Scrubbie Centerpieces

Periodically I am invited to showers, or other parties where there are several tables with centerpieces that people are expected to take home. Often one of the chairs will have a number taped to it. If it is cut flowers (or something to throw up as my cats call them), it goes with me. If it is a plant that I would enjoy putting outside or something I would like to have in my house, it goes with a person who really would have preferred cut flowers.

The best shower that I ever attended was one where the cute games were dispensed with, and after a light lunch the bride just opened her gifts. That was all anyone wanted to see anyhow. There were small gifts for everyone and the centerpieces stayed on the table when people left. It seemed smart to me.

I know that most people who organize those parties have to come up with some kind of centerpiece and I have an idea which will allow everyone to go home with something instead of just one person being blessed and everyone else being wishful. These centerpieces will work for all kinds of casual parties and everyone will get a party favor that they can use instead of dust.

I learned from a friend how to make scrubbies out of nylon net. While I am not normally a person who can crochet, I have learned to make them. There are little ladies making them all over the country to sell at church bazaars and craft shows. They run anywhere from a dollar to two dollars. If you figure that you will have ten people at a table, you will need one scrubbie per person, or one for each couple, depending on the group of people that you are having.

To make the centerpiece in the picture I used 18 gauge green wire and 16 inch artificial Boston Fern. I got them both from JoAnn Fabrics for $9.00. I put the fern in an opaque, fairly heavy, vase and spread it apart. Then I folded the floral wire in half and threaded each end through a scrubbie and shoved the wire into the middle of the fern. Be sure that you have enough scrubbies for your table and don't use a tall vase since people like to see each other cross the table. At least most of the time they do.

You can vary how the bouquet looks by the color of the scrubbies that you use. Red white and blue look good on a table for Memorial Day or for Fourth of July; Orange and Black work for Halloween; Pastels for Easter; and you can even come close to matching the brides chosen colors if you want.

I think this is a wonderful idea for an inexpensive centerpiece that almost everyone will like and it is not really pricy. Talk about recyclable -- Not only that but when you are using the scrubbie to do a less than enjoyable job, you can try to focus on the fun that you had when you got it.