Here are some simple “can”-do ideas for decorating tables for special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, graduation celebrations, etc. I call them “can”-do ideas because they are based upon transforming spray-painted cans into decorative stands to accentuate tea-light or votive candles. If the occasion is planned well in advance, you should have time to save up the cans needed.

The short cans used for small cans of tuna and salmon or identical cans used for some brands of canned chicken work well. Otherwise, you could use small pineapple cans. However, I wouldn’t mix the small meat cans with the pineapple cans, since the pineapple cans have ridges and are a little taller. Separately, the sprayed cans, candle cups, and candles are not impressive, but together they make a good team. They create a center of focus on the tables. The little candle bases sparkle when you see them in person. The camera didn’t do justice to the color or the sparkle. I doubt that any of the guests at the event would say, “Aha! That’s a tuna can!” or “Aha! That’s a pineapple can!”

I think this idea originated from a centerpiece I made for a small family 50^th anniversary dinner. I took three different height cans and sprayed them gold. Then I placed three pillar candles on them and grouped them on top of a small, white linen-type towel that had some metallic strips running through it.

Could You Save Up Enough Cans?

You might be thinking, “Oh, sure! How would I ever save up enough of the small cans I would need?” Maybe it’s really pretty reasonable, if your event is going to occur a little ways in the future. And for a smaller event with fewer tables, it might not require many cans.

Tuna and salmon are often touted for their abundance of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are said to be important for human health. It should be noted that there are recommendations for limiting how much tuna you consume per week, due to mercury absorption by large fish higher up in the food chain. There is no limit suggested for salmon consumption.

I eat tuna sandwiches for lunch fairly frequently. A couple teaspoons of sweet or dill relish and some mayonnaise make for a quick spread, and pretty tasty in my estimation. Sliced olives are another option to the relish. I recall that my mom used to make a combination egg salad and tuna salad spread at times.

In some circles tuna casserole is currently considered “gauche” these days, but I confess that I still enjoy making my own version of it occasionally. I just make three cups of medium white sauce and add four tablespoons of white vinegar and some salt and pepper. You may want to use two of the small cans of tuna, if you prefer more tuna. A little can of sliced black olives is a good addition. Last time I used stuffed Manzanilla olives. I stir in some pasta, and voila! The leftovers are even better, when heated in the microwave with grated cheese on top.

I discovered six-packs of canned salmon at Costco. Thinking of salmon sandwiches takes me on a little rabbit trail of memory. Some years back we visited an elderly relative in a little farming community in Canada, who had recently remarried after losing his spouse. His new wife whipped up an impromptu lunch for us. She took some canned salmon and minced some onion and celery and mixed it into the salmon, along with mayonnaise and salt and pepper, for sandwich spread. It was delicious! Also, I have thought of making salmon casserole similar to tuna casserole.

I admit that I seldom buy canned chicken, but it probably is a good sandwich option I’ve neglected. Perhaps a little chopped red onion and some Dijon mustard mixed with the chicken and mayo and salt and pepper would be an enjoyable sandwich spread. Sometimes yogurt is used in place of mayo for chicken spreads. Sliced cucumber or avocado on top should be very appetizing. On an open English muffin, it could easily be an open-faced sandwich.

Don’t care for fish or canned chicken? I always keep small cans of pineapple on hand, to add to fruit salad. Not only does it add another fruit to my salad, but the pineapple juice keeps the apples from turning brown. I remember my mom often adding whipped cream to fruit salad. Pineapple juice avoided the fat in whipping cream that they later told us we should avoid and are now telling us we should have been consuming all along. (Sigh!) But I do enjoy the crisp taste of fruit salad in pineapple juice. It’s often a good contrast to the richer foods in the menu.

You could use small cans of crushed pineapple for a dip recipe I concocted for dipping green apples on St. Patrick’s Day. It could be used any time of the year, and not just for dipping green apples.

Preparing the Bases and Candle Cups

For the “can”-do ideas I’m giving here, I sprayed short cans thoroughly with gold paint. When dry, I sprayed a little bit of gold spray paint containing gold glitter on top of that, to make them glisten. No need to waste a lot of glitter paint on the top part of the can that will be covered by the candle cup. Focus on the sides.

