Easy DIY Melbourne Cup Table Centrepiece
09/07/2014
It's 'the race that stops the nation' and you are in charge of decorating the office party - eek!?!
Never fear, Shindigs is here to help! Make a few of these great DIY table centrpieces (we call them Table Spangles) with some horse or trophy cup picks and the boss will be singing praises of your creativity!
All you need are some picks, a balloon pump, some sticky tape and 8 small 5 inch balloons to create this masterpiece.
The first thing to do is to inflate all of the balloons. The trick to creating a nice centrepiece is to make sure all of your balloons are uniform in size. If you have a good eye you can do this manually, however because we make so many and to create a pleasing design we have cut 2
circles out of a piece of card - one 9cm diameter and one 10cm diameter (we use the 9cm for the top row and the 10cm for the bottom row). As you can see they are well used!
To use these guides, simply use the balloon pump to inflate the balloon slightly larger than the hole in the card. Then very gently, pull the balloon through the hole holding the neck so that you can slowly release some air until the balloon easily falls through the hole. Inflate all of the balloons and tie them all separately so that you have 8 inflated balloons.
Next we want to tie all of the balloons into pairs by tying the necks of the balloons together. If you have two sizes of balloons, ensure that you only tie the same size balloon together! You are essentially tying a double knot using the necks of the balloons.
Now you should have 4 pairs of balloons. Using one neck of each pair, tie them together to create two quads.
Now for the picks! We use 3-4 picks to get a nice full, sparkly look. Tape all of the picks together at the spot where the foil and the wire meet so that you have one piece.
*TRICK OF THE TRADE*
To make the picks look fuller (and more sparkly!), we 'curl' all of the wire stems. This is very easy to do and you do not need any extra tools. Simply hold one of the wire stems between you forefinger and your thumb.
Then wrap the stem around your finger (not too tightly!) and voila - you have 'curled' the stem! Repeat this step for all of the other stems - you can also bend the stems for a 'zig zag' look.
Now to put it all together. Take one of the quads and slide the pick bundle into the middle. Take the two balloons on either side of the opening and flip the balloons over each other so that they 'lock' the pick bundle into place.
Repeat this step for the second quad.
Turn the whole piece upside down and push the two quads up as tightly as you can. The starting with one of the wire ends, bend it outwards and then back in half. It doesn't matter how this part looks as they are going to be hidden once complete. The important thing is to remember is to not let the ends poke into the balloons - so I like to bend them a third time so that they point into the middle.
Nearly done! When you turn you table spangle up the right way it should look a little something like this.
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All we need to do now is to tweak the foil grass and wire stems so that it looks a little more pleasing. You can pull a couple of the foil grass pieces through the layers of balloons for a layered look.
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All done! These centrepieces can be made about 1 day ahead, just cover the balloons by tying a plastic bag around them to decrease the chance of air getting to them. Once inflated, the air causes the balloons to oxidise and therefore look cloudy. By covering them up, they are more likely to stay looking their best for the big race day!
While you are planning your race day celebrations, check out all of the Melbourne Cup party supplies and get everything you need in one place! Shindigs.com.au have everything from props to decorations,balloons, novelty trophies, novelty glasses, hats and so much more!
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