09 Dec Holiday Cheer, Winterberry Joy!

Easy, Festive DIY Centerpieces

Winterberries…two ways.

Happy Holidays!

Hopefully, you are getting your lists checked off, you are able to relax and enjoy your family and friends, AND you are not forgetting about the flowers!  Don’t fret! I’ve got you covered with a couple of the easiest DIY centerpieces to bring color, cheer, and joy to your decor!

If it’s last minute and you want to add a pop of festive color to your dining table, entryway, or guest bedroom, Winterberries are the way to go! You shouldn’t have trouble finding this bright red berry branch at most grocery stores and local florist shops, and they are one of the least expensive bunches, so get a few! The more the merrier! 😉

There’s a lot of ways you can use Winterberries, but I’m just going to show you a couple. The first way is to use a taller vase that you probably already own. The vase can be clear or a solid color. I happen to have this cool white ceramic vase that I got from West Elm a couple of years ago. I love the teardrop shape of this one. It’s nice and sturdy which is what you need to hold the weight of the berry branches.

I filled the vase halfway with water and added a quarter packet of floral food (optional). The cutting shears I used were pretty heavy-duty. You need a stronger pair to cut through the thick, hard branches.

This is so easy, so don’t blink or you will miss this whole DIY instructional post…lol!;)

I measured the first branch up against my vase to see how tall I wanted it. You can play around with the height before you cut the stem. I didn’t want the branches to be too tall in this particular arrangement so I cut them so that the berries basically start a few inches from the top of the vase opening.

The whole thing comes together rather quickly! The branches basically fall into place. There’s not a lot of arranging to do…which means ANYONE can do this one. Typically, the tallest branch goes in the center. Just make sure the branches fan out at the same angle so it doesn’t look awkwardly lopsided.

As you can see in the pic below, after all of the branches were placed in the vase, I added a trio of gold ornament balls for a fun, festive touch! Here’s where you can get really creative and add some personal touches to tie in your holiday decor. Use what you have in the color scheme you want. You don’t need to go buy new items to spice it up!

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Here’s the second way I used the Winterberries. This way is a little more involoved as I used floral foam to stick the branches into since the container I chose was so short. Again, I used a white ceramic bowl. Any color would do- whatever festive colors you are decorating with in your home would be lovely. In this case, I just LOVE how the red berries pop with the white!

I soaked my pre-cut floral foam in a bucket of water (oops…and a few berries that happened to fall from the branches that were previously occupying the bucket). Be sure and purchase wet floral foam for fresh flowers! Soak the foam for at least ten minutes until saturated.

Next I literally set the foam on top of my container to see how much I needed to take off. I cut the foam on an angle to fit the shape of the container.

That was easy! You want the foam to take up as much space as possible in your container so you have a good amount of surface area to stick the branches into. I cut the foam so it would sit in the bowl with about an inch of space to the top of the bowl rim. This is important so that when you place moss in at the end, it will sit in nicely and not fall out.

Time to cut the Winterberry branches! Again, I measured up against my container to find my desired height. There’s no rule as to how tall it should be, however since this one was going on my dining table, I didn’t want it too tall so people sitting across from each other could actually see each other 😉

After cutting the stems the desired length, I stuck them into the floral foam about 1 1/2-2  inches. Don’t worry if you make a mistake, you can pull out the branch and replace it! Obviously you don’t want a ton of holes though, as your branches won’t have any surface area to stick into.

I repeated those steps until I had a centerpiece that looked as full as I wanted it. Make sure you look from all angles to be certain there’s not a crazy branch sticking way out somewhere! I joke that I turn my centerpieces like 500 times when making an arrangement!

Last but not least, and my favorite part…moss time! In this particular arrangement I used a combination of  bright green reindeer moss (left) and green sheet moss (right). I like using a combo. The reindeer moss adds a nice bright element, and the sheet moss adds the rustic, earthy vibe that I love. Note: I always dampen the sheet moss so it’s easier to mold into place.

Place a layer of moss on top of the floral foam so that no foam is showing. You will need to weave in between the branches to cover it all.

And that’s it, festive flower friends! Easy, peasy holiday centerpieces checked off your list!! They are beautiful all on their own, or add even more cheer with your fav colorful accessories!

Happy Holidays!!

~Debora

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