Baby shower and graduation decorations don’t have to cost a fortune, especially if you create DIY centerpieces. Here are a couple of great ideas I found online that incorporate similar qualities. Kim from The Kim Six Fix created this wonderful and easy centerpiece using pinto beans, spray paint and a glass cylinder glass vase.
Materials: Kim used $2 worth of pinto beans to complete the centerpiece shown above. I found 2 pounds of pinto beans at our local Farmer’s market for $3.50, which would probably complete just about two of them, depending upon how large the vases were. Krylon spray paint can easily found online in a variety of colors and shades.
Uses: What makes this centerpiece especially versatile, is that it can be used for just about any occasion. Kim used hers as an Easter decoration with lots of pastel shades layered throughout the glass. You could use this as a baby shower decoration with pastel pink beans for a girl, blue for a boy, or any other color if the sex of the baby is not known. If you are having a graduation party, spray paint the beans in school colors. You could even place a couple of mini pennants inside for extra decoration. These decorations would also be nice for a casual wedding reception or bridal shower. Simply spray paint the beans using the bridal colors. You could also decorate with warm colors for fall, white for winter, green for spring, or vibrant orange, blue and yellow for summer.
Additions: Since the beans are dense, they serve as a wonderful base for items on sticks to be inserted. A couple of ideas include attach photos of the guest of honor to a long stick; placing colorful lollipops into each vase; or purchasing milk chocolate pops in a variety of shapes for placement.
Be sure to check out Kim’s photos and tutorial. She also has lots of other great ideas for large and small DIY projects.
A glass jar can show off a variety of fun contents and this next idea by Malena from Scraps & Crops is a great example of what you can do on a budget.
She took candy “Smarties” placed a personalized paper roll around each one and tied it. This made each candy look like a rolled diploma! Candy was placed in a glass container with a “Smarties” sign on the outside it. I think that Malena is quite a Smartie and you will find many more crafty ideas and tutorials on her site. You will also find lots of great graduation party photos.