How to make a trough centerpiece

Hello, I'm back from a short break. We got back home late last week and I had a million things to catch up on. Over the weekend I took my winter things down and started decorating for spring and Easter. We also celebrated Jim and Brian's Birthdays! I found an amazing carrot cake recipe in one of my old books and tried it, it was delicious! I will share it next week!

I love decorating and in the fall I started making wooden trough boxes that I could use to decorate for any season. I made mine for my house fairly large but wanted a smaller one that I could give as gifts and that I could use in my bedroom.

I used pine wood and my husband cuts them to the desired size. You need 3 long ones and two short for the ends. The long ones are 20 inches and the ends are 5 inches wide and they are 3 1/2 inches deep.

Next, using small nails hammer the wood together making the box.  

Next, I sand the wood very lightly to make it a little smoother for painting or staining.

I have my own secrete recipe for staining/painting these boxes. Take desired paint color you want your box to be. Then I take a plastic cup and mix 1/2 water to 1/2 paint. This makes a great stained look to the wood and dries quickly. I usually use a rag and dip in in the mixture and rub one layer on and let dry. I usually do about 3 to 4 coats to make it look like my finished centerpiece, it really just depends on how dark you want it. Within an hour it will be dried and ready to decorate! 

I used four small mason jars then bought some silk hydrangeas and some other little flowers to stick inside of them to bring out the yellow and white in the room. (They look like they belong in the flowers.) You can use any flowers or anything else to decorate the box with. It looks great on a kitchen or dining room table, a coffee table, or in a bedroom on a dresser.

This is one that I made my daughter, Jessica. She decorated hers for Easter and used pretty white mason jars she had at her wedding. 

Hope you enjoy this easy, low cost project that is also great for gift giving and that lasts all year long!