A Beautiful Mess: Centerpiece Version 3.0

I know, I know... Another centerpiece version for our MOPS Beautiful Mess theme? Really?
Yes, really. I liked aspects of both of my previous concepts, but the first one was almost a little too messy and the second was not messy enough. Version 3.0 combined my favorite parts together and it turned out almost exactly like my original vision of what the centerpieces should look like. I love, love, love the look of the paint dripping down the striped jar... and having a small flower arrangement inside the jar keeps the centerpiece nice and short so that all our MOPS mamas can see each other around the table. I am very happy with how this, my final (I promise), beautiful mess centerpiece turned out <3
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At this point I feel like a pro at making wreath forms out of a pool noodle. I wanted to make sure my yarn nest fit nice and tight around the mason jar, so I cannibalized a couple of the previous wreaths and cut them down to a smaller size.

I was able to enlist the help of my mighty men to hold to two ends together, so I could get them properly taped. The bigger rings weren't too hard to do on my own, but these ones were definitely a two person job.

As this is my absolute, final, no more versions centerpiece concept, I made a few forms to really vamp up the creation process. Once you have your forms fully wrapped in duct tape and the yarn spooled into your dish, you are ready to "Wrap and Roll"... That statement was like at least a little funny when I said it out loud :-)

I had previously tried mixing 1 cup of starch with half a cup of flour and was not too happy with the results. Turns out, this really is the best method as long as you mix the starch and flour in a blender. The first time I just whisked the two together until there weren't any visible clumps. Hand whisking is not going to cut it. You absolutely have to use a mixer. The end results were 100% better this time around. I even like these nests better than the one I made using the über expensive fabric stiffener. 

The process is really quite simple. Just lay the string all over the form, the messier, the better. Be sure to remove as much excess liquid as possible or else these will take DAYS to dry. I left mine to dry over night and they were pretty much good to go. 

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The Jar...

I chose to paint the stripes on the inside of my jars. It would have been significantly easier to do them on the outside, but, trust me, they look a lot nicer on the inside. This way the glass jar still looks nice and shiny. It was not super hard, just more time consuming.

I fashioned a handy tool from a small rubber spatula. Use the rubber side to help get the painters tape in the correct place and then use the harder, taped side to make sure the edges of the tape are securely stuck in place. I used four wide strips of tape on the corners and then I cut two strips in half to make four thinner strips of tape in between the wider strips.

It is okay if there is an air bubble in the middle of the tape,  as long as the sides are stuck down securely. You do not want paint to leak into the the lines.

I practiced spray painting on a couple spaghetti jars first to figure out the best way for me to paint on the inside. Once you finish spray painting, make sure to remove the tape right away. If you let it set too long, you will end up peeling away the paint as well as the tape.

I love getting samples of Valspar paint from Lowes. You get 7.5 ounces of customized color for less than $3. You cannot buy craft paint for less than that. So, I poured my fabulous paint around the rim of my jar (again after practicing on some spaghetti jars) and let them drip. If you like the look of long drips going all the way to the bottom of the jar, then great. Stop here. If not....

Simply flip your jar upside down onto a sheet of wax paper once your drips are as long as you like them. It is such a simple idea that I cannot believe how it took me so long to figure this out. I went through half a dozen spaghetti jars before I finally thought of flipping them :-)

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The Flowers...

Flowers really have a way of pretty-ing up a mess. I messed around with a few ideas for how to arrange them in the jars so they looked more beautiful and less like I just shoved a handful of petals into a jar. I decided to make a miniature vase that would fit inside my jars. 

I am a big fan of the Dollar Tree and by far my best buy for this crafting season has been the mighty pool noodle. These babies are a thrifty crafter's best friend. The circumference of the noodle was a little too big to easily fit in the jar, so I trimmed them down a little. I want to give another shout out to my favorite crafting  Forever Sharp knife. These are really my absolute favorite knives for crafting and cooking.

I like the multidimensional shape of my little noodle vase. I think it looks really cool inside the jar.

I used the paint I caught on a plate while pouring it over the jar and a paper towel to make my little vase a perfect match for the centerpiece. 

That is pretty much it. Next is just the waiting game for the paint to dry. Patience is not one of my virtues. I busted out a hair dryer to help speed up the process. But I was just so excited to see the finished product. I am very happy with how everything turned out. 

Three centerpieces down and only seven more to go before the start of MOPS in September. 

SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!   

