Ideas for Creative Table Centerpieces to Make at Home

Creating your own table centerpiece at home allows for an endless variety of styles, materials and colors. Flowers, fruit, toys or stones, you can use almost anything. Any artistic piece can work as a centerpiece, as long as it is sturdy enough to stand and small enough to sit in the middle of the table without jutting into the place settings.

Cheerful Balloons

You don't need a helium tank to create a cheerful table centerpiece with balloons that float above the table. A 2-inch thick and 16-inch tall wooden dowel sticking up from a small plant pot provides a base for the cheerful design. Any paint color can cover the pot and dowel for a fancy touch. Try glossy pink for a romantic theme or bright orange for a children's theme. Colorful round balloons with their mouths taped to the dowel form a tall "topiary" shape bursting from the plant pot.

Fancy Tree

Craft foam shapes are popular materials to use in creating a table centerpiece. A basic foam cone, also known as a foam tree, looks like a fancy tree decoration no matter what you chose as a covering material. Try strands of glittering red and green beads glued tightly around a 12-inch foam cone for a sophisticated Christmas tree for the holiday table. Assorted silk flowers glued around a 24-inch foam cone form a fancy tree centerpiece for a spring-themed event.

Rustic Pumpkin

Instead of using a vase for your creative centerpiece, go with an earthy theme and use a scooped-out pumpkin. Any large pumpkin can become a rustic vase if you cut away the top and remove the seeds. A flared bouquet of dried wheat, sunflowers and pussy willow branches creates a sense of warmth and texture as it bursts up from the top of the pumpkin vase.

Simple Spring

A clear vase, lemons and flowers are all you need to create a simple and elegant spring-themed centerpiece. A wide glass vase, 12 to 16 inches tall, provides the base for the easy design. Thick slices of lemon and cold water fill the vase three-quarters full to add weight and color to the centerpiece. A bouquet consisting of three pink tulips on the outside and a yellow tulip in the center sticks up from the vase to create a splash of soft color.

Sparkling Sand

Seashells and sand are low-cost materials--possibly even free--for a creative table centerpiece. A large, clear glass vase and clear glitter turn the simple beach materials into a sparkling decoration with a sophisticated touch. White sand mixed with clear glitter fills the lower fifth of the vase, followed by a layer of seashells. Alternating layers of the glitter sand and seashells fill the vase to the top to produce an elegant centerpiece with a hint of sparkle.