lauren and derek’s diy wednesday post is coming up at 1 but i wanted to share this great project from d*s reader kelly ventura, too. it’s such a simple project but the results are so earthy and lovely. it would be great to throw a woodsy or cabin themed wedding with table decorations like this. click here (or just click “read more” below) for the full instructions and more photos. enjoy and thanks to kelly for the fantastic project!
with a tight budget and an eye for design, i created these unique centerpieces for my october 2007 barn wedding. there just happened to be a fallen tree in my parents backyard, so my dad cut it up and saved it for the big day. i picked up all of the other items online or at local craft stores. with a little help from family & friends one afternoon, we created 28 one of a kind centerpieces. the wedding was an evening of rustic elegance- a look that you can create for your own home with just a few inexpensive items.
what you will need:
• slice of wood ( 11″ diam x 2.5″ h)
*no worries if you don’t have access to a fallen tree, west elm makes it easy
• glass cylinder vases ( 11″h, 9″h, 6″h x 3.5″ diam) you can find these at Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michael’s Crafts, and Hobby Lobby
• pillar candles ( 3 varying heights to fit in each vase)
• ribbon & yarn
• fabric, wood, or dried flowers
• double sided tape
• scissors
1. cut 3 pieces of ribbon/yarn (one arms length per piece). wrap each vase with ribbon/yarn. attach ends of ribbon/yarn with double sided tape to surface of vase. i chose to wrap with a knobby yarn, satin ribbon, and grosgrain ribbon to create a variety of textures. i also wrapped the ribbon/yarn at different heights on each vase to create more interest.
2. attach fabric/wood/dried flowerto a piece of ribbon and tie around tallest vase.
3. insert pillar candles into vases. arrange cluster of vases on wood slice, keeping the sides with the tape facing the center.
4. arrange fabric/wood/dried flowers on wood slice around the vase cluster. light the candles and enjoy your rustically elegant centerpiece!
fyi: the wooden flowers shown are no longer available for purchase. i would suggest creating fabric flowers or heading to a local craft store and picking up some dried botanicals. if you are interest in creating these centerpieces in large numbers, i would suggest ordering the vases in bulk. please contact me for resource info.
30 Comments
Thank you for posting this. It is a lovely idea.
nice! i just made something similar in my (unused) dining room on an orange wool tablecloth…
if you don’t want to pay 30 bucks plus shipping for the west elm wood slice, i bought mine at michaels for about 8, and there were quite a few sizes and shapes to chose from
how beautiful… would have been perfect with my October wedding but instead I’ll make it for a winter party. Thank You!
very earthy and beautiful. would go great in our cottage up north. thanx for the idea.
i love everything you do!
Thank you so much for sharing this is such a huge help! Its so beautiful! I love it!
this is lovely. thank you so much for sharing (:
Wow, that is beautiful!
So beautiful!!! You do a wonderful job of selecting and assembling.
Mother Nature has many “things” to offer, if we will just remember to look. I imagine YOU could walk through any outdoor space and come up with a master piece.
Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous centerpiece. Viva la DIY!
I saw slices of wood in Michael’s craft store the other day for about $5 each…much more affordable than West Elm’s.
I love this. I’ve been searching for centerpieces I can DIY ahead of time!
Anyone know if they are still at Michaels? I can’t find them at one.
This is perfect for my September fall themed wedding! I will for sure be doing this, thanks so much!!
I have been searching for more photos of this wedding since I saw it in Martha Stewart Weddings (Fall 2008). I couldn’t be more happy to find instructions with the wood slice advice. I haven’t found the wood slices at Michaels, and I practically live there these days. Thank you so much. I look forward to putting this inspriation in my October 2009 wedding!
This is beautiful! I will be using it as inspiration for my wedding centerpeices :) Thanks a lot
Thank you so much, this is exactly what I want for my wedding and I’m going to do it! I was lucky enough also to find someone to cut the slices from fallen trees :) thank you again!
MY WEDDING IS IN OCTOBER AND IM STUMPED ON WHERE TO FIND THESE CANDELS. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER IDEAS OF WHERE I CAN GET THE CANDLES FROM? IVE BEEN TO MICHAELS AND HOBBY LOBBY AND THEY DONT HAVE THEM.
oh my GOD!! your ideas are soooooo beautiful and what really amaze me is how simple they are you got a gift in your mind your creativity i try to make a similar idea it went well but not as yours thank you congrats!!
I’m making these centerpieces for our wedding. I bought all of my candles from AC MOORE. I waited until I found a 30% off coupon – and I special ordered ALL of my candles (3 for each centerpiece and we have 34 tables). They acknowledged the coupon even though they ordered them. Today, I found the last cylinder vase I needed (the 6inch was IMPOSSIBLE to find) at Michaels. I have a 10 inch and 8 inch that I found earlier at AC MOORE. I grew/dried straw flowers this year to have for the flowers. Thanks for all the ideas!!
Hi! I would like to use use wood slices in a similar way for my wedding. What I was wondering is, did you have to put any sort of sealant on the wood, or dry it out in any way? I don’t want bugs or anything…
Thanks!
Hi! I was wondering–do you have to put any sort of sealant on the wood, or dry it out at all? Is there any worry of bugs or something?
Thanks!
Where were the tobacco colored flowers purchased, or what materials were used to make them? Thanks!
We used this as the centerpieces in our wedding last October. Candles were from Ikea, vases were from dollar tree and candles4less.com. We used sunflowers, pumpkins and acorns (acornsbythepound.com) in between the vases. Pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46601865@N03/4462694440/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46601865@N03/4461920877/
Also, we didn’t stain or seal the wood at all, just let them dry out by the fireplace for about two weeks before the big day. They cracked while drying out, but we liked the look of that anyway….
So, This has to be the cutest centerpiece I have ever seen! But I will say thing, I will not buy any chunk of wood, I will have my father get chainsaw happy :)
hi……. this looks amazing and wanted to create it for my engagement venue but i cannot find these wood slices any where in London. Please help
Did you dry out the wood or put a sealant on it? Or both? I just cut up a bunch of wood and need to figure out how to perserve it! :)
amazon has the candle holders. set of 3 in 6, 8, and 10 inches. set of 12 for 100.00 or one set for 10. really awesome deal compared to micheals!
Hi Grace, I would like to get in touch with you re: getting the vases in bulk. It had said to contact you for more info.
karie
the “contact me” link goes to the project creator’s email account- please use that ;)
grace
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