Centerpiece Cents: Ice cream bucket

The idea for Centerpiece Cents, and really the blog in general, is to find the cheapest way to accomplish the beautiful wedding and reception you want.  Many people will say that a $500 wedding is impossible and that's not true.  You can do it, you just have to be open-minded and creative.  Now, most people will have more than $500 to plan their wedding but would still like to save as much money as they can, so these ideas can help everyone.

My project for today's quick project is converting an ice cream bucket into a centerpiece.  Using it as a bowl/vase, I painted the bucket a dark brown and filled it with greenery and flowers.  The flowers I used were fake (and I'd use real if you can because they smell so good, although fake flowers are completely fine) and I already had them.  My ice cream bucket and paint were things I already had too so this project was totally free (remember the rule is all centerpieces must cost less than $5.00 each).

Think about it like this too: When you're watching those home-improvement shows and they talk about home-sellers "staging" their home for an open house, it's all about appearances.  None of the furnishings are meant to last forever or be over-analyzed.  They are meant for the moment and so are these centerpieces. 

If you're on a budget and you need centerpieces for twenty tables, you need to get resourceful and think about how you can achieve the look for that one event.  Will this ice cream bucket last forever or be on display atop the mantle in your living room?  Nope, but it will make a wonderful centerpiece for the evening and no one will know.

Here's where it started.  In the freezer, hiding from me.

I ate the ice cream (like I do) and painted it with a thick glossy dark brown paint.
Two coats.

After it dried, I filled it with balled up plastic grocery bags as my base
for the floral arrangement.

I filled it with different flowers and greenery, a little moss on the bottom, and it's done.
With tea light candles surrounding it and the lights dimmed, who's going to say,
"Hey, didn't this used to be an ice cream pail?  I'm outta here."

Over at Cornflower Blue, Cortney has some great centerpiece ideas too, here's a picture from her guest blog post yesterday.  I like how she's picked one simple flower and used it for several different decorations.

Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.

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