Because I'm All About That Vase...

Hello Lovelys,

Today I have a quick idea to share with you about table centerpieces/vases/flower arrangements.

I'm constantly obsessing over what is going to sit in the middle of my kitchen, dining room, and coffee table as a centerpiece!?!  I don't know why this is, but I don't feel right unless there is some kind of centerpiece on my tables.  I also like to change these centerpieces out periodically with the seasons, but I usually always like to use flowers.  Whether it's real flowers, faux flowers, a potted plant, a moss ball in a bowl, etc.   I think I inherited this obnoxious obsession from my Grammy, in fact I know I did, because she ALWAYS has a centerpiece in the middle of all of her tables and she is constantly changing them out.  (hers are always fresh flowers though)  Anyways, so this mouse on a wheel syndrome that I have forces me to get creative because I can't spend what I want to spend on fresh flowers every few weeks.  (oh to be Lisa Vanderpump)  Recently, I came up with the idea to use our magazine holders as vases and I'm not gonna lie, I really kinda like them!

Here are some "before" pictures of the baskets in our bathrooms before I relocated them...

This basket is from Paul Michael, and it use to sit on the floor in one of our guest bathrooms to hold magazines.  I thought it would be good as a vase because it is taller than it is wide, more like a rectangle.  Also, I thought the linen liner would hide the flower stems nicely.  



I have NO IDEA where this wooden crate came from.  It has been used as a magazine rack, a piano book/sheet music holder, an office organizer, an umbrella holder, the list goes on.  I found it in my husband's house in college (which we remodeled and lived in the first year we were married) and  then it made the move with us after that!  I've never thrown it out because it has so much character!  (wall color is Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore)
So here are some pictures of the twig basket with a linen liner.  I put it in the middle of our kitchen table with some blue hydrangeas from Fresh Market...

Don't worry, I disinfected it first!  



Now I am going to show you a trick for making the basket look fuller than it really is and keep your flowers alive just as long as having them in a traditional vase...

I found a vase from Walmart that would fit inside each basket perfectly without being seen from the outside.  Any kind of jar, cup, or container would work too just as long as it can't be seen from the outside of your basket.
Walmart has several different sizes of these plain, clear glass vases that are good to keep around for making centerpieces and they are super cheap!

Then I filled it with very warm water and set it inside the magazine holder.  (sidenote* to keep hydrangeas for a long time and dry them out, a friend told me to put them in warm-to-hot water).  Then I fanned out the stems to make them look like they were filling the entire basket.  Once the stems were fanned out how I liked them, the vase kept the stems in place, standing up right, and the flowers from falling out of the box.  

Here are some pictures of the wooden crate with the same flowers in it...

This is actually only 3 jumbo hydrangea stems on one side.  The hidden vase makes it look like a much fuller arrangement.   


Here is a good detail shot of the wooden magazine holder.  I just love the different materials used to hold it together. 





In case you were wondering about the paint color of our kitchen table, you can read about how I painted it here.  


You don't have to use a magazine holder or basket to achieve this same look!  You could use a wooden crate from any craft store or Home Depot, decorative storage container from HomeGoods, a wooden wine crate from your local grocery store, wine store, or Patina Interiors. (they always have a stack of wine crates by the front door for sale) or a tin trough!  
Just because you are displaying flowers does not mean they have to go in a traditional vase!
  
 Well that's it for today!  Send me some pictures of your creative "vases".  

Remember, when life hands you lemons, turn them into something lovely!
-Marci 

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