DIY Fall Centerpiece

Making the change from "Halloween" to "Fall" is pretty simple for me.  I don't have a ton of Halloween decor, just a few odds and ends.  Once Halloween was over, I collected some of those decorations and switched them out for non-Halloween specific decorations.  For example, the dish rack in the kitchen got a quick makeover.  I just switched out the pumpkin and witch for a decorative wooden ball and a framed pin a friend brought us back from Thailand.

Now that this was off my plate, I could shift my focus to Thanksgiving. Dan and I will be hosting this year, so of course, my first thought wasn't about the food, it was about what my table centerpiece would look like.  I knew it needed to be small since our table isn't very big.  I also wanted it to be in one piece so I could easily remove it when it came time to eat.  I had seen a wooden box centerpiece on Pinterest I was pretty sure I could replicate.  After all, I already had all of the supplies I would need.  So, I ran around the house and collected everything.

I bought the wooden box for $2 at a flea market a few years ago.  I had only used it with some flowers for a spring decoration, so I just took out that arrangement and started with a blank slate.  I got the garland from Dan's aunt who was getting rid of a bunch of fall decorations and let us pick out whatever we wanted.  That was a fun day!  I had the mason jars left over from a Christmas project last year and I had the Epsom salt on hand because who doesn't have Epsom salt in their basement?

The first step was just to place the mason jars in the box to see how many would fit.  That was easy.  Then I played around with the garland and figured out how best to fit it in there.  I ended up trimming it a little bit and removing some of the brown twigs on it.  I looped it around each jar and stuffed it in and around, wherever it would fit.


Once I had this how I liked it, the Epsom salt came into play.  I was unsure about this part at first.  I didn't have taller pillar candles for the jars, so I knew if I wanted to use votives or tea lights, I'd have to find a way to raise them up.  The salt worked perfectly.  I just poured roughly the same amount in each jar until I ran out.  Each jar was a little less than halfway full. 

Now came the exciting part.  Turns out I didn't have enough votives, and the larger tea lights I had in mind were too big to fit through the tops of the jars.  I decided to use plain votive holders with regular tea lights, but then realized I only had two holders.  Then, upon digging through my bin of candles and accessories, I found some fake red candles.  And I had three!  These were the perfect solution.  I didn't have to worry about lighting the candles, things getting too hot, etc.  And the red looked great against the orange and yellow leaves.  I couldn't have been happier.  Pretty sure I gloated to Dan for a good 10 minutes on how perfect this find was.

So now that it was done, I had to find a place to display it in the meantime.  Mantel?  No.  Living room table?  No.  Kitchen?  Maybe.  I ventured into the kitchen and realized that its original destination of the kitchen table was perfect. 

Of course, that meant I had to relocate my pears on a serving board.  Darn, I really loved the simplicity of that.  Oh well, time to move on.  I put the pears on top of the stove and they looked pretty cute, so I left them.  Don't worry, we take them down when we cook, just in case.

I can't wait to host Thanksgiving!  One of the best parts of hosting (aside from being with family and the food, of course) is bringing out all of our serving pieces and china.  It reminds me that there's a reason I collect all this stuff!

Be well,