The Secret To A Beautiful Table Centerpiece Is Coffee Filters And Dollar Tree Bowls

Centerpiece options, both DIY-style and store-bought, are plenty. There are easily hundreds of ways to create stunning tableaus and tablescapes for any occasion, whether it's for everyday dining, party decorations, or adding a little visual interest somewhere in your home. Flowers, real or faux, are one of the most gorgeous ways to occupy this space. Sometimes, the simplest approaches are the most beautiful — as evidenced by this stunning YouTube DIY project that turns ordinary coffee filters and inexpensive Dollar Tree bowls into a beautiful floral centerpiece, using only some hot glue, food coloring, and paint.

Not only is this DIY very budget-friendly, but it involves no additional cutting or difficult assembly and can be fully customized in shape, color, and fullness to fit your décor or special occasion perfectly. Paper flowers will also not die or deteriorate on you, making them great for long-lasting accents. The soft paper of coffee filters, which are great for a number of creative uses, mimics the folds and delicate petals of real flowers – unlike artificial flowers, which can sometimes look a little too synthetic.

For this DIY, you will need two inexpensive Dollar Tree round bowls: one smaller and one larger. Since you will be painting them whatever color your desire, the starting color is not as important as the size and shape of your bowls. Use spray paint or acrylic paint on brush to color. Since the plastic surface may require additional coats, you can help prepare the surface by giving it light sanding beforehand to remove some of the shininess. Some DIYers also recommend this cool dryer sheet hack for painting over plastic. Once the paint is dry, use a circle of hot glue to attach the smaller of the two, face down, to the bottom of the larger one. When dry, you will have created a cute pedestal bowl. 

To create the flowers, begin by assembling a stack of up to six coffee filters. You can leave them white (or brown) or dip them into a mix of water and food coloring to create an array of colors. For an antique look, soak them in coffee or tea to mute the colors slightly. Fold a stack in quarters and then bunch the end together to create a flower, unfolding the layers until it's as wide as you want. Glue the base of each flower down with hot glue to the surface of your bowl until it's completely filled, alternating the size and shapes for a more natural look.

While this DIY doesn't require cutting the coffee filters to make the flowers, you can also experiment with rounding, fraying, or scalloping the edge of the filters for variation, creating a mix of flowers, including peonies, poppies, and chrysanthemums, all from the same coffee filters. You can also add additives like spray glitter to add a bit of shimmer or vary the saturation of dye on each layer to create different shading that mimics real flowers. 

If you do not want a round centerpiece, Dollar Tree's inexpensive selection of containers offers a wealth of options for different shapes, including long wooden trays, flat serving platters, planter saucers. and wooden boxes that will work equally well for this project. Paint them white, black, or another neutral for a classic look or use a gold or silver spray paint for a touch of glam. You can even make plastic look like stone by using a spray paint designed to mimic the texture of real stone or pottery.