Fall Centerpiece with Burlap Wrapped Candles

Fall is in the air.  The high temperatures around here have dropped about fifteen degrees in the past ten days.  It is finally cool enough to sleep with the windows open.  I love that!  The pleasant days and crisp nights have me longing for the familiar autumn decor that always makes an appearance this time of year.  To satisfy my need for spicy colors and texture, I made this quick and easy centerpiece. 

The basic idea of the centerpiece is one I'm sure you've seen before.  Take a tray or bowl, add a few candles, and fill in the gaps with an interesting filler material.  I chose to use a tray I purchased at Target many years ago.  The over sized colored acorns came from Hobby Lobby, the small twig spheres are from Meijer, and the pine cones were all collected by my girls over the past few years.

I added my own twist to the basic candle tray centerpiece by wrapping the candles with burlap. 

I got the idea from the latest Pottery Barn catalog.

Pottery Barn

I simply cut a piece of burlap big enough to wrap around the candle and overlap itself slightly, but a bit smaller than the height of the candle.  I've heard people complain that it's difficult to cut burlap in a straight line.  There's actually an easy trick that will ensure you get a straight line every time.  Just take your measurements and then make a small snip (about 1/4") at the edge where you want to cut.

Grab a thread from the cut edge and pull the entire thread out.

You'll be left with a straight line where you pulled the thread.  Use this line as your cutting guide.

Once I had my pieces cut, I just wrapped the candle in my burlap piece and ran a line of hot glue along the burlap as shown below:

To make the finished product more like the Pottery Barn product, I spray painted the burlap gold before attaching it to the candle, but the effect was hardly noticeably.  Perhaps it was the champagne shade of gold I chose.  The next time I try this I will use a bolder shade.

This festive centerpiece would be perfect for a small, casual dinner with friends.

As always, safety comes first.  Before wrapping your candles with the burlap, I recommend burning them for an hour or so.  That way, when you light them in the future, they will continue to burn downward where the original wax pool formed instead of burning outward.  Never leave these or any other candles burning unattended.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my first centerpiece of the season.  I hope you'll visit me again over the next few days as I continue preparing my home for fall.

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