The Centerpieces

I have been in love with mason jars since before I can remember, and as we sat down to plan our wedding, we knew we wanted to be budget savvy.  So, I thought, mason jars! I had a tons of different types :: antique ones that had the glass and metal tops, newer ones that my grandmother and I had used for jelly, and a good amount of large ones that used the regular band and lid.  I pulled what I had, which was a couple boxes full... but I wanted more blue ones.  I have always really loved the look and feel of the blue ones, so I wanted to make them prominent in the decor.

Thus, our centerpieces became a community event - my mom, sister and Katie hunted for blue glass jars for a year.  Laura found us one large one when I visited her in Buffalo.  It was a lot of fun hunting for them, and every time I saw them, it was like Christmas - they found so many jars!

Mom and I had fun decorating some of them (you can see the old post here).  And some of them we left blank.  But there was something missing.  It needed a frame.

This is where my very talented co-worker Nick comes in!  He works with me at my group home, but he also has a shop in the South Wedge, called South Wedge Boards, where he designs and creates long boards and other random wood projects.  He also does some really creative furniture building - and he is always willing to help out people, which made him the go-to guy for this project!  He is always posting new things he has made and new ideas he has on their Facebook page, you can go here to see and "like" his work.

After some much planning, he helped me come up with a concept.  I knew I wanted to "fill out" the tables a little bit more, and that I wanted to bring a little warmth in, as well as texture.  So barn wood it was!

I think they turned out beautifully.  They were simple, and with an
extra napkin tucked in the bottom, it really completed the look.
It was the perfect size for the tables - and it really completed the
whole look.