{diy: centerpieces pre-mock-up}

I completed a visualization of what our centerpieces will look like. Minus the candles. And candle holders. And flowers. Oh, and table linens and burlap runner/accent. So... pretty much just a visualization of the idea of the centerpieces. Just a touch more concrete than a stick drawing, really.

I already blabbed about the basic idea of what our centerpieces will look like but as I'm sure will happen time and time again in the next 500+ days, the plans have evolved.

So let me back up even more. 

If you're facebook friends with me, you probably saw this:

Yep. A plead for bottles. (There was another for baby food jars but that is a post for another day.)

We are determined not to spend any money on vases. (probably me more than D because I can't say he has devoted too much energy thinking about our centerpieces. Or at least that he has shared with me yet.) For our backyard-rustic-farm-little-weddin', there really is no need. Instead we'll boast an assortment of interesting wine bottles and jars fo' f-r-e-e. Big fat bonus: money saved here can be spent somewhere else. And we're recycling. Woo-ha.

I love the look of vintage blue ball mason jars. LOVE. Like heart pangs and all kind of love.

Source

So I gave vintagafying (yeah. just made that word up.) a try on some mason jars using the modge podge and food coloring route because it was what I had on hand.

I don't have a solid tutorial to provide (but there are plenty with a simple google search). My MO was pretty much to take some modge podge, add food coloring, mix, and paint. After they dried I baked them for about 40 minutes on the lowest setting on my oven to help the coloring cure.

In progress: drying.

Honestly, the results were less than stellar. I'm sure I used the wrong brush and didn't really spend a lot of time smoothing my brush strokes. My primary motivation was to figure out how the process worked before I committed to doing it in bulk. (Again, lovin' the long engagement.)

(scroll down to see some shots of the finished project)


So the modge podge tinting route was my favorite because it provided the option of tinting the glasses in a range of shades of blue and green for relatively cheap. The negatives? Well... modge podge is not waterproof. Meaning that to use the random jars/bottles as vases as intended would mean having to paint the outside of the jar. Painting the outside is more likely to result in streaky brushstrokes versus pouring paint inside and shakin' it up.


The other option?

Source

Bridal Buzz offered a tutorial that included using Vitrea glass paint. The little jars of paint provide a lot of coverage and definitely are NOT breaking the bank at about $5 each. This method also means that I can do the good ol' shakin' up method for coverage (less streaks!) and is waterproof. Part I don't like? Well... it means that to get different tones of color, several jars of paint would be needed. And heck, multiple jars of paint @ $5 each adds up quickly.


So I decided to go back to the inspiration board Pinterest.

 

Source

Love it. Big fat super huge love it. But I admit that this idea made me miss the vintage tinted look, too. But...We can get a large range of tones from just a few bottles of enamel paint (much cheaper than the other glass paint) and a large bulk size of white enamel paint. (Plus enamel paint is dishwasher safe once it cures via oven or time so it would be easier to save a few pieces for anniversaries and whatnot.)

So without further wait, here is my compromise:

Some of the bottles that I collected have a beautiful tint already. (The green one and the tall light blue tinted bottle fourth in from the left.) We'll keep all of the bottles with a natural tint untouched to provide that vintage air. The simple line vase third in from the right shows the painted technique. Ideally, we will reduce the number of boring clear glass and will instead with a set of vessels that "go" together (rather than the traditional matching). After a craft store run, the traditional vase and the recycle d spaghetti jar on the left will get the enamel paint treatment, too.

The random rearrangement of kitchen furniture for better picture lighting and throwing a lace curtain on my wine cabinet did not satisfy my mock-up need. I wanted to see what the vase assortment looked like full, lush, BIG. So... in true frugal fashion, I made do with what I had on hand to estimate what it would look like. (AKA I do not need to buy flowers for a centerpiece mock-up 500+ days before our wedding.)

 

So my impromtu balloon art piece does not accurately demonstrate the way that the centerpieces will look like. We will use baby's breath as filler so the monochromatic balloon look is right on the money. The proportion of "flower bubble", however, is probably all wrong. The white balloons had to be blown up into a large sphere so that they would lose the condom-balloon shape. (Sorry for the inappropriate comparison, Mom & Dad)

I will say that I giggled like a maniac while blowing up all of the balloons. When I showed the get-up to D, he strategically told me that he didn't think the balloons were right for our centerpieces. Oh, silly sweet man.

Oh, and the modge podge losers?

 

I can't say that I've washed my hands of this format yet. I love the bright color it adds to the table and will probably do a couple more trial runs to see if I can reduce the streak-factor (which is way more pronounced in person).

What did I learn from my pre-mock-up? Well... a mix and match scheme is definitely right for us. Collecting the bottles and jars from friends and family doesn't mean we end up with lame centerpieces but it does require a little more elbow grease to make it something special. We are wayyy okay with that.

Okay, time to run. Little nephew is getting antsy and it's time to start dinner.

Any suggestions for our centerpieces? Anything we may not have thought of yet?