Candles

DIY Decoupage Novelty Candles and Tea Light Holder

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Looking for a great “personalized” gift that will keep you within your shopping budget? The holiday’s, and birthday’s can be tough, and it is more important than ever to get the most out of every penny. At the same time, It is also important to let those close to you know that they are appreciated throughout the year. I try to keep my ears and eyes open as to what matters to friends and family, by soaking in all of their interests and hobbies. I file these ideas away, and when I am trying to come up with gift ideas, I refer back to them.

As our extended families and circle of friends continue to grow, and the holiday’s become more and more about the children (As it should be, of course) It has become at times, a challenge to come up with gifts for friends and the adults in the family. This year, I decided to make personalized candles for some of those on my Christmas list. You can purchase candles anywhere, and they are reasonably priced. This year, I had many music lovers on my list, so I decided to decoupage some candles featuring the recipients favorite musical artists.   The possibilities are truly endless.  You can personalize and create any type of candle that you want.  For the non-music lovers on my list, I refashioned the candles with fabric, or with a family photo.  Making these is a simple process. I applied Mod Podge to the outside of the candle with a foam craft brush. I searched the internet for the images I planned to use and printed them out on my printer (the size of the images I used was 4×6) I trimmed the images to fit, and carefully applied them to the candles, smoothing any wrinkles. You can add Mod Podge over top of the image, but it is not needed. If you are looking for a shinier finish, you will need to complete this step. Once dry they are ready to be gifted!

Decoupage Candles

Rock N’ Roll Inspired Candles

\Grateful Dead tea light holder

Repurposed Candle made into a Tea Light Holder

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Character Fabric Fun: Star Wars Candle Made With Mod Podge

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Recently, I posted a kids chair project dedicated to the eternal kid in me.  A part of me that lives on despite my quickly advancing age. The chair was based on a favorite movie of my husband and I, The George Lucas Sci Fi classic Star Wars.  I always wanted to make an item dedicated to the classic movie, but I had no idea of what direction to go in. The thrift store circuit is hit or miss and lately I have been off the mark.  To pass the time, I have been browsing around a Joann Fabric store during my lunch break.  I tend to stay away because buying fabric in such a setting can get expensive. I like to keep project costs at the very minimum and recycle as much as I can.  Even when I chose only to browse I was often inspired by all of the fabric colors and creative possibilities.  All the choice and accessibility can be hard to resist!

It was to my amazement one day that I stumbled upon character fabric.  They have everything from Hello Kitty, Marvel, Family Guy, just to name a few, and best of all they had three different styles dedicated to Star Wars!  The fabric was a bit pricey ($14.99 a yard), but as luck would have it,  I was able purchase a large”scrap” piece for just under five dollars! I finally had my idea and “Star Wars Kid’s Chair” was born.

Star Wars Fabric Decoupage Kids Chair

What to do with the extra fabric?  I actually have quite a bit of it left, and I decided to use a smaller piece and make my hubby a Star Wars candle. Then it hit me!  With the holiday’s quickly approaching,  character candles made with fabric make fun gifts.  The best part about the candle is when lit it illuminates the characters and they glow, once again fun for the kid in all of us.

I purchased a few glass pillar candles from the dollar store and applied Mod Podge to the outside glass.  I trimmed a piece of fabric large enough to wrap the candle, but with minimal over lap. Any seams or overlapping of fabric will be visible once the candle is lit. I applied the fabric to the glass and applied a layer of Mod Podge over it to seal it onto the glass.  Allow to dry and it is ready to light!  Once the candle is used up, just remove any excess wax and drop a tea light in to illuminate it.

Star Wars Mod Podge candle chracter fabric

If  Star Wars isn’t your thing, no need to worry because with all the character fabric out there, you can make any novelty candle you like! May the force be with you….

Scrap Fabric Upcycled Candle/Tea Light Holders

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There is nothing I love more than decorative lighting and candles!  They help create a cozy, relaxing environment in any room and some candles are aromatic as well.  I especially enjoy the pumpkin and apple pie scented candles.  Once the candles burn down, you are left with the glass and some left over wax.  Sadly, these items often get discarded, but each of these can be restyled into decorative tea light holders using a bit of Mod Podge and fabric scraps.

First, I used a butter knife to carefully chip away at the leftover wax.  Once the wax was removed I used a damp paper towel to clean the inside.  I applied Mod Podge to the outside of the candle holder with a paint brush.  I cut a small piece of scrap fabric measured to fit the outside of the candle.    I wrapped the fabric around the outside of the glass and applied Mod Podge over top of the fabric to seal it.  These are simple to make and are a great way to recycle used candles and fabric scraps.

Recycled Candles made into decorative tea light holders

Upcycled Candle holders made with fabric and Mod Podge

A Manic Monday: Rock N’ Roll Themed Candles made with Mod Podge

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Anyone who knows me well, knows one thing: “I don’t like Monday’s!”  It’s always tough saying goodbye to the weekend and I always seem especially sluggish coming off the weekend.  As much as I love bigger projects, sometimes it is fun, and refreshing to complete a smaller, simpler one.  This craft seemed a perfect one to share especially on a rainy Monday.

I love Rock and Roll and am a big fan of music in general.  My husband and I were sitting around on a Saturday night, Watching “That Metal Show on VH1 Classic” kicking around ideas for projects. I thought it would be cool to make Rock and Roll candles.  The dollar stores sell long white glass candles. They are perfect and literally any image can be put on them with a little Mod Podge. We chose Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy images and printed them out 5×7 on photo paper.  We cut them out and placed them aside.

I applied Mod Podge Matte onto the glass.  I centered the photo and glued the image down. slowly smoothing out any creases. Once dry, I applied 2 coats of Mod Podge with a medium brush over top of the image to seal it.  If Rock N Roll isn’t your thing.  Any image will work so let your mind run wild.  Family photos, scrapbook paper, sports images- Maybe Monday’s aren’t so bad  after all!

Materials:

candles

printed image of choice

scissors

Mod Podge Matte Finish

thick paint brush

Image

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