Mitsumata Centerpieces

Florie Huppert of Florie Huppert Design (floriehuppertdesign@gmail.com) used our Project Grade Mitsumata Branches to create some gorgeous centerpieces for the 150th Rededication Gala celebrating the building of the Brotherhood Synagogue on Gramercy Park in New York.

The Mitsumata Branches were placed in 23 inch tall glass cylinders with clear and light blue glass marbles. Although real candles were used throughout the room and under the centerpieces, LED flameless candles were used in in the glass spheres hanging from the Mitsumata Branches. The photography was done by Courtney Karam Photography.

Crystal Tree with Hanging Votives

Here's a 36-42" Natural Manzanita Branch, set in plaster, painted silver, illuminated with hanging votives and adorned with a few crystals. Whew, that's a lot of links for one sentence! 

Mitsumata and Hanging Votives (Brought to Life)

One of the most satisfying things about keeping this blog is seeing ideas that I came up with and presented in various posts successfully and spectacularly scaled up and brought to life in the real world. After all, what worked well for me once and for a single display might not work for someone else or for multiple displays. One of my most popular posts was on using Mitsumata Branches with hanging votives, so I was thrilled when we received this from Mary of Mystic, CT, who got married September 19, 2008:

"Dear Nettleton Hollow,

I thought it appropriate to send some pictures of my wedding centerpieces to you, I used your Mitsumata branches and Proteas, and had the hanging votive candles. They looked so beautiful and really cast an amazing ambiance at the reception. I also used one protea in my bouquet. Thank you so much, your products are just wonderful! I look forward to seeing new additions and ideas from you as well!

With Kind Regards,
Mary"

Here's a close-up showing the various components of the centerpiece:

Spectacular! The Protea Repens adds a fantastic splash of color to the centerpieces. For vase filler, crushed white marble from Home Depot was used - it provides the necessary weight to keep the display stable, is as attractive as anything else, and is a fraction of the cost of something like the polished river stones that are often used. As for soaking the branches, Mary noted that luke warm water in the bathtub seemed to work the best.

A great attribute of centerpieces like this that Mary noted is that they can be put together in advance - a huge advantage for those who want to minimize things to worry about on the big day.

Related Posts:

Mitsumata and Hanging Votives 

DIY Hanging Votive Holders

Mitsumata and Hanging Votives

While Mitsumata is not as strong as that popular standby for hanging anything - Manzanita - it still is a fantastic choice for hanging votives and other relatively heavy objects. In addition to its unique form, the white branches really light up in the dim candlelight, producing a luminous and dramatic display. Adding to its appeal is the fact that at 3-4 feet it can still be shipped via UPS, allowing you to create centerpieces as impressive as those made with Manzanita of a similar size, at a much lower cost (once Manzanita hits 3 feet it has to be shipped via basic freight, which starts at $150 or so).

The centerpiece above was created with two bundles (6 branches) of 3-4' Mitsumata that had been soaked and shaped, and a bunch of hanging votive holders we made ourselves. Adding everything up, the total cost probably comes out a bit under $50.

Here's how to do it:

1. Buy or make your hanging votive holders. While you'll save yourself some time buying them, they are very easy and quick to make yourself if you use the tricks described in our previous post on the topic.

2. Soak the Mitsumata for a couple of hours. While the branches are quite thick, they suck up water like a sponge and become very pliable.

3. Pull the branches open, arrange them in your vase, then fill the vase with river stones or another heavy material - the votives will add quite a bit of weight and you don't want to have your pleasantly illuminated centerpiece to tip over and turn into a bonfire. Your event is bound to be exciting enough as it is.

4. Figure out where you'd like to hang the votives, and stick pins or thin nails through the branches from the top through the bottom (we actually used pieces of paperclips, but that was just because we didn't want to walk a few blocks to the hardware store). A pair of needle-nosed pliers is handy for this. Mitsumata isn't anywhere near as branchy as Manzanita, and so you'll need to do this to keep the hanging votive holders from sliding down the branches. This should done while the branches are still moist to keep them from splitting. We did this in more places than necessary for more options when we did our final arranging.

5. Start hanging your votives. This will pull the branches outward and downward a bit. If you'd like to increase the bend, start filling the holders with river stones. However, while most of the bending will be done as soon as you hang the votive holders, the branches will continue to bend a tiny bit until they are dry, so take this into account.

6. In about 12 hours or so, the branches will be thoroughly dry. Do your final arranging, light the candles and admire your work!

Red Manzanita and Votives

We spray painted a Natural Manzanita Branch a glossy red, combined it with a black ceramic vase, silver tray, black sand and the DIY hanging votive holders we made in an earlier post.

Here are some observations from our spray painting session. We painted both the Natural and Sandblasted Manzanita. The Sandblasted sops up the paint fast, and would be the best choice for a matte finish (such as if you are making "coral"). Also, as it is light in color, you'll likely need less paint to get the color you want.

The smooth bark on the Natural Manzanita keeps the paint from penetrating the branch and is what you'd want if you're going for a glossy look. We didn't prime the branch, but we probably should have as quite a few coats was necessary to get the color we were going for.

Lastly, may try using a paintbrush next time - with spray paint, more paint ends up missing the branch than hitting it (we may just use the paint brush to mop up the puddle of paint underneath the branch).

DIY Hanging Votive Holders

I've made some half-hearted attempts at making hanging votives in the past and encountered two problems - the wire would want to slide down the glass, making it very tricky to make a nice coil (and almost impossible to do more than once). Once I finally managed to make the right sized coil, then the wires would pop apart like a slinky. Earlier today I said I'd post instructions on how to make your own hanging votives, and with that promise looming over me, I got back to work - I am happy to report that today's attempt was a success. Here are some instructions for making your own hanging votive holders, which should take less than 5 minutes per votive.

Materials:

Votive Holders (that open as they go upward - straight cylinders won't work);

Floral Tape;

Fine Wire;

Wire Cutters (or heavy scissors).

Directions:

1. Wrap your floral tape (or masking tape, although you'll probably have to sacrifice that votive holder) around the top of the votive holder. This is CRUCIAL for a happy votive-making experience - it helps keep the wire in place as you wrap it.

2. Wrap the wire around the top of the votive a few times, then bend each end backwards so it stays in place. Note that once you are finished, you coil will sit lower on the votive than here, so keep that in mind when you are wrapping. Cut the wire from the spool, and slide the coil off of the votive holder.

3. Wrap the ends of the wire back around the coil to keep the coil from springing apart.

4. Attach the handle by simply wrapping the ends of a length of wire around opposite sides of the coil.

The finished hanging votive holder - after all my past attempts, doing it this way was surprisingly quick and easy.