eHow Home Blog
If you’re anything like me, you’ve got al fresco dining, garden parties and Sunday morning brunches on the brain thanks to 70-degree afternoons and the reemergence of that elusive thing called the sun. To get our home in the springtime spirit, I came up with a simple do-it-yourself centerpiece idea that cost less than $10 in supplies! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Handheld saw (miter box optional, though encouraged)
- PVC pipes (I bought a 1-inch and a 2-inch tube, both about 2 feet in length)
- Gold spray paint
For this project, I ended up calling in the big guns—a.k.a. my husband—who graciously cut our PVC pipes down to size using a handheld saw. Coupling the saw with a miter box (even a cheap plastic one like we have) really goes a long way in making sure that your cuts stay nice and straight. As for the lengths of our PVC pipe “vases,” I simply eyeballed them from tall to short in order to give the final cluster a modern, asymmetrical look.
With all six of my pipe vessels cut down, I brushed them off and took them outside to be placed on an old scrap of cardboard. Next, I gave each a thin and even coat of my favorite go-to Valspar metallic gold spray paint. After about 20 minutes, I went back and gave them one final coat before dragging them indoors to dry overnight.
The following morning, I brought the now-shiny armload of vases up to my studio, along with an equally eye-catching armload of fresh flowers from the marketplace. I chose a variety of colorful wildflowers, but anything really would do—tulips, hyacinth, hydrangea. Pick your favorites, then cut each stem to size and place a few in each of the DIY vases.
I see this set of six working overtime this season as we celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries—you name it! Oh, and if you were wondering how I presumed to keep my blooms living beyond an hour or two in their bottom-less vessels, all it took (surprise!) was a carefully concealed tasting glass in the bottom of each pipe.
