Nick's High School Graduation Party Centerpieces

The theme for Nicks party was "all about Nick." So we served foods and desserts that he loves and decorated with photos and artifacts that capture activities he enjoys, people he loves, places he has visited, etc.  To bring it all together we choose the phrase "These are a few of my favorite things"  The place it was most obvious is in the centerpieces.  My daughter dug up all the photos and we had a crafting day with her and her dear friend Charlene.  It was a fun day and the centerpieces turned out very cute.

I bought the metal pans at the dollar store and filled them with styrofoam I had around the house.  Then I covered the styrofoam with red glass or plastic marbles I had around the house.  I made signs in Power Point with the phrase "These are a few of my favorite things" and Charlene mounted them and attached them to bamboo skewers. If you are interested in using the same design here is an image of it.  The frame is made from free digital paper I found online.  It is sized to fit on 8.5 X 11 inch paper.  Feel free to copy and paste and print.

Since the tables were set outside, we added a pinwheel made from the coordinated free digital paper printed on card stock. The pinwheel added another shape and movement to the centerpiece.

Pinwheel made from free printed digital paper
with a different pattern and color on each side 

There are several web sites that give instructions on how to make pin wheels.  I like this one but if you want to check out different ways to make them just search on how to make a pinwheel. They can be made in all kinds of shapes but I wanted the classic shape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYNy5qNGHA

I made mine from a 5 inch square but 4 inch would work just as well and you can easily get 4 from one 8.5x11 inch paper.  I used plastic red beads that I had in my craft room and bamboo skewers.  Bamboo skewers are light weight, low cost and easily purchased at the grocery store but bamboo tends to split when you pierce it so I used a glue gun to secure the pin in place.

Red bead and glue gun glue on the protruding pin point secures the pinwheel

Jen made the flower pictures.  She put photos on both sides so diners could see the photo from each side of the table.

To make the flowers I cut toilet paper tubes into 1/2 inch slices and pinched them to get a pointed petal shape.  Then I painted the inside and outside of the petal with blue poster paint (cheap, easy to clean up and you make any shade by mixing basic colors). Jen glued the painted petals together and added the round punched photos.  I had some red sticks left over from another craft project but you could use the bamboo skewers here too.

In some of the centerpieces we added graduation gowns made from an origami pattern I found in an origami calendar I had from 2006.  Its a very cute pattern but took some effort because I used the same printed digital paper not origami paper.  Standard printing paper isn't the same weight and flexibility as Origami paper. So, if I had to do it all over again, I would make them from solid color origami paper that matches the color scheme. It looks better if whatever paper you use has a different color on each side of the paper. After I made them I added a skewer inside the gown with a touch of glue to secure it in place.  Here's the directions.

 

Jenny mounted double sided photos of Nicks favorite things on card stock glued to bamboo skewers.  These photos were between 2 and 4 inches square.

I also added some blue pipe cleaners wrapped in a spiral and attached to a cut skewer and bunches of blue feathers attached to a cut skewer.  These added some texture, color and in the case of the feathers additional movement in the wind. I chose these because I got a big bag of blue feathers for 50 cents and a bag of pipe cleaners for 10 cents at the thrift shop. These and the flower picture provided some contrast to the square and rectangular shapes of the photos and favorite things sign.

Nick has always loved legos and while he doesn't play with them much now, they were a big part of his entertainment as he grew up so we also added some legos to the center piece to give it some different texture as well.

Most of the elements of the centerpiece were photos of favorite books, DS games, characters, CDs, movies, sports or sports equipment, vacation spots, people, hangouts, work and volunteer places, etc.  You can add anything that is small such as ticket stubs from a favorite concert, favorite candy or gum, favorite or current car (in matchbox size). All of these gives guests insight into the graduate and adds interest to the centerpiece.

On each table we added a napkin under the centerpieces and dotted the napkin with glass marbles backed with graduation related images and phrases. Its not easy to see in the photo but I copied the eagles mascot and CV logo from Nick's high school web site, printed them, punched them with a one inch circular punch and glued them to the back of clear glass 1 inch marbles I purchased at the dollar store.  I also printed phrases like "Way to go Nick" and We're so proud of you.  I used wrinkle free clear glue to glue the punched circles to the glass but any glue that dries clear will work.

We added some tea lights in clear glass containers for the evening and a blue table cloth.  I had purchased a number of standard polyester table cloths in royal blue years ago for a shower I was hosting.  They provided a great backdrop for the centerpieces.

Hope this gives you some ideas for your party.  Have fun and be creative!!!