call it my 

Twisted Crepe Paper Flower Topiary  
     

To make, you will need a couple of rolls of crepe paper streamers, styrofoam balls, glue gun, skewer sticks, ribbon, container,  florist foam and beads. All available at DollarTree, except for the beads.


Start by cutting two different colors of crepe paper into strips about 22 inches long and fold in half.

              Now take each strip and twist the entire length completely.
 
Put the two color strips together on one end and begin twisting and rolling it up between your fingers.
Just continue to roll and twist until you have reached the end of the strip forming a flower/rosette.
I like to add a drop of hot glue to the end so that it will not unravel.










 Carefully place the twisted flower on a protected surface.  Cut two small strips about 1/4" wide off of the end of the crepe paper streamer. Run a line of hot glue across the flower and placed the strip over it; run another line of glue in the opposite direction (cross) and place the other strip over it. This secures the flower from coming apart. Trim off any excess paper from the ends that show. 

 






 After you have a few flowers made, start gluing them onto the styrofoam ball.


Glue them close together and place them in where they fit together nicely. If you use the palm of your hand while gluing, the rosette will fit snugly to the shape of the ball.

If you have any areas not covered by the flowers, cut pieces of twisted papers the length of the area and glue in place (around the flower), filling in the gaps.




Additionally, I glued four skewer sticks together and inserted the sticks into the bottom of the larger ball.  I also inserted a plain smaller ball below the larger one.  Everything was then inserted into the florist foam that was glued to the bottom of the container.



I glued rosettes to the smaller ball, filling in the gaps with cut strips of twisted crepe papers.

To finish the look, I glued two different size beads to the balls, and tied ribbons underneath. 

For a special touch, I added pink rose petals and scatter gems as a filler in the container.


                            I must say this turned out really cute!  




Next, the second Valentine centerpiece that I made is the

Decorated Tree Branches Vase Arrangement
For this, I gathered branches from the yard and painted them white.  Using a DollarTree vase, I mod podged a cutout heart (paper) to the outside, placed some florist foam inside and put red rose petals all around, covering the foam.  I then inserted the branches into the foam and next, glued red scatter gems all over the branches. 

Makes for a quick, inexpensive, pretty centerpiece arrangement, don't you think? 


The last and final centerpiece made for that special day is a

Valentine Sweetheart Mobile

DollarTree had the cutest pack of oddly shaped valentines.  I found them quite whimsical and thought they would make a great mobile, hanging from the chandelier.  Just by gluing two of each heart together, and with ribbon attached, the mobile came together nicely.  (Sorry about the quality of these photos - it's been rainy and cloudy all week) 




 Scattering rose petals and adding garland to a tray added a special touch!


Making these Valentine centerpieces has really put me in a festive mood!!! And I hope you are too!

Take a little time to enjoy!      










LINKING TO:


Debbidoo's



22 comments:

  1. Wow Gail! Those are some beautiful Valentine"s! I love all three especially the hearts hanging from your light fixture! Love it!

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  2. I don't even know where to start here....your centerpieces are amazing!! And hello...THREE of them!!???!! I love the twisted paper rosettes on that first topiary! The whole thing is darling in that cupcake holder! The branches...well that's just darling! I'm inspired and you know that means I'll be making something similar....can I use one of your pics and link to you when I do?? And finally...can I just tell you how mad I am that I had my chandelier centered in my kitchen and NOT over my table??? I love how yours goes all the way down to the table. So cute! You are on fire girl!

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  3. Visiting from Debbiedoo's party, I love your topiary.

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  4. Visiting From Debbie & Shannon's party - and, wow!! You went all out! Love the centerpieces, especially the topiary! :) Claire

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  5. Wow, Gail...you really crafted some great centerpieces! Dollar Tree is awesome, isn;t it?!

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  6. Gail... these are just amazing! You are sooo talented! Love them all, but especially the tree branches in the vase centrepiece. Simply beautiful!!

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  7. You have been very busy! I've never seen the rolled crepe paper technique before--very clever!

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  8. All three turned out so cute! I would have never thought to twist crepe paper to make flowers. Who knew!! I just love these Dollar Tree parties. So much inspiration for so little money!

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  9. Wow, love that topiary, Gail! Great job on both your projects!

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  10. Lova lova love em all. The mobile is super cute! Thanks for sharing with the party.

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  11. Love, love both projects! So beautiful! Very pretty and creative!

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  12. Very super cute projects! Love the little pin-wheel flowers you made from crepe paper! Ingenious! :)

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  13. I LOVE all of your great thrifty Valentine projects! I have a naked topiary that needs something on it! You have inspired me. Thank you so much for commenting over at the inspiration cafe today. I love what you do so I'm a happy new follower.

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  14. So many great ideas! Love the topiary tree. You should link your post to Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  15. Oh, such cute creations! The topiary is adorable, and I really appreciate your sharing the technique for the spirals, how clever! The mobile is brilliant, I love the crazy heart shapes, love it all!
    Jenna

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  16. Oh my gosh, those twisted paper rosettes are my favorite! Wonderful.

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  17. Great Valentines projects,Gail! Love all!Thanks so much for sharing.
    Have a fabulous week!
    Hugs from Portugal,

    Ana Love Craft
    www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

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  18. Gail, I always love your creativity! This is fabulous!

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  19. What a great idea! I love the design and the beautiful colors. It's a stunning centerpiece.

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  20. This is really cute, Gail! Happy Valentine's Day!

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  21. The topiary is so cute and looks like candy! I want to eat it! Lol

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  22. The topiary is so cute and looks like candy! I want to eat it! Lol

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