Four Apple Centerpieces

Welcome to the First Day of Apple Week!  

Since getting inspiration from a local Apple Butter Festival, I decided to dedicate this week to different ways to use apples in any upcoming Fall party!  Today is all about:

Centerpieces are great ways to add decor to a table during a party or a dinner for two!  Also, if you need a place to put those apples you just picked, here is a great way to store them with a bit of class!

Using apples as a centerpiece or display is super easy and relatively cheap:  all you need are apples, something to put them in, and a bit of creativity.  Below are a few set ups I came up with, by just using a few things I had laying around the house.

1.  Cake Stand/Punch Bowl

I found a cake stand/ punch bowl in my cabinets and started filling up the bowl with apples.  If you have one of these in your house and you aren't housing cake in it, I suggest using it as your centerpiece!!  The first attempt of this idea wasn't as "bountiful" as I wanted, so I took a bowl and put it upside-down in the middle of the bowl to take up a bit of room (is this cheating or just using resources wisely?)  

I also cut out a few free hand shapes that looked like leaves (or at least as close as I could get to leaves).  You could use a Cricut (or any other paper cutting machine) to get these shapes, or even use real leaves if you have any in your yard!

2.  Small Wood Crate

I have a few small wood crates sitting around my craft room holding ribbon and waiting to be used in just the right craft project.  I decided to dump out the ribbon and try the box as a centerpiece.

I tried this set up without leaves and with a few of my hand crafted leaves, which do you like best?  Sometimes the leaves add a bit of color that a centerpiece needs!  

3.  Wire Basket

Remember this basket from the food cover how to?  It came in VERY handy while trying to make a centerpiece!  Again, I found the plain apples a bit boring, so I added an orange flower from a bouquet that I had sitting around.  I think it adds a bit of fun to the piece, don't you think?

I also like this set up because even if you use a few of the apples, the wire basket still holds its character without being over flowing or full!

4. Flower Store Vases 

I really wanted to make at least ONE centerpiece that I thought that everyone could create without having to buy anything.  Most people I know have at least ONE of these vases that you get with a bouquet of flowers in their home.  I just piled in the apples, laid a couple apples around (and used that flower again) and Voila!  Instant centerpiece!

Note:  Putting apples in a container with hard surfaces may cause bruising!

I had A LOT of fun putting together center pieces!  Some of them were beautiful, and some were just plain UGLY!  Have you ever experimented with using apples in a centerpiece?