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Sunday, October 2, 2016

October 2: FALL Corn Candle Craft


It has been dreary where I live for several days now and, honestly, I'm getting kind of bummed about it. We had apple and pumpkin picking on our agenda for this weekend, but it's much too moist out there for those activities (plus? the place we usually go for our apples had a bad crop this year so we have to find another venue this time! AHHH. Fall crisis!)

I was going to try to make my own orange orbs this morning (aka-- pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes) but I've been suffering through insomnia recently and last night was a particularly lean one on the sleep front so I just didn't have it in me to deal with pancakes today.

And so, what to do? Besides a frantic google search on insomnia treatment tips, it seemed like a craft was just the ticket.

I found the idea for these festive candle holders through the Passionate Penny Pincher blog in a post about how to decorate for fall using supplies found at Dollar Tree. I didn't do mine exactly the way the original poster did--for instance, she used an etching technique on hers and made more holders and used tea candles--but I was certainly inspired by her craft to do my own riff on it.

It couldn't have been easier, and, all-told, cost me around $7 to make (not including the stencils and paint since I already had those on hand). I bought all my supplies--including the popcorn--at my Dollar Tree.

Allow me to take you step-by-step through what I did.

FALL Corn Candle Craft


Supplies:

4  3"x3" square glasses
4  votive candles (I got a 4-pack) or tea candles
2  20oz bags pop corn
acrylic paint in color of your choosing (I used a mix of yellow multi-surface satin paint and some orange plain acrylic paint since I wanted a shade that would contrast against the corn)
letter stencils (I had some around my house because my kids had a "poster-making kit") - if you don't wish to buy them, you could probably free-hand this if you are careful about it
paint brush (my photo above shows a sponge brush, but I changed course as I worked)

Instructions:

1. Tape stencils onto glasses.


2. Mix paint color on small dish (if applicable)


3. Carefully paint your letters. I ended up doing a few coats (without much drying time in between coats) to get a thicker layer of paint on there. Typically, I would have stressed about getting it perfect, but this time I embraced the idea of it being texturized and non-uniform. I thought, "Shouldn't it be a little rustic and homemade-feeling?" Then I thought, "Plus, you're going to put the finished glasses on the mantle so it isn't like people are going to be right next to it examining your somewhat shoddy paint job." That's a big departure for me. So just do it however you feel inclined to do it and I'm sure it'll look lovely.


4. Carefully remove the stencils. It doesn't have to be fully dry as long as you are careful not to touch the paint.

5. Fill your glasses with the popcorn, leaving about a finger-width's space at the top of the glass. (Luckily for me, that was right along the top of my lettering!) For the 3x3 jars I used, one 20oz bag of popcorn perfectly filled two glasses.


6. Nestle the candle into the popcorn.


7. Display and enjoy!

The original blogger etched other letters on the reverse sides of her glasses. I was discussing this idea with my mom, and we talked about me possibly painting NOEL in red or green on the reverse of these glasses and filling the insides with holiday potpourri or something like that. More bang for my seven bucks! haha.

The entire project took about a half hour, and that was with me stopping to photograph all the steps. Imagine how quickly you might be able to complete it if you, you know, just *do* it!

2 comments:

  1. This turned out great! I think it looks cool with the texture in the paint. I like the idea of painting letters on the opposite side. Not just more bang for your buck(s) but also less to store in the new year! You could also fill them with small beads, tinsel, or peppermints! I don't have a mantle but I may modify this idea for the table.

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    Replies
    1. Small beads! Yes- I love that idea. But the girls would probably steal and eat the peppermints thus revealing my double-duty holders. haha. I have a couple things in the works for table-top candle and/or jar decor. Stay tuned.

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