It’s stained!! Tomorrow we get the candles in and try it out! Stay tuned for that!! 4x4 candle 🕯holder in progress (1st one ever attempted see how this goes) #DIY #DIYcandleholder #woodworking #Stainedwood (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CD7ykdBpVkiRPZNFJjQkHpQ7vrf2cMyuoU1-7s0/?igshid=1nrry9nzbk666
4x4 candle 🕯holder in progress (1st one ever attempted see how this goes) #DIY #DIYcandleholder #woodworking (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CD7gwzwJkVmYkP_USt6jRZ_qKQDZ5FaKu4-56w0/?igshid=v9r2rk64sqlz
Are you fond of candles ? I love candles and don’t miss any opportunity to buy the ones with a good fragrance – especially the vanilla ones from Ikea.
As much as I love candles, I find, the hardened remnants of the candles after burning, quite annoying. Hence I thought up of a simple solution, to save my candle stands from repeated abuse by the excess wax clumps.
The raven haired beauty to the left of me is called Bridget (I'm not British but that phrasing rolled of my fingertips quite naturally). She frequently engages in creative projects relating to home improvement and possesses a similar life budget, so we are essentially craft soul mates.
Our aligned, craft-spirited souls allowed us to have a whole DAY dedicated to crafting, in which we completed two simple, cheap projects that we later found to be "interpretations" of some housewares in the Anthropologie holiday gift guide: lace motif painted plates and marbled candle holders, pictured below.
As a forewarning, ours don't look like those. Those look more professional and polished, and the price tag is in accordance with the aesthetic. I will say, however, that our crafts turned out nicely, and with glassware from the dollar store and three dollar Martha Stewart paints, we win the hypothetical budget war. I will also say that Bridget's candle holders turned out better than my lace plates, because she's just better, and because I approached the whole project pretty stupidly, mostly because I'm impatient. I'll tell you why after I display the good part of craft day.
Marbled Candle Holder
To make, purchase glassware from The Dollar Store or a thrift store, and purchase some glass or any surface paints from a craft store like Michael's. We went with Martha Stewart craft paints. You will also need some beads or marbles to roll around with paint in the candle holder. You can also get those at The Dollar Store, or cut up some tacky beaded necklace you don't wear anymore (I realize I might be the only one who has those.)
Start with this.
This step is optional, but you can thin the paints by pouring them into a cup and adding water. Bridget recommends doing so, as the marbled effect is more easily achievable when the paint is less viscose and more fluid.
Pour the thinned paints into the candle holder. You could stick with one or two colors, or get a little crazy and go with three or four. Just make sure they coordinate.
Throw the beads or marbles in the base of the candle holder, then roll them around by tilting and rotating the glassware. The marbles act as the paint dispersal mechanism, and also create the milky marbled effect, so this part is important.
After rolling the beads in the holder, dump them into a cup and admire your work. It should end up looking something like the holder pictured above.
Allow to dry, insert candle, light, and immerse yourself in the colorful ambiance. Or give them to someone as a gift and tell them to do the same.
Now onto the bad part of craft day.
Lace Motif Painted Plates
These turned out ok, but the whole process was unnecessarily difficult. First of all, the Martha Stewart line has a kit full of lace and patterned screens that make the entire craft an absolute cinch.
If you're me, you want to do the thing grassroots DIY and don't want to wait until you have the appropriate materials, which would be paper doilies rather than actual lace trim (Michael's was short on doilies). Not sure if you know this, but since lace is both partly woven and soft cloth, it doesn't make for a precise stencil. Instead, it allows for paint absorption and seeping. So my version turned out to be the charmingly imperfect version.
If you want precision, I recommend getting the Martha kit, or purchasing paper doilies and adhering them to the back of the plate with a weak adhesive (3M makes a good spray adhesive and can be found at almost any drugstore).
Now onto the photo instructions.
You should purchase clear plates, as you will be painting the back of them due to the paint not being suitable for eating surfaces. If you want to use them for display only, paint either side. If you want to use them as dessert or hors d'oeuvres plates, paint the back as to avoid toxin ingestion (Merry Christmas, your plate is adorned with inedible surface paint!). Wipe the surface clean with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover.
Next, secure the design on to the back of the plate. I did a horrible job of this, as I taped either side and hoped the thing would stay in place. Stupidity at its finest. As mentioned before, use a weak spray adhesive that will act to temporarily secure the stencil or design.
Choose your paint color.
Then paint the design by filling in the negative space. Since I used real lace, I had to use a tiny paint brush to get create even a semblance of the design. If you use a doily, you should be able to paint over the entire thing and still obtain the precise, print-like result.
Surprise! It's a mess! Another reason to use a doily. While this appears to be horrid, it is still salvageable.
I went back in and painted some of the detail by looking at the lace trim.
After you've finished painting, allow an hour to dry. If you used the doily method, you can remove the doily after the paint has dried completely.
I recommend sealing the design with a gloss or matte water soluble sealant like Modge Podge, or if you plan on soaking the dish in water at some point, use an acrylic sealer. If you use Modge Podge, hand wash the dishes and try not to douse the back of the plate with water or suds.
Well, there it is. One good craft, one bad craft, two good people wearing the same thing. At the very least, I hope that this 2-4-1 post has provided you with some DIY gift ideas.
