Woodland Gift Exchange Centerpiece

  • Difficulty Rating: Beginner
Tags

Beginner, Cutting, Embellishing, Flowers, Glitter, Laurie Cinotto, Mixed Media, Winter,

Tools used:

Floral Take Apart Shears 7

Floral Take-Apart Shears (7")

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PowerGear® Bypass Pruner

PowerGear® Pruner

The Original Orange Handled Scissors 8

The Original Orange-Handled Scissors™ (8")

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Woodland Gift Exchange Centerpiece

This “Woodland Gift Exchange” centerpiece is guaranteed to delight all your holiday guests- both young and old!

It was created with fresh flowers, but if you wanted something that lasts the whole season, you can make it with artificial foliage and flowers too.

Begin by wrapping a section of birch bark around a shallow cylinder vase

Begin by wrapping a section of birch bark around a shallow cylinder vase. Fill your vase with lukewarm water.  

Woodland_Ctrpc_3

Remove the lower leaves from your hydrangea stems, leaving just the bloom on the end and a couple of leaves surrounding it. If any leaves fall below the water line, it will cause bacteria to grow, and shorten the life of your flower arrangement, so important to remove this foliage.

Trim the ends of the hydrangeas with your floral shears, and insert them into the vase at a slight angle, making sure the end of them stems go deep into the water. The hydrangeas will offer a nice support system for the flowers and foliage you’ll be adding to the arrangement.  

Trim the ends of the hydrangeas with your floral shears, and insert them into the vase

Next, add your foliage. I selected Dusty Miller, but pine, cedar, or any other holiday greens will work nicely. Use your floral shears to trip the foliage into small sections, and add them to your centerpiece. Tuck them in and around your hydrangeas and distribute them evenly around the vase.    

Next, add your foliage

The focal flower is added last. I chose ranunculus because they’re a hardy flower, with a long life. Roses would be lovely too.

Strip the stems clean of the lower foliage, trim the stems with your floral shears and add them to the vase, distributing them evenly around the arrangement, just like the foliage.

sections of birch twigs trimmed from a branch

Take a birch tube section, turn it on its side, and place it next to your floral arrangement. Inside the tube, place a faux votive and build a small pile of “logs” around it to create your “fire”. The logs are just short sections of birch twigs trimmed from a branch, using a pair of pruners.

Tuck a little moss between the logs and sprinkle a few tiny pinecones inside the log too.

Tuck a little moss between the logs and sprinkle a few tiny pinecones inside the log too.

add a pair woodland creatures to the scene

Next, add a pair woodland creatures to the scene. I found these little porcupine ornaments at an import store, and thought they worked perfectly.

Wrap a few tiny “gifts” for the critters to exchange.  I used some matchboxes and tiny wood cubes for the presents, wrapped them with a lightweight decorative paper, tied them with string, and added a punched paper bow.

dust it with a little artificial snow and a few paper snowflakes

To complete the scene, dust it with a little artificial snow and a few paper snowflakes. 

Supply List

2 – 3 Hydrangea stems
4 -5 stems Dusty Miller
12 stems Ranunculus
2 Birch tubes (sections of birch bark)
Short, wide cylinder vase
Water

Birch twigs
Moss
Pinecones
Faux votive candle
A few match boxes and small wood cubes
Lightweight, decorative paper
String or thin ribbon
Artificial snow