Dining Table Centerpiece DIY

Hello Friends!! Happy Easter!! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend (I had an extra day off work, so that was extra wonderful)! We kept things VERY low key this year, and it was awesome! The entire weekend we stayed on relax mode and honestly didn't do much of anything...sometimes you just need a few days to unwind! Friday we just ran some errands and lounged around the house. Hubby and I finally got a day date in at the driving range on Saturday, and while we had a blast, I am sore in places I didn't even know had muscles to be sore! It's been YEARS since I've even held a golf club--needless to say, watching us must have been pretty comical!  In years past, we have gone to Ohio to be with my family for Easter, but that didn't work out this year due to hubby's work schedule so we just spent the day mostly at home. Kiddo did his Easter egg hunt in the house because the weather just had to be yucky. Egg hunts are much more fun outside!! After that, we just hung around and watched movies for most of the day and I think that was just what we needed. 3 days off with nothing to do. My house is a disaster and the laundry is piling up, but I'm so glad we had a chill weekend!

Today I've got a very simple DIY table centerpiece for you! Last week I showed you all my glorious "new" table, and what is a new table without a new centerpiece to feature?? 

I cant stress enough how extremely simple this project is, not to mention that you can adapt the concept to match your kitchen theme or your likes and hobbies. I love wine. It is not only delicious, it helps me to relax and unwind after a long day of work and 'adulting'. So for awhile now, I've been saving my wine corks, what stinks is that my favorite type of wine (sauvignon blanc) usually comes in bottles with screw off tops, not corks (boooooo to the anti-cork wine makers!). So I was not able to save enough corks for this project, but found these on Amazon to supplement for this project (cheap and free Prime shipping, what else can you ask for?). So to answer your question before you ask, NO, I did not drink ALL of the wine that went with these corks. :) Maybe I could have during a deployment....#wine goals. Other filler ideas I could think of were glass beads, sea shells, small pine cones, cinnamon sticks, Christmas ornaments, colorful Easter eggs, fake fruits like cranberries and lemons, acorns, or your favorite candy to make it more holiday themed!

Here's what you need:
Tall Decorative Glass Vase
Tall Pillar Candle (I used battery operated to make it no-fuss)
Plain tall glass vase to hold the candle
Themed Filler substance (I used wine corks)
A Clear fill vase or other item (only if you need to make your candle sit higher, or you are a little short on filler)

So I have had this vase for quite some time, in fact, my last centerpiece was also a DIY project! It was previously layered with different color beans! 

 The last item needed was a filler of some kind. This makes it so you don't need as much of your decorative filler items to fill the vase (= savings!!). You could use a clear glass, or really anything that won't show through your filler. I just happened to have this little cupcake liner container that I was about to throw away and it was perfect since it was mostly clear. It also was the perfect height (You'll see why soon).

First, I put the cupcake container on the bottom of the vase. 

Next I put my candle in the skinny vase and set that on top of the container. Again, the cupcake container not only takes up some space at the bottom, but it lifts my candle up so it sits even with the top of the vase. It was pretty wobbly, but don't worry, once you add your filler, the candle and vase wont move around. Side note: if your candle vase is the same height as your outside vase, you may not need a filler item.

Next I started adding my corks around the candle. As you do this, make sure your candle and vase stay centered by gently adjusting it as you slowly add your filler.

And that's it! See, I told you it was super simple! You can also do this project without using the inside vase, however this makes it easy for me to lift out the battery operated candle to turn it on and off as needed. If you don't use the vase, you will not be able to remove it to get to the on/off switch on the bottom. I would not recommend using a regular candle if you intend on lighting it. Open flame + dry wine corks might = big fire? I actually have no idea, are corks flammable? Corks covered in wine?? Either way, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Not to mention these battery candles have a setting so you can turn them on and they will stay on for several hours (6 I think), then turn off for 18, and turn back on for another 6 hours. This way, the candle will automatically turn on for your normal dinner time and you don't really ever have to mess with it!

I love how this looks when its lit and slightly dark. The candle lets just enough light show through the cork for a subtle, romantic glow on the table.

I imagine I'll keep this centerpiece around for a year or two...or until I think of something else to try! :)


Happy crafting!!

-A