Trashtastic Mardi Gras Centerpiece with Chris Norwood

Trashtastic? What in the world is trashtastic? And what does it have to do with Mardi Gras? Don’t worry, you won’t have to go dumpster diving for materials. This is a fun, festive, care-free Mardi Gras centerpiece that is still gorgeous, but it certainly goes for a more crazy personality than most decorative pieces we show you how to make. Which is only befitting for a holiday like Mardi Gras.

The purpose of this centerpiece is to mimic a Mardis Gras or Venetian mask, which are famous for their outlandish style. To get started, you’ll need a gold vase (it can be either tall or short). Place a collar of green dianthus around the rim of the vase’s mouth to hide the “mechanics” of your arrangement. Now take peacock feathers and insert them into the vase between the collar of dianthus. Make sure most of the stem shows for each feather, giving the impression that the feathers are fanning out of the vase.

Next, you’ll need two Mardis Gras masks (make sure they are green, purple and gold). Attach two short rods to the masks so that you can stick them in with the feathers on either side of the feather fan. Once the masks are in place, begin adding orchids to the arrangement, sticking them diagonally into the dianthus collar (we used orchids with dyed colors). Now add beads to hang around the masks and throw in a few purple irises to mix with the feathers. This should cover your purple and green, but don’t forget your gold. We suggest adding in gold lilies right beneath the masks.

When you’re happy with the arrangement, place a fleur de lis in the middle of the arrangement on a pole so that it “caps” off your design.

Be sure to catch Chris Norwood every Tuesday morning between 9 and 9:30 on KATV’s morning show. You can watch his recent appearance below.