Here is a cute, easy to make, centerpiece for your Valentine’s Day table. It takes under an hour and you can use whatever flowers you’d like, though strong stemmed flowers like roses or carnations work best.
Here’s what you’ll need:
2 *Wet Foam blocks
A knife
A couple of bamboo skewers
A basin of water large enough to fit your foam heart
Three or four bunches of the flowers of your choosing
A shallow dish or plate to display your centerpiece
*a word about Wet Foam. This foam is not actually wet until you soak it. Once soaked, it holds water. It is softer and less crispy than the Dry Foam used for artificial flower arrangements. That being said, you could do this arrangement with dry foam and artificial flowers to make a permanent decoration.
For our centerpiece we used a combination of carnations, alstroemeria (Peruvian lilies) and mums. The Peruvian lilies are a bit delicate, so to avoid breaking the stems, we used a skewer to make the holes before putting them into the wet foam.
Start by laying your foam blocks next to each other and sketch a heart shape with the tip of your knife or the tip of one of the skewers. Cut out your heart shape with a knife and round the edges.
Now choose a couple of places to secure the two pieces together with your bamboo skewers. At this point, you can take your foam heart and lay it on top of the water in the basin. It will float at first. Do not push it under the water, as this will cause air pockets within the foam. Let it sit in the water until it sinks and fills completely with water. You’ll be able to see if it has absorbed enough water. The whole process only takes a minute or so.
Now the fun part! We started with our carnations. We had the least amount of carnations and wanted to make sure to distribute them evenly. Cut the stems to a length that is no longer than the foam is high. You don’t want the stems to poke all the way through the foam. They won’t get any water that way. Carry on cutting and inserting your flowers until the whole heart is covered. Don’t forget the sides! And don’t throw away that beautiful greenery! You can use that just as you would the flowers. Cut the leaves with some stem attached and push them into any empty spaces. And that’s it! Now you have a flower arrangement that is unique from the usual vase arrangement. Water this little beauty every day or two as needed. We hope you have as much fun with it as we did!
