Vintage Picnic Basket Centerpiece

Vintage Picnic Basket Centerpiece

Remember the days when picnics were packed inside picnic baskets like this one?  Fried chicken… potato salad…  raspberry pie…?

Well, to be totally honest, I don’t remember it either, but I think there was a time when folks did things with out plastic coolers, right?  It sounds lovely, but we better skip the potato salad.  No mayo could ever tolerate the heat going on up here in Michigan, that’s for sure.

So, this vintage picnic basket has been in our family for over 40 years.  I remember my Mom packing it up with sandwiches & drinks for the beach.  Here’s a photo of my brother & I during one of those fun days:

My big brother Bobby is no longer with us, but I sense that he’s not far.  I’m not positive the picnic basket made it on that trip, but you get the idea.  The picnic basket holds a lot of good memories for me, so it’s very special.  When my Mom gave it to me recently, I couldn’t wait to get it home and repurpose it in some fashion.  By repurpose, I don’t mean paint, or change.  No way, this basket will stay the way it is.  However, I wanted to try something pretty with it.

Introducing my “Vintage Picnic Basket Centerpiece”…

This honestly turned our way prettier than I imagined.  It has that “country-chic” vibe going for it.  I think it’s the black mixed with the yellow that does it.

Those are real sunflowers I happen to come across for $7 bucks.  Isn’t that crazy?

This idea is so simple it literally took me 15 minutes to set up.  The hardest part was cutting the sunflowers because they are rather thick.  (See where to purchase all supplies to make this centerpiece at bottom of post.)

The first thing I did was tie some wide black ribbon through the opened flaps so that they would stay open. Then I nestled a little black & white checkered fabric inside.  I used 2 yards.  Next, I found 2 large vases-one for each side and I placed them inside filling them with water.

Lastly, I gently tucked real sunflowers into the vases (faux sunflowers will look pretty too).  My little secret is the green part.  Can you tell what type of leaves those are?  I needed a “filler” so I went outside to see what I could find.  My hydrangea bushes were calling my name so I clipped a couple stems and they made a beautiful filler.

It’s like they were meant to be together.

I ended up pulling some of the fabric out just for a little more drama.

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This Vintage Picnic Basket Centerpiece lasted for about 1 week.  Everyone loved it, and it would be pretty for any occasion, fancy, casual, inside, or out.

Here’s where you can find the supplies to make one yourself.  It’s up to you what size you want, and maybe you already have a basket?

SUPPLIES

White Picnic Basket

Black & White Gingham Fabric

Glass Vase 

Black Ribbon

Faux Sunflowers (I used real)

Wait!  There’s more thrifty styling going on today and you can view all of the Thrifty Style Team’s projects below…