Centerpieces

Most people cannot afford to redecorate their homes for every change in season and for every special occasion.  If there is one thing in the home you can customize for a big impact, it would be the centerpiece at your table, and centerpieces can be as creative as your imagination allows!

One piece every modern entertainer should own is a plain, clear, cylindrical vase.  I would recommend one with a four to eight inch diameter, depending on the size of the table, and at least a foot tall.  These are great because you can easily fill them with seasonal icons to make stunning holiday centerpieces.  For

Halloween and Thanksgiving, you can fill them with small pumpkins, and for Christmas you can fill them with ornaments.  For a baby shower, use rubber ducks or pacifiers.  Small balloons can be used for birthday parties.  There are dozens of objects that can work, but as a rule of thumb, stick to items that approximate a ball shape so the centerpiece is interesting from all angles.  Three to twelve items of the same size, shape and theme are optimal, and should be big enough to almost fill the vase.

Using what you have around the house, a cluster of decorative items can be an inexpensive route to an expensive look.  Place several candles in a circle on a decorative plate.  A larger candle or a small vase with flowers can be placed in the center, or it can be left empty.  For special occasions, a sprinkle of confetti can really bring the look home, or rose petals (real or fake) can be scattered underneath the candles, and even along the length of the table.  Alternatively, as with fillers for the large vase, small pumpkins or Christmas ornaments can be placed on a decorative place surrounding a large candle as well.

Shabby chic centerpieces can be created with some paint and natural elements found outside.  A shallow bowl of pine cones, for one idea, are great for the fall and winter holidays.  Pine cones can be left alone, sprinkled with glitter, or painted in seasonal colors to match your holiday décor.  For winter holidays, you might even try painting them white and sprinkling them with silver glitter, for example.  Likewise, gathering twigs and spray painting them, setting them upright in a small vase can add a quirky, wild twist to the common centerpiece.  If you have fruit that has fallen from your trees, instead of tossing them in the garbage, paint them in shiny metallic colors or bright summery colors to fit the occasion.

For wedding showers, reunions and birthday parties, photographs can be utilized in centerpieces.  Consider making your own memo holder by partially straightening large paperclips and sticking the end into a piece of decorated Styrofoam.  Or, print pictures on thin paper, wrap them on an empty food jar and make a paper mache collage.

Still not sure what to do?  A trip to your local crafts store is a great source of inspiration, especially for seasonal events.  Browse through the various sizes of vases, buckets and containers, and see what you can find to fill them with, from artificial flowers and plants to crystals, beads and feathers. 





For more craft and design hacks, check out my book, Design Hacks for Disney Themed Rooms!

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