When Life Gives You Lemons...

....make a lemon centerpiece!

All sorts of packages arrive at our house during the holiday season.  Earlier this week, I was surprised by a package from my brother who lives in Natchitoches, La. Inside was a package of delicious pecans (I'll be making pralines...yum!) and instead of packing with peanuts, the rest of the box was filled with lemons.  As they rolled out and I kept counting them, I stacked them on the table and immediately went to work thinking of how I could use these beauties.  Growing/harvesting lemons in New England would be unthinkable but with the mild climate in Louisiana, my brother had a bumper crop this year.  

After googling and searching "lemons" on Pinterest, I decided to create a table decoration, and I love the results.   If you find yourself with an abundance of lemons (or oranges) I hope you make one for your holiday table.   Here are the instructions:

Step 1:  Gather materials

• Greenery.  I stopped by a local nursery where my friend Joanne was working.  She loaded me up with a beautiful bag of fresh boxwood, and pointed me towards the Oasis wet floral foam. 
• A jar of whole cloves
• Lemons (of course)
• Wooden skewers (not shown) with at least one sharp end

Raw Materials:  Boxwood, Cloves and Lemons

Step 2:

• Soak Oasis foam in water.  I had never used it and found these Best Kept Secrets of Floral Foam tips.
• Find a bowl or wide vase to put your foam in.  Make sure it sits far enough down so that it's sturdy.
• Next, decorate the lemons with cloves.  I used the skewers to poke holes in a design then added the cloves.  You can also just insert the cloves but it really hurts your fingers so I suggest putting the holes in first.
• Using the wooden skewers, attach the lemons all around, using whatever design you want.
• Lastly, cut the boxwood into small lengths trying to make the ends sharp so they are easier to put in the foam (this was a tip in the Oasis link above).  Keep adding boxwood until you are happy with the whole piece.

And that's it.  So easy and such a beautiful holiday centerpiece for your table!  The cloves are not only pretty but they give off a wonderful aroma.

Merry Christmas and Happy Crafting to all of you!