How to Make an Inexpensive Centerpiece

Whether you are on a tight budget for your wedding or a special event, it's easy to make inexpensive centerpieces to brighten up tables. You don't have to spend a lot of money for decorations. This simple centerpiece is both easy and inexpensive to create. Even children can help create this centerpiece.

Things You'll Need

• Decorative vases (which can be bought at thrift stores)
• Sheets of cellophane (variety of colors)
• Bouquet card holder sticks (available at florists or floral distributors)
• Scissors (scrap booking scissors make fun designs)
• Printer and computer
• Photographs
• Decorative cardboard cut-outs (find a template or make your own)
• Craft glue or hot glue gun
• Wire ribbon (variety of colors)
• Decorative confetti

Instructions

1. Buy decorative vases (all shapes and sizes) at a thrift store. Use vases that you find around your house as well. Count how many centerpieces you will need and plan accordingly.Go to a craft store and buy the necessary items you will need to create the centerpieces (if you don't have the materials at home).

2. Call a florist, or search on-line, for bouquet card holder sticks (florists use these sticks inside bouquets to attach the card). Buy card holder sticks from a florist or buy from an on-line floral distributor.

3. Be creative and find old photographs (this is a fun idea for wedding centerpieces). Print out photographs if you don't want to use the original photographs. Cut out stars, wedding bells or holiday theme-shapes (depending on the event) from cardboard. Cut photographs to fit the shape of cardboard cut-outs. Overlap the pictures and glue with craft glue or use a hot glue gun. Print out black and white pictures if you want a more elegant theme for a wedding. After cut-outs dry, stick cut-outs inside the card holder.

4. Measure and cut cellophane so you have enough for the inside of the vase. Bunch cellophane and stuff into the bottom of vase. Push the card holder stick into the bottom of the vase (with the cut-outs sticking out at the top of the vase). Stuff more cellophane inside the vase if the stick is leaning to one side.

5. Measure and cut wire ribbon. Tie a pretty, decorative ribbon around the neck of the vase. Place your centerpieces on the tables and sprinkle confetti around the base of the vases.

Tips & Warnings

• These decorative vase centerpieces can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. If you are a scrap-booking pro, you can have fun with different textured papers and ribbons. You can also tie in specific themes for holidays, birthdays, weddings, company events and children's events. You can be as creative as you want to be. If you have opaque vases, you can sprinkle confetti inside the vase to add sparkle to the inside of the vase. You could also paint and decorate the outside of the vases with fun designs (make sure you use paint that is specifically made for glass or ceramics, depending on the vase in use).

• Supervise children if they are helping and working with scissors and glue (especially if you are using a hot glue gun). Make sure you have enough materials before you begin this project. Make an extra centerpiece or two in case one breaks on the way to the event.