    

 

   

 

 

    

A Beautiful Mess: Centerpiece Version 2.0

 

I am in love with the yarn nest part of the beautiful mess centerpieces, so it of  course reappeared in my MOPS centerpiece Version 2.0   :-)

Our MOPS leader found these beautiful candle sconces on clearance at Michaels. I love how the tall one has little nests as the candle holders and the stout one has the butterflies and swirls. So, so, so pretty...

Alright, let's get down to the business of crafting...

First things first. We need to make a wreath/nest form that's the right size to fit fairly snugly around the sconces. If you look at A Beautiful Mess: Centerpiece Version 1.0, you will know that I went through a lot of trouble with toothpicks and pieces of cut up pool noodle. All that nonsense is not necessary. The pool noodles are very easy to cut to size and simply secure the ends together in a ring, using duct tape.

I was not completely happy with the nest form for the butterfly sconce. I wanted it to be a little high so that the nest would meet the bottom on the sconce.

I started by cutting a section of pool noodle in half, so as not to make it too high. Then I secured it with some more duct tape while wrapping it around the original form. It was still a little too high, but that was easily fixed by cutting off about a half inch from the bottom. 

A little off topic, but... I LOVE my Forever Sharp brand knife for crafting projects. It's one of my best ever impulse buys. If you ever see a seemingly crazy person selling knives in a Walmart infomercial style, check it out because this knife was so worth it.

 And there we have our two custom made nest/wreath forms. It's important that you cover them in tape to keep the yarn from sticking to the form. The duct tape worked better than the blue painter tape.

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Creating your Messy Nest

I tried two different ways to make the nests. First I spooled the yarn into the dishes first and then added the stiffening agent on top.  For the orange nest I used fabric stiffener, which I 100% was sure would work. It is just pricier than the other methods. The blue wreath was made (or rather attempted to be made) using just starch, no added flour. I saw a tutorial for string eggs that used just plain starch. I am not sure why those seemed to work, but the blue wreath was a fail for this mama.

There is really no rhyme or reason to how you lay the yarn. I just kind of slopped it all together. The messier, the better. I used almost the whole skein of yarn for each.  

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Flower Power 

   (_\_)
   (_<_{}
    (_/_)

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     \\| /|
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     |/
    ,.,.,|.,.,.,  

I love how the useful versatility of dollar tree pool noodles. Here I am using one a small cutting from my left over noodle in place of floral foam. It is the perfect size for the sconce. I then cut the buds off a dollar tree flower bunch and arranged them in my noodle ring. I placed the flower arrangement and the left over yarn in the sconce and Voilà!  

The same basic process was used for the blue centerpiece, just with smaller flowers and settings. I really like how this turns out. I think this is my favorite of the two sconce type centerpieces. It is a shame that the nest did not turn out as well as the floral arranging.

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The Verdict

    I think these centerpieces turned out beautifully, except for the unfortunate blue nest. 

 Our church has three different MOPS groups, so that means three different groups of ladies setting up and breaking down seven tables and centerpieces. Sometimes there is more breaking than needed in the breaking down process. The thought of one of the centerpieces breaking was a concern for me, because we have exactly seven sconces and no way of buying a replacement if one breaks. Thankfully I think they are still pretty even without the glass sconce. I hope they can make it through the year intact, but if an accident does happen, we will still be good <3

  

 

Duct Tape Rose: A MOPS craft review

By far my most popular and re-pinned post of Pinterest is the Easy Duct Tape Rose. I'm a sucker for a good pen craft, so this is at the top of my planning list. 

Today I endeavored to try my hand at crafting pretty flowers out of pens and a roll of duct tape. The main purpose was to figure out how many pens can be made with one roll of tape. It's easier to plan out the costs of crafts when we know how much supplies we actually need. Know what I'm sayin'?

I hope other people have as many "dumb" moments as I do. Sometimes I just forget to think. The original tutorial said to cover the pen in the tape and I was like, "How do I do that? Should I spiral the tape around the pen?" In case anyone else has a dumb moment... and I hope some of you did because stupidity loves company ;-)... You just need to cut/rip a piece of tape slightly larger than the pen and roll it up. Easy peasy, lemon squeezey :-)

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I figured this craft was easy enough that I did not have to read over the instructions before trying it out myself. The result is the bigger rose pictured on the left in the pics. I used 3-4in strips instead of the 1-2in strips mentioned in the original tutorial. The end result is still pretty...just bigger, so it uses a little more tape.

