Me

Me

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Homemade Christmas Decorations: Candles

I have spent a few hours today 'crafting'. A few things have been made for tomorrow (I'm hosting a thanksgiving dinner for some close friends and a few things for Crimbo.
I love homemade gifts and decorations, it makes Christmas seem more magical to me! So here are some things I made today!





You will need:

Candles of varying sizes (Poundshops, supermarkets, charity shops usually have church candles at low prices)
Pipe cleaners (festive colours)
Spices/dried fruit (I used Star Anise, Cloves and Cinnamon sticks)
Old Christmas Decorations


-I started with my Spice Candles. Put elastic bands around your candle where you want the spices to 'sit'.
Then arrange the spices making sure they are as 'flush' as they can be against the candle. Add more elastic bands if you need it to be tighter to ensure contact is made.
- Then pop the candle in the microwave for 15 seconds. Take out and press the spices against the candle.
Heat for another 15 seconds and then press again. Then leave the candle to cool. Once cool cut the elastic bands off and the spices should be stuck against the candle. If any fall off or are loose, use a lighter or a match to heat the surface and then press in spice again.


- Next I tore apart old Christmas decorations, little foliage things and arrangements and used pipe cleaners to secure them in varying patterns against the candles.

- For some smaller items like the vine candle, I scored lines where I wanted the leaves to go and then heated with a lighter to make soft. I then pressed the leave stems into the scored line until the candle had cooled down. The berries were easier to do as they were on wire stems. So taking care not to burn myself! I heated the end of the wire and pushed it into the candle easily.



And there we go! A cheap alternative to the foil rubbish you seem to find in many Christmas shops or supermarkets! And it will make a lovely table decoration or centrepiece amongst your other decorations in this festive period.


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