A Beach Inspired Centerpiece

Three simple elements -- sand, shells, and candles--fill green-tinted drinking glasses to make a splashy summer centerpiece.

Make your table look like you are at the beach with some inexpensive glasses, sand, shells, and candles.

1. Fill three to five green-tinted, short drinking glasses with sand, filling two-thirds full. Bags of natural sand can be purchased from Home Depot or Lowe's; colored sand is available at craft stores.

2. Shorten long candles to fit the glasses, if necessary, by cutting off the bottoms; stand up in the sand. Make sure you bury the candles deep enough in the sand to avoid their tilting or falling over.

3. Arrange shells inside the glass on the sand around the candles; line the glasses in a row, and scatter shells around the glasses in the center of the table. Decorative shells can be purchased at craft stores and party goods stores.

samples galore
this one is great - very inexpensive.