BEAUTIFUL LADY FINGER CENTERPIECE

One of my favorite places my husband and I have traveled to was Paris. We celebrated our anniversary there two years ago and the memories are still fresh in my mind. 

It's difficult for me to pick my "favorite thing" that we saw, experienced or ate, because the entire trip was a dream come true! I must say the Rue Cler street market was pretty high on my list. Fresh produce, fish, cheeses, deli foods,chocolate shops, and the wonderful bakeries! Ahhhh.....the bakeries. Never before have I seen such gorgeous displays of tempting pastries, macarons, cakes and of course the breads!

I recently found a photo of a beautiful Lady Finger centerpiece. It reminded me so much of our days in Paris. I thought I would attempt to create my own version. Of course I did not bake my own Lady Fingers, but I found a great substitute in the grocery store......and here is my LADY FINGER CENTERPIECE!

**Sidenote: My middle daughter gifted me this beautiful lace runner from her recent trip to Belgium.  I just love it!

Below are the items you will need--

1. Hat or floral pins.
2. Moss
3. Fresh roses and babies breath
4. Ribbon
5. 2 packages of Lady Fingers (if you use my size layers)
6. Floral foam for 3 layers  1- 6", 1-8",1-10" (approx. 2 inches thick)

Hot glue gun, scissors, plastic wrap

 2. Cut floral foam (see below)

3. Soak each layer of foam in water and wrap securely in plastic wrap. (you don't want to get your Lady Fingers wet!)

4. Glue layers together leaving perimeter for flowers or babies breath. Poke holes for flowers around each layer. The pattern is up to you. You may also use the babies breath in between.
HINT: I started by placing 4 roses equidistant around each layer perimeter, and built the rest from that point. 

5. Push moss in between flowers so that the plastic wrap and floral foam are not exposed.

6. Place a bead of hot glue on the bottom 1/3 of the lady finger layers and press carefully into place; pressing against the edge of the foam wrapped layer. 

7. Wrap ribbon around the perimeter of each layer. Attach the end of the ribbon with hat/floral pin, sticking it into the foam layer securely. I made sure this was located at the back of the centerpiece, however, the pearl topped pins look very pretty on the ribbon.

****THIS IS NOT EDIBLE****

I hope you have enjoyed today's blog.

This centerpiece is a bit time consuming and should be made the day of the event. The Lady Fingers are fragile and should not be exposed to moisture. 

*** If you are using hearty,fresh picked roses or flowers that can withstand the better part of a day without drooping, water soaked foam may not be necessary.

Options for use of centerpiece:
1. Bridal shower
2. Wedding shower
3. Baby shower
4. Anniversary party
5. Afternoon tea
6. Any party with a French theme
And the list goes on.....use your imagination and have fun!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! 

au revoir!!

Kathleen

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