Seasons > Valentine’s Day > Home Decorations > Valentine Centerpieces
Treasure Chest Centerpiece
Whether you are planning a quiet dinner for two, or plan to include the kids for your Valentine dinner, a treasure chest is an exciting option (especially for kids!) It only takes about 5 minutes to put together once you have gathered the materials. The only tricky part is finding a treasure chest--this one was a cardboard box that someone gave us cookies in. But all is not lost if you can’t find one--I have instructions for 3 different ways to make one. Layer a pink satin cloth, as a table runner, on top of a dark red tablecloth. Put the treasure chest in the middle, then pile on the beads and ornaments.
The Bling
The more shiny objects you can amass, the more luxurious it will feel. Rob your Christmas decorations for red and white ornaments such as strings of beads, hearts, or even curling ribbon. Often dollar stores (hundred yen stores) will sell hearts year round--just be creative about the sections you look in--party goods, wrapping paper, crafts, key chains, hair accessories, toys, and candle sections are all possibilities to find hearts. Of course, if kids are involved, they would love to discover foil wrapped hearts or cookies mixed in with the bling! Let’s face it, your husband is not really going to care about table decorations, so you may as well include the kids and tell them your love story--how you met and married.
Place Settings
If you have clear glass plates, you can make all kinds of designs from paper napkins by sandwiching them between a white plate and a clear plate. Simply cut up a few napkins and arrange the design elements in different ways on the plates. Here are 6 different designs from one napkin. You can give each guest their own design, but all the place settings will match because they are from the same napkins.
Flower Centerpiece with Felt Heart Table Runner
Keep the flower arrangement short so you can see each other across the table. Dress up a simple arrangement with felt hearts as a table runner. If you can find felt hearts and doily hearts at a dollar store (hundred yen store) this table decorating is as quick as it is inexpensive. If your husband brings you flowers, by all means use them as a centerpiece. But if he doesn’t, treat yourself! No one said the flowers had to be real--these flowers, along with the vase, are also dollar store specials. Every Valentine’s Day, I would pull them out of the box, and put them somewhere--sometimes as a centerpiece, and sometimes next to the bathroom sink. They made me smile every time I saw them, even though I knew they were fake. Even my gardening friend couldn’t tell they weren’t real!
Most men don’t realize how happy flowers can make their wives. So next year drop more hints, or just tell him how much you LOVE flowers. If you gush over the ones he brings you, he is more likely to buy them for you again!
Doily Hearts Place Settings
A dark table cloth will show off the doilies the most, but a pink tablecloth would look pretty, too. It may be easier to find paper heart doilies than crocheted ones, which will work just as well. You will need clear glass plates to show them off, and skip the white plates, unless you want a subtle white-on-white effect. To make a napkin ring, tie a bit of ribbon through the heart and around the napkin, and embellish the ribbon with beads if you like.
If you can’t find hearts like these, you can cut out your own (cut them out free hand, or use cookie cutters for patterns.) It is going to take a lot of time to cut out details, so you can save time by layering different colors and sizes of hearts instead.
Another option is felt place mats. Some dollar stores sell these around Valentin’s day. If you can’t find them there, department stores or specialty stores might sell them, but you will end up paying more for them. You can use them as place mats, or lay them down the middle of the table for a runner. Put them on top of a contrasting table cloth to accent them.
Doily Hearts Centerpiece
Make the whole table into a valentine with crocheted doilies or paper heart doilies. Scatter them down the middle of the table, and hang some for a centerpiece. This stand is made for hanging Christmas ornaments, so if you look for a stand locally, it may be easier to find around Christmas, but some gift shops sell them year round. The napkins folded like flowers are center stage here, but layers of detail add more interest with paper doilies under the plates and glasses.
Doily Hearts Centerpiece
This is a really quick centerpiece if you can find stiffened doilies (these were purchased as Christmas tree ornaments at a dollar store (hundred yen store.) If you can’t find any, but you do have crocheted doilies, dip them in a mixture of half water and half white glue and lay them on tinfoil to dry. You can drape them over a form or tinfoil scrunched into a shape and leave them until they dry. Cut out the centers and glue on bits of ribbon for more decorative accents. Any hanging heart shaped ornaments will look pretty hung from a Christmas ornament stand--they don’t have to be doilies.
1. Fold the 4 corners to middle of the napkin.
2. Flip it over.
3. Fold the 4 corners to the middle again.
4. Flip it over and fold the 4 corners to the middle again.
5. Pull out the 4 corners from behind to form the petals of the flowers.
6. Hold the middle points as you pull so you don’t lose the shape of the folded napkin.
7. You can leave the flower with 4 petals like this, or you can...
8. pull out the remaining 4 petals between the original 4 petals.
9. Put a candy cup in the middle of each flower.
Seasons > Valentine’s Day > Home Decorations > Valentine Centerpieces