You will, of course, want to reject cans with dents. The pineapple can I used had a side seam, but spraying the base coat a little heavy on that part should make it quite unnoticeable. You will want to wash the fish cans with warm, soapy water to make sure your guests don’t suspect anything fishy about the party. I used an SOS pad on the label glue of the fish can, to smooth it. (By the way, have you noticed that the cans once held 6 ounces of tuna but now hold only 5 ounces—thanks to “shrinkflation”?)

You will need a well-ventilated area to spray the paint and also a drop cloth, disposable tablecloth or newspapers, etc., to protect the area where you spray. I first tried spraying the cans on the floor, but I discovered it wasn’t easy to see how well I was covering them with the paint. It’s better to spray them on a table, if possible. (Be sure to buy a bright gold spray paint. Some golds are rather dull.)

Clear glass tea-light/votive cups similar to the one I used can be ordered online in certain quantities. Votive candles will last longer than tea-lights, but they require the tedious job of cleaning the wax out if they are to be reused. Tea-lights are much more convenient for reuse, but real tea-lights have either plastic or metal around them. You may or may not like the metal being visible in the clear candle cup.

I chose to use battery-operated tea-lights They have the appearance of being all wax. Now that flickering battery-operated tea-lights are available, I find them very appealing. You just flip a switch to light them, and you eliminate the fire danger. Some come with the button-cell batteries included, but you can also buy candles and batteries separately.

The table centerpiece ideas I am presenting below were designed with the popular 60-inch round or square table sizes in mind. However, all but Idea #3 could be adapted, as indicated, for smaller round or square tables or rectangular tables.

PLEASE BE AWARE: These decorations may not be suitable for outdoor venues where there may be a breeze or indoor venues in summer that have fans in lieu of air conditioning.

Four Simple Table Decoration Ideas Using These Candle Cups and Bases

Idea #1

This idea might be especially nice for weddings or anniversaries. You will notice that a white or cream tablecloth will create a very different effect from a contrasting tablecloth.

I cut 14-inch rounds out of some white gift wrap with a beautiful gold floral design. For a silver anniversary, you could use silver and silver glitter spray paints and find gift wrap with a silver design. You will want to make sure the design is multi-directional, rather than a one-way design. You should avoid thin paper and opt for a good quality paper.

I was able to buy this beautiful floral design at Hobby Lobby for a very reasonable price. This 30-inch-wide roll provided two 14-inch rounds per width. The roll was 144 inches (12 feet) long. Doing the math, it would provide about eighteen 14-inch rounds (cutting 15-inch squares to make it easier to cut out the rounds). Cutting squares, then cutting the circles out of them is much easier than trying to cut a circle on the roll.

IDEA #2

This is quite a simple idea. I bought some acrylic “crystal dazzlers” at Hobby Lobby in the florist wire area. The 16-oz. bag held about 400 pieces, a mixture of large and small pieces. Each table needs about 75 of the acrylic pieces, if they are similar to the ones I purchased. The total number of pieces in the bag(s) of “crystals” available to buy will help you calculate what it would cost to get enough for the number of tables you have. The 75 pieces filled about a half cup. Using a half cup to measure how much to use per table would make it easier to quickly scatter the right amount on each table.

If you want to find “crystals” to buy online, you might want to enter “acrylic diamonds” or “acrylic ice” or “acrylic chunks” in your search engine. I noticed that Hobby Lobby called it “crystal filler” online, because it’s sometimes used for filling vases.

This idea also utilizes 14-inch rounds of gift wrap. So a 144-inch (12-foot) roll of 30-inch-wide paper would provide about eighteen 14-inch rounds (cutting 15-inch squares to make it easier to cut the rounds). You can use regular gift wrap instead of metallic, but I discovered that colored metallic paper causes lovely reflections from the “crystals.” I’m sure many just scatter these artificial “crystals” directly onto the tablecloth, especially if they have lovely cloth tablecloths. A contrasting round does help to draw your eyes to the “crystals.”

