100 Layer Cake

Jillian came up with this super cute table number idea after dinner at a restaurant that had something similar on their tables. Such an excellent way to make cute, but inexpensive (and recycled!) numbers for your tables. Plus they glow and we all know that you positively cannot have too much candle light on a dinner table.

Here’s what you need to get started. The tin cans (obviously). We suggest stopping by a local restaurant and asking if they have any empty tin cans they could part with. Just tell them you want them for your garden or something… no need to go into the whole story, you know? The nice thing about commercial cans is that they’re way bigger than regular soup cans from the store.

Then you’ll need:

drill (with an appropriately sized bit)
gold spray paint
tape
candles
a ruler
letter size colored paper
spray mount
exacto knife
cutting mat
and your number stencils, which you can download here.

Step 1: Tape off the inside of your cans so no spray paint gets inside. Spray the outside of each can with the gold spray paint (or any color you like). Be sure you don’t hold the spray can nozzle too close to the tin can, which can make for drippy, runny lines down your pretty table numbers and no one wants that.

You may need to do two or three coats depending on how opaque you want to the color to be.

Step 2: Once your cans are dry, wrap your printed number stencil around each tin can.

Step 3: Drill. Yay! Start by drilling the outline of the number first (following the stencil line), and then work your way in. It certainly doesn’t have to be perfect, but the more holes you can drill, the more light your can will give off.

Step 4: Slide your colored paper into the can on the opposite side as the number. Mark the paper with the appropriate height and width (you don’t want it to cover your numbers. Next trim the paper to the correct size using your cutting mat and exacto.

Step 5: Spray mount the trimmed paper to the inside of your can (opposite the number). And you’re done! We used red paper but you can of course use whatever color you like. If you’re using a color you’re not sure about, consider doing a test can first and lighting it that night to make sure you like the look before you finish the rest of your numbers.

Voila! Pretty, recycled table numbers.

Download the number stencil template here.

We love the simplicity of mix and match vintage mason jars as centerpieces on a rustic tablescape. But finding enough of those jars feels like a part time job in itself, with the scouring of ebay and the trips to thrift stores and flea markets. So we started thinking about all of the lovely food items that come in vessels that would be perfect substitutes for vintage glassware. Having cupboards full of this sort of thing ourselves, we love using them for vases around the house. And it seems reasonable that one might be able to save enough of these during the course of a year of wedding planning to fill your reception tables.

We chose a few of our current favorites here, but if you cruise the aisles of your nearest Whole Foods, you’ll find lots more. And you can always supplement your finds with cases of simple quart and pint size mason jars.

We used Spega La Natura yogurt (available at Whole Foods and Trader Joes), Saint Benoit Yogurt (available almost exclusively in the Bay Area, though we did recently find it at the Venice Whole Foods), and Straus Family Creamery quart and pint size pitchers. But there are tons of other products (like french mustard crocks and pasta sauce jars) that would be perfect for this kind of project… once their labels are removed.

Spega yogurt jars are absolutely perfect tea light holders. These don’t even need any further explanation. And the St. Benoit yogurt crocks make nice little succulent planters, but they could easily be used as vases too.

And then the big jars. This is where it gets fun.

We wrapped ours in scraps of quilting fabric and detailed them with different ribbons and trims. SUCH an easy project and one you and your bridesmaids (or crafty friends) could do well before the wedding. We love love love using varied patterns and textures within the same color family all mixed up together. Plus if you dress up your jars you can probably skip expensive flowers and use a few stems of simple blooms and greens instead.