We all know and love mason jars for their many crafty uses, especially for parties. They’re handy vessels for jams, fruits, lollies, iced tea, scented candles… and even for the centerpiece at your next get-together. This mason jar centerpiece can be as dressed up or down as you like, and it’s a fun opportunity to turn your creativity loose.

Maybe you need many small centerpieces for a wedding, or a themed centerpiece for a baby shower, or one brilliant centerpiece for an intimate dinner party. There are so many options for being creative with mason jars, no matter the theme. I put down a vintage tablecloth in soft pastels and used my mason jars for a ‘natural’ centerpiece created from native plants, seasonal fruit and eco-friendly utensils.

For this mason jar centerpiece, I used jars in different sizes, from the mini bottle holding straws to a large milk jug for the main vase. The conventional wisdom in decorating is that odd numbers of objects just look better – think clusters of three or five.

If you’d like a few tips about making your own memorable centerpiece, here are some suggestions:

The mason jars themselves are not the center of attention. They’re the supporting players to your leading stars: essential, but not stealing the show. I put all my jars to work holding utensils or greenery.Mason jars are cheap and unpretentious by nature. Embrace that! All the flowers were clipped from my own backyard. I kept it simple with eucalyptus leaves and branching kangaroo paws in pink and red.Keep your colors simple. Focusing on 2-3 colors will create visual harmony and a tighter theme. The strong reds and greens of the kangaroo paws determined my palette for me.Keep your materials simple, too. Using similar materials throughout will make the entire centerpiece, no matter how large or scattered, read as a unified whole. I used glass for the other vessels and serving ware, while my utensils were made from paper and wood – straws, cutlery, coasters made from birch slices.

Have fun with making your own centerpiece! I also used mason jars for serving up drinks, which in this case has a strawberry gin fizz in it, ready to go. Mason jars really are useful for everything!