Host notes
Foam balls in centerpieces
Foam is the thing under the decoration rather than the decoration itself, which is why it is easy to buy the wrong amount of it.
What they actually do
A sphere gives you a shape to cover. Flowers pushed into it become a ball of flowers; ribbon wound round it becomes an ornament; paint makes it a planet for a school table. On its own it is a white ball, and that is the point: everything you do to it holds.
Half spheres do the same job where the back will not be seen, which is most of the time on a table. They also sit still instead of rolling, which matters more than it sounds like it should.
Sizes and what they are for
- Small spheres, an inch or two: filler between larger pieces, and the bulk of any assortment.
- Middle sizes, three to four inches: the working size for a table centerpiece.
- Large, six inches and up: one per table, as the thing everything else is arranged around.
- Assortments: the right buy when you do not yet know the design, and the wrong buy when you do.
How many a table needs
One large or three middle per centerpiece, plus a handful of small ones to fill. For ten tables that is ten large or thirty middle, and the assortment stops being economical somewhere around there: past a certain count you want the size you are actually using, not a spread of sizes you have to sort.
The spheres
Working with them
- Cut with a serrated blade rather than a knife. A straight edge tears the surface.
- Push stems in dry, then water the flowers rather than the foam. This is not the wet foam florists use, and it does not hold water.
- Test paint on the back of one first. Some solvents eat polystyrene, and you find out in about four seconds.
- Glue with a low temperature gun or white glue. A hot gun melts a dent where the nozzle touches.