Simple Thanksgiving Centerpiece DIY: Silver Pinecones and Candles

Ever since I started DIY projects up again, I’ve been completely booked with “cut out this pattern” or “start the chain harness” or “paint the topcoat on the captoe heels” tasks on my to-do list, so when it came to Thanksgiving, I wanted something simple, chic, and modern. I’d thought about making little Mayflower ships out of shoeboxes, floral sytrofoam, and burlap sacks, but it just seemed like too much work. At the very least, I’d have to visit three or four stores to grab all the stuff! And with the big Tsgiving coming up, I knew I’d be at the grocery store often enough.

So coming home from one of my rare runs these days, I found myself standing nearly ankle deep in fallen, yet totally intact, pinecones on the side of the road I have to cross to get home. Having forgotten that pinecones are, yes, actually piney, I picked up several and took them back to the homestead to go into the shop.

The shop turned out to be a quick, yet blustery coat of spray paint on my balcony. I’ve always loved a modern metal take on classic symbols, and so I was inspired to coat these in silver spray paint to marry the two looks.

I really loved the way these turned out. It’s so simple it’s not even really worth a good how-to tutorial, but I wanted to share the idea with all of you, because it can take care of your centerpiece almost instantaneously, especially if you’re rockin’ some pine trees in the backyard and have a decent collection of spray paint. Silver’s a killer color to have hanging around the house anyway; I’ll paint nearly anything from nature (or Walmart) silver to give it a “I bought this from Pottery Barn” feel–including rad-looking twigs and cheap drawer organizers.

If you’re hosting your first Thanksgiving, and you want it to be modern and chic, rather than traditional and homey, this is the tablescape for you!

Make sure you spray the pinecone from all angles. If you only spray down, you’ll definitely miss the underneath of the scales, which will show if they’re standing upright. And make sure you protect your surface with newspaper or anything else you’ve got around the house! Unless you want silver grass..

If you can get several different sizes, great! This’ll add some dimension when you spread them out around the candles.

Once you’ve sprayed your pinecones and let them dry thoroughly, place your candles in the layout you’d like, then insert the pinecones around the candles. Stand some up straight, balance others diagonally, and let others fall on their sides. Play with different directions, so it looks sort of whimsical.

You could also try this with some oxblood spray paint, if you’re particularly up on trends, which would make the holiday just that much more chic, yes?