set in stone

one of the biggest dilemmas Mr. Ramen and I have faced with our manzanita branches (and let's just say there have been NUMEROUS dilemmas, including cleaning the branches, scraping all of the bark from the branches, trimming the branches... etc) was how to get them to stand up.

while it is easier to transport the branches if they are free and not attached to anything, you run the risk of the centerpiece tipping and falling on your Aunt and her dinner at the reception, especially when you want to hang things from the branches. which we of the simple taste (HAH!), of course, do.

we ran a few dry runs of sticking the branches in a vase, and placing a ton of rocks around the branch to secure it ... this was not exactly a success. so i began to scout for inexpensive ways we could secure the branches. we had met up with the owner of blooms and branches * in rancho cucamonga (he's a really sweet man) back in July, and he had suggested either plaster, or this yellow foam sealer/insulation in a can. since we wanted to put the branches in glass vases, we decided to go with the plaster, and used these directions that you can find on nettleton hollow's blog.

we purchased the biggest bag of plaster from home depot and borrowed a few plastic containers from my mom. we used a small bucket to mix the plaster in - don't worry if the plaster dries in the bucket - once it's dry, you can just thump the bucket on the ground a couple of times and the pieces will fall out, leaving the bucket good as new!

(in case you were wondering, our manzanita branches are organic/green! - they're almost all silverwood manzanita, so they are actually dead growth that is trimmed or has fallen off of the tree. ok, so i'm not all "gooooo ORGANIC!" for our wedding, but the gray color actually matches our decor best....)

with the first set of centerpieces... make sure you have plenty of space to dry the plaster outside - you will need a wall/chair/basketball pole/person to lean the branches up during the drying process, about 30 minutes. i didn't want to use up all of my mom's prized plastic containers, so we used 3-4, which meant this took us a loooooong time. good times!

after a few firm pulls, the plaster base pops out! we were a little surprised by how HOT they were! something about the chemical reaction of the plaster powder with water. our plaster set pretty fast, since we used hose water, which was rather warm due to our 110*+ weather in Phx. most of you will probably not have this problem. if you need more time, which i suggest, use cold water! Also, do this outside, as it can be a bit messy, and plaster powder is carcinogenic, etc. (Yeahhhh, we read the label AFTER we had probably accidentally inhaled 1/4 cup of it....)

a close up of the base: it's not really pretty, but it keeps the trees really stable, and will be covered by river rocks in the vase. If you want them to be smoother, again, use cold water, set those babies really fast, and you can smooth it out with a knife or spackling tool.

our finished products! you can see exactly how HUGE the 2 trees are - that's a wrapping paper container right next to them. i actually want them a tad taller, so i might get 2 column/platforms for that purpose.

our little manzanita forest! don't worry - before i left for school, we put ALL of the trees in my bedroom to store, so my dad would be able to have his nice clean house back. now we just had to figure out how to decorate them, and how to transport them....

* if you are in SoCal or Phx and want some manzies of your own, I HIGHLY suggest going to the Blooms and Branches warehouse. You just make an appointment, and you can handpick your pieces right there, AND save on shipping!
**It may be cheaper to just buy some branches from someone who grows them, but you have been warned: it takes a TON of time to get them to be presentable...