Yep... just another one of the terms of endearment that my husband uses to describe me... what can I say, I love candles! As a matter of fact he doesn't just leave it at that, he adds (when telling people about my love for candles) that the house goes up 40 degrees when I light them. Whatever! He loves my candles and the warmth they give during the winter months is magical.
Candles really ARE magical! They are associated with granting wishes. Whether we burn candles while petitioning God or blowing out the candles on our birthday cake... those candles symbolize our prayers going to heaven. Yah, I'd say that's pretty magical!
So today I'm going to share some of the magic with a little craft project that I made a while ago. The pillar candle that I used is a PartyLite pillar candle. PartyLite is my candle of choice because they burn so cleanly and because the melted wax doesn't burn the skin... LOVE THEM! I also used some sale items I got at my local craft store. I picked up two bundles of what looked like dingey weeds that had some grapes attached. I think I spent about $1.50 for each bundle. I bought the hurricane lamp (vase) for about $10 and the wood base (it is literally a wood disc) for about $3. You can also use a plate for the base... I would recommend a thick plastic. Either way, make sure whatever you use as your base can hold glue easily without peeling. I first tried hot glue, but hot glue is a little too pliable for this project.
When this project is complete, the base (and the glue used) will not be seen once the arrangement is put together. I cut up the "weed" bundles, placed the hurricane lamp in the center and began gluing the greenery pieces to the wood base around the lamp. I ended up using Gorilla Glue. But be careful if you decide to use this glue; while the glue is super strong and pretty permanent, it does expand while it dries. It also dries to a very unattractive yellow color. So if you use more than a dab of Gorilla Glue, you are in for some problems. Luckily, I ended up with only one little streak of the glue that ran down one side and it can't be seen hidden under the foliage. Also, anytime working with Gorilla Glue, be sure to wear dish gloves and use a stick to apply the dabs of glue. This glue is very powerful and DOES NOT wash off... that's why I love it! The glue takes about a day to dry and dries pretty stiffly which makes it so the lamp can be removed, but the foliage stays stiff enough to keep the lamp in place.
With my kitchen having the "grape" theme... what started out as some dingey grape "weeds" turned into the perfect beautiful centerpiece for my table. Also, because the foliage is so dingey, I am able to coordinate this arrangement in just about any room of my home because the greenery is not "too" anything (green or purple or grey or brown). I hope you all have fun with this one. And if you're looking for other great candle centerpieces... here are some great ideas.
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