LED Color Changing Flower Centerpiece

Most every year, I (Vicki) volunteer to decorate a table at my church’s Mother’s Day Tea. This year was no exception. We were given a list of requirements for the table which included a centerpiece featuring the use of light. Ideally, we were to use a candelabra. What? Who has one of those? Not me. I wanted to be true to the requirements so I went in search of a candelabra or candelabra type holder during my weekly Saturday yard sale run. I thought I had a good lead at an estate sale, but was too late as it had already been purchased. Now what?

I decided to use what I had on hand to create a centerpiece utilizing my Phillips Hue Go portable smart light. This light will light for up to three hours once charged. I figured that was just about right to stay lit for the duration of the tea.

Although this can be used as a centerpiece it also would make a cool Mother's Day gift for tech-minded moms!

For this project I used the following:

• Phillips Hue Go
• Wood Round Cheese Box, approximately 11.5" across
• (6) Silk hydrangea stems
• Copper Spray Paint
• Copper wire
• Glass Lighting Fixture Globe, opening measures about 10"
• Wire cutters
• Hot glue gun/glue

Spray paint the bottom of the cheese box. You will not need the top part. Let the box dry. The bottom will actually become the top of the centerpiece.

Cut apart the hydrangea. Cut the stems only, not the individual flower. Each cutting will have a number of flowers in each cluster. Also cut the leaves and save as you’ll use these as well.

Using the hot glue gun, glue clusters of flowers around the perimeter of the cheese box near the top edge. You will want the flowers to extend past the top of the box so that the glass globe will nestle into them which will hide the rim of the glass. Glue the flowers so that the individual cluster just touch. Don’t try to fill in all the spaces.

Once you’ve glued all around, go back and fill in with more flowers and leaves working to hide any stems.

I had some wire left over from a service call from the electrician so I made curled tendrils with it. I simply wrapped it randomly around a pencil and pulled it off.

I put the cheese box onto a wood platter, totally optional as it really doesn’t show.

Before placing the battery powered Hue Go on top of the cheese box, turn it on and set it to the color pattern desired. Since my centerpiece featured purple flowers, I set the Hue Go to cycle through pink to purple. Center the Hue Go on the cheese box.

Top the centerpiece with the glass globe. Add in the copper tendrils. I also added green moss to the bottom, but it could be left plain.

I used the remainder of my hydrangea clusters on the napkins and around the table.

That's it--a very simple centerpiece utilizing "found" materials and a little bit of smart home technology.

This centerpiece is versatile and can change with the seasons depending on what flowers you use and the color light scheme you choose.