4th of July Carnation Balls

Carnation balls are a fresh take on a humble flower. They add a fun burst of color to your Fourth of July table, and they're easy to make. Thoroughly saturate a sphere of floral foam with cool water, then insert short carnation stems — cut to an inch below the calyx — in a concentric, coiling pattern until the sphere is almost covered. Each of these 4" spheres holds about 50 carnations. Display carnation balls individually, or cluster balls of varying sizes — and color — on a favorite vase or tray to create a distinctive and dramatic centerpiece. Place sphere with its "bald spot" in a glass or saucer of cool water; refresh daily and it will last a week.

Oh, and don't let me forget to say these are sooo easy to make, your friend and even your parents will be impressed!

Carnation Balls - How to

Here is how to make the carnation balls on your own!
You are going to want to start out with 4" oasis foam balls. Place them in a tub of water and let them sink on their own so they fully soak up as much fluid as possible. If you are going to place these in a saucer when you are done, cut off a side of the ball to form a flat surface that will accomodate the saucer.You will roughly need 50 carnations to fill a 4" oasis ball - 75 carnations to do a 6" ball. Start out by cutting them roughly 2" below the calyx on the diagonal. Instert them into the wet oasis ball.


Continue to fill the carnations in tight so you do not see the oasis.

Finally place the ball on a surface once you have filled in the top. This allows you to fill in the perimeter of your bottom area. Alternatively if you are placing these in a saucer, now is the time to do that. I used water glasses as they allow me to elevate the arrangement.

Fill the in the perimeter and when that is done fill in the area between the top and bottom so it is full. If you find yourself running low on carnations, now is the time to do some rearranging.

And finally you have the finished product!