How to Make Driftwood Centerpieces

Make decorative table centerpieces with driftwood.

If you live by a beach or if you just love anything that reminds you of the beach, incorporate driftwood into decor for your home. Just like with any kind of wood, you can shape, cut it and glue it to create almost anything, including centerpieces for any occasion. Use tools and supplies from the hardware store to make centerpieces and tweak their appearance to suit your taste.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• Saw
• Pencil
• Candles
• Drill
• Chisel
• Hammer
• Dremel tool
• Sandpaper
• Spraypaint (optional)
• Cup or glass
• Glue gun
• Heavy-duty scissors
• Paintbrush (optional)
• Paint or clear coat (optional)

Instructions

Decorative Candle Holder

1. Cut a piece of driftwood at least 5 inches thick to the length that you want with a saw, and leave on any short branches that help stand it up and keep it from rolling.

2. Make a mark for a hole with a pencil where you'd like to put a tealight candle; the hole should be 3/4 of an inch deep. Make the hole a little larger if you want to use votive candles in small glass holders.

3. Drill around the edge of the hole you traced. Use a chisel and a hammer to gently remove pieces of wood from the hole, and use a dremel tool and sandpaper to smooth out the inside of the hole. Repeat this process for additional holes along the length of the driftwood.

4. Smooth out rough spots in the wood with sandpaper. Color the surface with spraypaint if you like, or leave the driftwood as it is.

Vase

1. Select a cup or tall glass the size and shape you want. Collect thin pieces (no more than 1 inch thick) of driftwood. The amount you need depends on the width of the cup or glass and the thickness of the driftwood pieces.

2. Calculate how tall you want the driftwood vase to be. For example, if the glass is 5 inches tall but you want the vase to be 4 inches higher, 9 inches is how long all of the sticks should be. Line up the sticks, mark them at this length with a pencil and cut them with heavy-duty scissors or a saw.

3. Line the sticks up so the cut edges run along the bottom of the glass and the raw ends extend upward. Glue the sticks all the way around the glass with a hot glue gun.

4. Wait two to four hours for the glue to cure, and finish the wood (if you wish) by painting it or putting on a clear coat to preserve it.

Tips & Warnings

• Find pieces of driftwood by combing a beach. Or search at a large lake if you don't have a beach nearby to find wood that has all the aesthetic qualities of driftwood, such as smoothness.

References

• Completely Coastal: Driftwood Crafts and Decor