Last weekend I had a dinner party to celebrate my husband’s 30th birthday. I wanted something fun and fallish to decorate the table and I had a vision of what I was looking for. One trip to my in-laws house and it was a reality!

I found a great piece of wood in the firewood pile that was flat on the bottom but had a nice curved bark-covered top. I brushed it off in the work sink with a heavy brush to get rid of most of the dirt and gunk. My mother-in-law sprayed it with some Clorox clean-up to make sure nothing was still living in it.

I hired my Father-in-law to drill holes in it. I measured my candles before I left home and they were about 7/8″ so he used that same size drill bit. We made sure they were deep enough and wide enough to fit a regular candle and then shook off the sawdust.

When I got home, I put in these great candles. I love that they look almost wood-like on their own. It was too drab as it was but with a little digging, I found these beads in my craft closet. They give it a nice touch for the fall season.

For Christmas I plan on laying some holly with red beads on the base. All in all, it’s a great centerpiece that literally cost me nothing!