Looking for a simple centerpiece idea for a party?  Make this simple party centerpiece in under an hour. All you’ll need is fresh flowers, a galvanized bucket and duck tape.

Two months ago I agreed that I would create centerpieces for a ladies’ event at our church.

I was excited and full of joy and ideas and centerpiece plans.

And then?

I promptly forgot all about it.

Until.

Until I got a text message on Thursday asking me if I was ready.  Ready for what? I texted back.  Ready for the centerpieces for the Friday night dinner was the reply.

WHAT?

Did I mention it was THURSDAY?

And the event was FRIDAY?

*sigh*

Here’s the centerpiece story of a forgetful girl who ran to the store and ran home and worked like there was no tomorrow and made 13 centerpieces in four hours and came up with this simple centerpiece idea for a party.

I had to make 13 centerpieces on a limited budget.

Here were the simple requirements for the centerpiece:

  1. It had to be inexpensive.
  2. It had to have a little height for the tables.
  3. It needed to have soft colors and some greenery.
  4. It needed a little metal to give it some texture.

Hello friends.

Meet my centerpiece.

Here’s how I solved all the centerpiece problems and created a simple centerpiece idea for a party.

  1. I priced out faux flowers and real flowers and the price was almost half (especially because flowers at Trader Joe’s are so inexpensive).
  2. I found these embroidery hoops at Hobby Lobby for about $2.97 to give the centerpiece some height.  I discovered later that I could have actually divided each hoop in half and saved even more money.
  3. These bunches of flowers were already pre-sorted and pre-designed for me at Trader Joe’s.  I used 3/4 of a bunch for this centerpiece.  I bought the bundles of eucalyptus separately and used about 1/4 of each bundle in the centerpiece.
  4. The galvanized metal containers came from Hobby Lobby.  You can get them at half off for about $3.50.

I’m going to show you how I put them together.

But first, I need to add a disclaimer.

If you are a floral professional, please look away.  This might not be the post for you.  You might look at this tutorial and say WHAT?  Just know that this simple centerpiece for a party was constructed by a girl with TONS of creativity, but literally no time.

I just created it the only way I know how.

Fast and furious.

How to Create a Simple Centerpiece Idea for a Party

Supplies:

  • galvanized bucket
  • floral foam
  • white duck tape
  • flowers
  • eucalyptus
  • embroidery hoop
  • scissors

1. Start with an embroidery hoop

This embroidery hoop came from the sewing section at Hobby Lobby.

The hoops come in TONS of different sizes.

I actually made different centerpieces for the serving tables out of larger ones.

This hoop is about 12″ in diameter.

2. Attach to floral foam

Place the embroidery hoop on top of the floral foam.

Wrap with white duck tape.

Pull tightly to make sure it’s secure.

3.  Wedge into galvanized bucket

Wedge the hoop with the floral foam attached into the bucket with two additional pieces of floral foam.

I cut the floral foam on the sides to just fit so the middle foam was in there tightly.

Next, I wet the foam to get ready to put the flowers in.

4. Place the flowers and the greenery

I started with two sprigs of eucalyptus on each side.

I cut them approximately 18″ and wound them around the embroidery hoop.

I also added eucalyptus and other greenery into the floral foam as a base.

Here are the flowers from the Trader Joe’s bundle.

Here’s a close-up of the flowers and the greenery.

I just kept layering them until they looked the way I wanted it to.

One quick tip:  I used four different types of flowers in each centerpiece and two different types of greenery.

This gave it so much depth.

And then?

I repeated all these steps 12 times.

One last thing that I didn’t get a picture of.

The theme of the event was “Warrior Moms.”  It was all about moms who wake up every day and fight the fight and try to be the very best moms that they can be.

And so.

The story doesn’t end here.

The centerpieces were great.  They were inexpensive.  I finished 13 of them and thought I was done, but they didn’t look warrior enough to me.

And so?

I added these.

These wooden arrows from Hobby Lobby.

I didn’t get a picture because it was so last minute, but know this.

There were lots of warriors there that night.

And these centerpieces?

They were one of them.

PS  Here’s a great post on four simple rules to create the perfect flower arrangement.

And here’s another idea for a fun flower arrangement that only takes five minutes.

PPS  They would be PERFECT for a wedding, too.

Want to know how to decorate your home for free?
Click here to get my FIVE BEST secrets.

Posted On: February 25, 2019

Written By: KariAnne Wood

Comments

    1. Image for KariAnne Wood KariAnne Wood

      Basia, I was going to attach it to the embroidery hoop with jute twine, but I just ended up putting it against the hoop in amongst the flowers. These would be PERFECT for a wedding! Happy day! karianne

      Reply
  2. Image for Julie Julie

    BRILLIANT! You have so much creativity, I could never have done that in a million years, even if all the supplies were put in front of me! Trader Joes is always a win for flowers.

    Reply
  5. Image for Lynn W Lynn W

    So perfect for all kinds of events and as a gift too!! Love your creativity.....thanks for the idea 😊 You are a design warrior 💗

    Reply
  9. Image for Regina Merrick Regina Merrick

    My daughter's October wedding reception is going to be in a restaurant where they will serve brunch family-style, so I needed ideas for small, simple centerpieces! I'll need even smaller than this, but how pretty!! I love it!

    Reply
  11. Image for Carrie Carrie

    Sometimes, under pressure only allows enough time for the “ta-da” moments and no time for lengthy thought and changing choices....love your last minute “at-da” for a special group of warrior moms!

    Reply
  12. Image for Leslie Watkins Leslie Watkins

    I was a floral designer early on and you did great. Loved that you used the hoop to give it a topiary feel and height and four types of flowers.. and those arrows. I am sure were the perfect finishing touch. You go girl! ❤️

    Reply
  15. Image for Shelia P. Shelia P.

    Hi Karianne! Bless your heart having to pull all that together overnight! LOL! I would’ve forgotten about it too, being if I don’t write it down I completely forget things. You did a wonderful job pulling that together so quickly! Kudos girl, you rock! Have a great day! 😊

    Reply
  16. Image for Jo Jo

    Gotta say I love the airy, textured and layered combination. As a warrior mom, myself, the arrrow was a brilliant addition and surely resonated with those women at your event. Your entire experience is a testimony of how real women respond to a challenge. Thank you for sharing!!!

    Reply
  23. Image for Judy Judy

    Such a pretty, cost effective centerpiece! One bit of advise from a seasoned floral designer....be sure to remove the anthers ( they contain the pollen) from the stamen of the lilies. If the pollen of a lily gets on any fabric and even painted surfaces, it makes a permanent stain. They can be cut off or if you are doing a number of arrangements... just wet your fingers and pull off the anthers, then swish your fingers through water and the pollen comes off.

    Reply
  24. Image for TERESA GONZALES TERESA GONZALES

    I can so relate to this story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Love your design and how you did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  26. Image for Rebecca Platt Rebecca Platt

    But you really need to tell us what you did with the arrow. I love the embroidery hoop. At first, I thought it was a handle. I agree, sometimes we do our best work in a crunch. Great job and God bless.

    Reply

Comments are closed.