*For smaller tables or rectangular tables, reduce the size of the rounds to 10 inches. You should only need 50 “crystals” (about 1/3 cup) per centerpiece. For rectangular tables use two or three centerpieces per table, depending on the length of the tables.

IDEA #3

If you’re a romanticist, you may like this idea. It would work for an engagement party, a wedding reception, or an anniversary celebration.

When you were in high school, did you have to memorize Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem called “How Do I Love Thee?” I did. Not that I remember much of it now. Since it’s a very old poem, it’s in public domain. There are no copyright restrictions. So why not borrow those famous first few words that you have probably heard at one time or another: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

Simply cut 15-inch squares from plain metallic paper or a multi-directional design paper. (Silver metallic paper with silver candle bases would be nice for a 25^th anniversary celebration or gold metallic paper for a 50th anniversary celebration). Using a 30-inch-wide roll of paper that is 144 inches (12 feet) long, you could get eighteen 15-inch squares out of the roll.

Print those words on some nice quality paper. I used cream-colored 8-1/2 x 11 card stock. (I believe I bought a package of 50 at Office Depot.)

For a printable copy of those poetic words, CLICK HERE.

Place your candle and base on the upper right corner. Then place a quill feather diagonally over the paper, as shown. I bought a package of ten quill feathers for a very reasonable price—once again at Hobby Lobby.

Notes for Idea #s 1, 2 , and 3:

(1) For Idea #s 1 & 2, I happened to have a 14-inch pizza pan that worked perfectly for tracing the 14-inch circles. You could also purchase a 14-inch (or 10-inch) cake board from Hobby Lobby to trace the circles.

(2) Take your time when handling the gift wrap. It’s easy to create wrinkles if you don’t exercise a little caution. That’s why you should avoid thin paper and use good quality paper.

(3) Always trace lines on the back of the paper, to make sure the lines don’t show.

(4) I had a little trouble with the pieces of gift wrap wanting to curl, after being rolled up for so long. They need to be flat for a period of time–maybe a few days or a week–in order to prevent that. You might place some books on the edges to be sure they flatten out. For the rounds, it would be much easier to cut 15-inch squares and flatten them before tracing the 14-inch circles and cutting them out.

(5) A clean pizza box might be the perfect way to store them.

(6) Don’t wait til the last minute to find the right paper and cut out the squares or rounds and flatten them. Early preparation avoids last-minute stress.

IDEA #4

This could be a very inexpensive idea. These decorations seem to say “Let’s celebrate!” All you need is colored paper napkins about 13 inches square unfolded, or about 6-1/2 inches folded, (often called “luncheon size”) and metallic gold (or silver if you’re spraying your candle base silver) curling ribbon. You just unfold the napkin, place it on the center of the table and smooth it out as much as possible, place the candle and base in the middle of the napkin, and scatter 16 ribbon curls around on the napkin.

Cut the ribbon pieces a foot long. Different brands of ribbon respond differently to your scissor edge. You have to experiment with how much pressure to use on the curling ribbon. You may need lots of pressure as you swipe the ribbon with the scissor edge, or you may need very little pressure to create the right amount of curl. It may help to pull on the ends, if it curls a little too tightly.

Sixteen pieces, each a foot long, equals 16 feet or 192 inches per table. That will help you decide how many spools of ribbon you would need for the number of tables you will have. The spools of metallic ribbon I purchased at Hobby Lobby contained 300 feet for a very low price.

*For smaller tables or rectangular tables use napkins about 10 inches square unfolded, or 5 inches square folded, (often called “beverage size”). You will only need 12 ribbon curls per centerpiece. For rectangular tables use two or three centerpieces per table, depending on the length of the tables.

In conclusion . . .

All of these ideas look better in person than in the eye of the camera. And of course they’ll look even better when surrounded by friends and family celebrating a special occasion. Hopefully you have plenty of time to save up cans, if you want to use one of these ideas for an event coming up in the future. Maybe a friend or relative will save some for you, too. Happy can-saving!