There’s something lovely and calming about the soft flicker of a candle flame. Candles are one of those basic items of decor that never seem to go out of style and that’s because they are so adaptable and so affordable.
Personally, I use candles in many shapes and forms all year through, but I especially like to use them when transforming my home for the festive season.
The key to decorating with candles is to vary their height and stick to one colour. Cluster several candles on a shelf in front of a wall mirror, or use a small mirror as the candle tray – this doubles the glow.
Here’s a few hints on how to get the most out of your candles:
· Place them in the refrigerator an hour before use, and they will burn longer.
· The first time you burn a candle, always burn it for one hour for each inch of diameter, and you will avoid the hole in the middle, wick disappearing trick!
· If you buy scented candles, always smell the bottom of the candle. If you only get a strong scent from the top, they have probably only been dipped in scent, and you will be disappointed.
· Finally, if your candles smoke, trim the wick to 6 mm before burning.
Today’s tutorial - Large church pillar candle pot
This week I made several of these large pillar candle holders for both myself and to give as gifts.
This simple pot can be made very quickly, yet it looks stylish and totally chic. A row of these along the centre of a Christmas dining table would be very effective too. If giving as a gift, it looks lovely wrapped in clear cellophane and tied with a big red bow.
Materials:
Paint your pots inside and out with several coats of white paint.
Rip up small sections of vintage paper and using the Mod Podge, adhere around the upper rim of pot.
When the pot is dry, insert candle.
Twist some fir needle greenery around the base of the candle. I also attached a sprig of holly and some glittered berries to the greenery.
Giveaways
Our Wednesday giveaway was gifted by the lovely Linda at Lilly Cottage.
The winner in her bunting giveaway is Allison of Allison Gibbs blog.
· Anna at Anna Rosa Designs
· Tracey at Tracey Jane Designs
· Jennie at Posie Patchwork
During the week I managed to visit everyone’s blogs to see what wonderful Christmas activities were taking place. Please know that I love visiting you all but given the amount of blog visits I made, it just wasn’t possible to leave comments on every blog. Gosh imagine if I did, I’d still be typing and writing word verifications this time next week [giggle].
Anyhoo, I have some very clever and festive followers out there, so I thought I’d share with you a few inspiring links from this weeks posts:
· Kathryn has made a lovely paper Christmas wreath
· Natasha has pretty fabric wreaths
· Vikki shares some of her Christmas project finishes
· Julie has been busy making Christmas cards and also shares a great recipe for Peppermint creams
· Crafty Smiles has been making Christmas presents
· And finally, Diane from Side Road Stitcher is getting in the Christmas mood with some beautiful stitching.
If you have only recently stumbled across ‘Simply Christmas’ and would like to play along with all the festive fun, simply add my button to your sidebar and let me know you are participating. I will add your link to the Participants page so we can pop by and visit you too.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and to my US friends ~ happy Thanksgiving.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne
