Wednesday, November 13, 2013

DIY Wood Box Centerpiece with Mini Burlap Banner (Free Printable)


I've been changing over my Halloween decor into Thanksgiving and general fall decorations recently and needed to find a replacement for my styrofoam pumpkin tea lights on the kitchen table.  One of the issues I run into on my kitchen table, is that I need a centerpiece that's easy to move for when little hands get grabby..  I also wanted something that I could easily change out for the seasons and holidays.  I've been seeing these long wooden boxes and knew it was the perfect solution.

This box is actually a really simple "build."  I used pallet wood (seriously I have never seen a nicer pallet), but if you want to buy new lumber that would work too....of course, it comes with a price tag.


I started by cutting the three long pieces (two sides and bottom) down to the same length using my jigsaw.  Mine are 25" x 4" inches, but of course this is a great customizable piece that you can make fit your table by cutting shorter or longer.
Taking two of the long pieces, I used wood glue to attach one side to the bottom piece by putting a line of glue along the outter edge of the bottom piece.  I used one screw right in the middle - just to keep it in place and let the glue dry.  Then I repeated for the other side of the box.


Now it's time for the end pieces.  Measure the distance of the short ends and cut two pieces of pallet wood to that length.   Mine are 6" each..and about 3" high.  Put two lines of wood glue on the box and add the first end piece of wood.  Let it dry and repeat on the other end. 

Fill in any nail or staple holes with wood putty and sand down the entire piece.

I painted my wood planter box with DIY chalk paint that I had left over from this furniture flip.  You could really customize your box by drilling holes and adding rope handles to each end or adding some fun typography like "Give Thanks" to the side.  I decided to just leave mine very plain and simple for now (I may pretty it up at some point later) and let the "filler" take center stage.



As for the filler - I started taking my Halloween decorations apart and used it to help fill in the box.  I used a combination of real gourds, sytrofoam pumpkins (shhh don't tell anyone they're upside down because I snagged them from my pumpkin tea light display and they have a candle on the other side), dried pine cones and a those little gold berries are actually some rustic napkin rings.




My final touch was to make a mini burlap "Thankful" banner.  I made the bunting in about 15 minutes.  I've included a free printable for the flags so you can make it even faster - just download and print.  


You can print these on any medium you want - paper, cardstock, or burlap.  Here's the deets on how to print on burlap (it's easier than you think).  


Then just cut each flag out right on the line....


....and add a dot of hot glue so you can attach each flag to some jute rope or ribbon. 


I tied each end around a wood skewer and then poked the skewers into two styrofoam pumpkins that were in the box so they would stay upright.


That's it - isn't a great Thanksgiving center piece?  So cheap and easy...and totally colorful! 


I plan to empty the box after Thanksgiving and perhaps add some candles, pine cones, berry sprigs and evergreen branches for Christmas. 



Thanks for stopping by 2IY! If you like what you see, we'd love for you to pin it!


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