Fall Centerpiece Love {Budget Style}

{Exciting News}

I will be on Kare 11 tomorrow, Tuesday the 25th, during the 4pm broadcast sharing ‘Fall Decorating Ideas on a Budget’. YAHOO -set your DVR!

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Have you seen the price of a cute centerpiece lately? OUCH!

Check out this beauty from Pottery Barn, $129.99

I’ve been looking around and have found centerpieces anywhere from $39.99 up to $69.99 at places like Michaels and HomeGoods.

Dear Centerpieces,

While you are beautiful, you cost too much for my taste. I think I can DIY something myself for much less.

Thank you, Sunday

{Before Fall Centerpiece}

You can easily put together a beautiful fall centerpiece - budget style! All you need are a few basics!

Start by choosing a base or a bottom to build your centerpiece on or in. You can use a simple platter, an old crate or even an old drawer. I have a couple centerpieces going on for fall and I used something different for each one. I made this one with an old wooden crate (I gave it a quick coat of stain since it was pretty dingy looking).

Step #1:  Fill bottom of crate – I used a deep crate, so I needed to build it up on the inside.

TIP: Fill the bottom with ‘cheater pieces’. This saves money by not having to fill the entire crate with fall items; I used books and styrofoam (useful if you’re using flower stems or pics). The beauty of building up the inside is, you give the impression your crate is full to the brim with fall goodies when it’s actually just the top layer.. so sneaky!

Step #2: Cover the cheater pieces with burlap (or any fabric you like).

Step #3: Place  your largest or tallest piece in the center and work around it. Use another filler (like fake grass or moss) that takes up space before putting in the rest of your items;  I used raffia, it’s cheap and goes a long way!

Step #4: Use gourds, pumpkins, garland, pinecones and whatever other fall items you like to fill it up. I purchased most of my items at The Dollar Tree….love that place!

TIP: If you want to add different colors or you don’t like some of the ‘fake’ colors at the store you can spray paint them whatever color you like.  It’s a super easy process: prime and then spray paint.

I used Rust-Oleums’ Heirloom White, Slate Blue and Black.

Step #5: Move and adjust items to make sure they are balanced; I played around with mine forever.

I found these cute Glitter Pumpkins in the $1.50 bin at Michaels; everything looks better with glitter!

Use a bamboo skewer to stick them in the centerpiece (remember there’s styrofoam at the bottom).

{After Fall Centerpiece}

Centerpiece Costs:

DIY Centerpiece -

Crate, Milk Jug – Free (had on hand)

Pumpkins, gourds, garland – $5 (The Dollar  Tree)

Flower Pic’s, Raffia (40% off coupon), Glitter Pumpkins – $15.00 (Michaels)

Total: $20.00 (or less)

Pottery Barn Centerpiece -

Total: $129.99

Love you more than saving $100!

Sunday