How to Make a Tri-Fold Centerpiece

Making tri-fold centerpieces can add a personal touch to your guests' tables at your wedding.

Although beautiful, centerpieces for weddings or other occasions can end up being rather ordinary. While flower arrangements are nice to look at, a floral centerpiece creates no personal connection for the people sitting at the table to the event. However, through the use of photos featuring event attendees or, in the case of a wedding, the bride and groom, centerpieces can be personalized in a way to make the people sitting at the table feel special. Making tri-fold centerpieces with a personal touch requires the use of photo and text editing software.

Things You'll Need

• Card stock
• Glue

Instructions

One-Piece Tri-Fold Centerpieces

1. Choose three photos that you would like to use for your centerpiece, such as photos of the bride and groom for a wedding or photos that feature the attendees of the event seated at the table.

2. Scan hard copies of the photos using a scanner or download the photos from a camera's memory card.

3. Use photo editing software to crop the photos so that they will fit on one side of the tri-fold centerpiece. For example, if using 11- by 17-inch card stock, crop the photos to be no more than 4 inches wide and 6 inches high. Leave about a half-inch of the wide side blank so you can fold it over to create the centerpiece.

4. Use a software program's brochure layout template for a tri-fold design.

5. Delete any unneeded text or photo boxes. Move one text box to the top and another to the bottom of the tri-fold section -- the page should appear to be in "Landscape" layout mode on your screen. Remove preloaded text in the text boxes, but leave the text boxes intact.

6. Insert the photo onto the tri-fold section and move it in the proper position. Add personal anecdotes to the text box on the bottom of the photo and a one- to three-word sentiment in the top text box in larger type. Repeat for the other two tri-fold sections. The sentiment on top of the photo can be the same or different from the other top sentiments.

7. Print your tri-fold layout onto your chosen card stock using a printer. Fold the card stock between the photo sections so that the photos face away from each other. Fold the half-inch blank edge over and glue to the back of the other end of the centerpiece.

8. Repeat Steps 1 through 7 for all additional tri-fold centerpieces that you need to make, if you plan to use different pictures and sentiments at each table.

Three-Piece Tri-Fold Centerpieces

1. Choose six photos that you would like to use for your tri-fold centerpiece. Scan hard copies of the photos using a scanner or download the photos from a digital camera's memory card.

2. Crop the photos with photo editing software so that they will fit on one side of card stock that is folded in half horizontally. For example, if using 8 1/2- by 11-inch card stock, crop the photos to be no more than 5 1/4 inches wide and 6 inches high; for 8 1/2- by 14-inch card stock, the photos should be no more than 6 3/4 inches wide.

3. Use a software program's brochure layout template for a two-fold design.

4. Remove unnecessary photo or text boxes, leaving one text box to the top and another to the bottom of the half of the page -- the page should be in "Landscape" layout mode on your screen.

5. Insert a photo onto the half-page section and move it in the proper position. Write something personal about the photo in the text box below and a short sentiment in the top text box in larger type. Repeat the process for the other side of the page, then repeat for two additional pages.

6. Print your two-fold layouts onto your chosen card stock using a printer. Fold the card stock between the photo sections so that the photos face each other slightly. Add some glue to the back of one half of one of the pages. Attach one half of another page to the back of the glued section. Repeat for all sections so you have a tri-fold centerpiece with two photos on each fold facing slightly inward.

Tips & Warnings

• Place the tri-fold centerpieces on small turntables, which can be purchased at craft or kitchen supply retailers. This will allow everyone at the table to be able to see all sides of the centerpiece.

• Place photos in tri-fold picture frames as another possible option for your centerpieces.