• Steamboar centerpieces can coordinate with a variety of themesdampfschiff image by Otto Durst from Fotolia.com
  
  Whether you are decorating for a child's party or an adult event, there are a variety of ways to create a steamboat centerpiece. Homemade centerpieces carry the event theme to the tabletops and help unify the decorations. A steamboat centerpiece even can incorporate candles or flowers.
  
  

Floating Steamboats

• Find a clear glass bowl that is shallow and wide. This can be purchased at most craft stores, usually in the floral department. Put blue and clear fish tank stones or marbles in the bottom of the glass dish, then fill it with water. Buy either small steamboat-shaped candles or small toy steamboats. Depending on the size of the glass bowl, you can float two or three in the bowl. Small toy steamboats are ideal for a child's party because the toys can be given away at the end of the party. If steamboat-shaped candles are chosen, light them right before the party. Although the candles will float, the longer they burn the more they will sink into the water.
  
  

Papier Mache Steamboat

• Inflate an oval-shaped balloon. A bee body balloon–the kind used for making balloon animals–is ideal for this project. Cut out four pieces of triangluar-shaped cardboard. Use masking tape to attach two of the triangle-shaped pieces of cardboard to the front and two the back of the balloon, creating a point at each end. Go over the pieces with plenty of tape, so they stay in place once you start adding the wet papier mache.
  
  Prepare papier mache paste by mixing one part flour with two parts water. Dip strips of newspaper into the paste and start covering the bottom half of the balloon along with the cardboard. Since the finished project will be an open boat, you don't have the put paper mache on the top half of the balloon. Add several layers of the newspaper strips, so that the shape doesn't collapse when you deflate the balloon.
  
  After the papier mache is dry, deflate the balloon and pull away any balloon fragments. Glue a paper towel tube to the inside of the boat, so that it is standing up out of the boat. Allow plenty of time for the glue to dry. The paper towel tube will be the smokestack. When the glue is dry, paint the boat and smokestack. It may require two coats of paint to completely cover the newspaper and the cardboard. After the paint is dry, fill the boat with dried or fake flowers, candy or snacks. Either way, the boat can be filled and placed in the center of the table.
  
  

Steamboat Collage Vase

• Collected a variety of steamboat pictures. Glue the pictures to the outside of a coffee can so that the entire can is covered. Overlap the pictures so there are no blank spots and they create a collage. Once the can is covered, cover the entire can with a decoupage sealer. This will seal the outside so the pictures do peel off or get ruined before or during the event. The sealer also will give the vase have a more finished, shiny.
  
  You can use the can as a vase and fill it with flower, or use it as a candleholder. If you want to use it as a candleholder, fill it up three-quarters with sand so the candle sits higher to the top of the can. Another way to make the can a candleholder is to poke small holes in the sides of the can and place tea lights in the bottom. The light will shine through the holes in the can.