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Speaking of using more tape.... I was able to make 10 duct tape rose pens from one 10y roll of tape. Keep in mind that 9 of these pens were made using more duct tape than is actually required and I had almost enough tape left over to make one more.  In a perfect world you could probably get at least dozen pens per roll if you made them all with the small petals. 

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I found it easiest to make all the petals before I started assembling the rose. This way I could line them up in the order of smallest (inside petals) to largest (outside petals).

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 I was not a big fan of the way the base of my rose looked when I was finished, so I cut a small strip of duct tape to wrap around the flower base. I think it gives it a nice clean finished look.

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I tried making a couple without trimming the point off the petals (like the pen pictured on the left). To each their own, but this is not my favorite look. I definitely prefer the rounded edged petals on my rose pen. 

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My FAVORITE thing about my new Duct Tape Rose Pens...

No one "accidentally" takes my kitchen pen with them to work or school or really anywhere outside of the kitchen. Whoohoo! I love having my pen right where I left it every time I need it :-) 

 

 

 

 

 

A Beautiful Mess: Centerpiece Version 1.0

The mops boards on Pinterest are flooded with messy but beautiful centerpiece ideas. I really like the all the posts with the stiffened string/yarn. I saw it worked around balloons for egg or ball shapes, wrapped around bowls, even fashioned into a vase. This is my first attempt at creating a yarn nest. My husband says he thinks it looks more like a wreath. I of course informed him that he thought wrong :-) 

Making the Nest/Wreath...

First things first. After browsing over the various related pins, I gathered up everything I thought I would need to complete the centerpiece vision in my head. I decided to go the starch and flour route to stiffen the yarn; however, I am not 100% happy with the end results. When I work on Centerpiece Version 2.0 I am going to spend the extra dough and get actual fabric stiffener. 

My Supplies:

Pool Noodle

Liquid starch

Flour

Yarn 

Painters Tape

Quart sized mason jar

Spray paint

Sample pot of pink paint

Cling wrap (I ended up not using this)

Not Pictured

Toothpicks

Duck Tape

      

I wanted my nest to fit fairly tightly around the mason jar. I wasn't able to find a wreath form (okay, maybe my husband wasn't so off the mark on the wreath comment) that was the right size, so I made my own. At first I tried using some of the 97 cents plumbing tubing from Lowes, but the size wasn't big enough to keep the tubing from warping. Although it didn't work for this project, this less than a dollar find is still great for making a door sized wreath and way cheaper than buying a foam wreath frame at the craft stores.

Since the plumbing tubing didn't work out, I had to think of another way to fashion my own wreath form (yeah, I'm just calling it a wreath now. Don't tell my husband, please). I thought of making some homemade playdough and creating a wreath that way, but while picking up a few other supplies I saw the pool noodles and inspiration struck. The painters tape was not exactly great at holding my wreath form together, but thankfully my fancy toothpicks did the trick :-)

My original plan was to wrap the wreath in cling wrap. Of course my roll was almost empty, so I pulled out my handy dandy extra roll of duck tape. I love the way it turned out. This little wreath is definitely tough enough to make it through the crafting of the all seven of our centerpieces. 

I saw two different schools of thought on wrapping the string: Lots of strips vs. One long strip
So I tried both ways...
I prefer spooling the yarn and doing a couple super long strands versus a bunch of strands :-)
Oh and I mixed one cup of starch with half a cup of flour, but I do NOT recommend this method.

I used almost the whole skein of yarn.

Next up... Painting the Jars

 I added strips of painters tape and spray painted the jar white. Then I poured in some of the pink paint and swirled it all around the inside of the jar, as well as letting some paint run down the outside too. In my head I had the image of a beautiful jar with some messy paint running down the sides. In reality it just looked like a hot mess. It was really frustrating and I had to step away for a little bit and regroup. 

 

 In the end I decided to try a couple different paint styles on the jars and I am pretty happy with how they turned out. The striped one is actually very pretty without the addition of paint drips, but my personal favorite is the plain white jar with the paint drips. The two looks together was just too much. The dots are nice as well. We might do a different jar pattern for each color table. 

All in all, I think these are a great start to what is going to be a great year at MOPS <3



I almost forgot... The reason I do not recommend the starch and flour method for making the yarn nest/wreath (or whatever you prefer to call it)...

I feel like this method really dulled out the pink colors of the yarn. I know it was already a powder pink color, but now it's like super super powdery. I picked up a pretty big bottle of fabric stiffener to try for Centerpiece Version 2.0 :-)