Thrifter Upcycles A Pumpkin Dish Into An Elegant Centerpiece Addition

While fall centerpieces are a delightful way to celebrate the season, you might not want to dedicate hours designing elaborate flower arrangements or lush pumpkin and gourd garlands. And scattering faux bones and evil-looking skulls might be too macabre for certain settings. Now, you can steal fall tablescape ideas from Instagram, but they might not be feasible if you aren't willing to spend much money or abhor consumerism. Find yourself in a similar situation? Thrifter @kenziemariehome upcycles a pumpkin baking dish into an elegant candle and places it in the center of their tablescape to boost its aesthetic appeal.

Besides being incredibly simple to DIY, this centerpiece addition idea is economical, too. You just need to thrift a pumpkin dish. Sometimes, you might get lucky and even manage to snag one for free on Facebook Marketplace or your local Buy Nothing group. As for the wax, the creator uses sand or pearled wax, such as Sukh's 15-ounce pack. Though these alternatives are generally reusable and are available in multiple colors, the initial costs can be high if you plan on making a few centerpieces (especially if your pumpkin dishes are large). To keep things budget-friendly, melt leftovers from your previous candles or buy an inexpensive candle (Dollar Tree sells a six-pack of Luminessence White Unscented Candles for $1.25) and melt it. Save their wicks as well to avoid buying extra. That being said, it's best to use candle sand for thrifted glass dishes since they might not be able to withstand high temperatures from heated candle wax. Get ceramic pumpkin containers if you want to put your leftover wax to use.

When you have everything, pluck the unsightly stickers (your heat gun or hair dryer can come in handy here) from your thrifted pumpkin dish and give it a soapy water bath. Once it dries, pour in some candle sand and adhere your wicks in place. Add a few drops of your favorite autumnal essential oil if you like and your candle centerpiece will be ready for display.

For ceramic ones, set up your double boiler and put in small chunks of leftover wax from your previous candles. Once it melts, add a few drops of liquid candle dye or food coloring to give your centerpiece a color you like. You can even break your old crayons into tiny bits and throw them into the boiler to lend the melted wax a gorgeous hue. You can also add some essential oil at this stage. Now, stick a few wicks to the bottom of your container and pour in the melted wax.

Let it harden before heating the top layer a little (your hair dryer can do this) and sprinkling in autumn mainstays, like cinnamon sticks, and styling dried florals to give your handmade candles a boutique look and feel. But ensure you add them toward your dish's edge, or the petals may catch fire. For a truly high-end finish and to DIY a stunning centerpiece, pour some wax into pumpkin- or maple-shaped silicone molds, like KVCSYAW's 7-piece Pumpkin Candle Mold set, and set them around the edge of your candle.