How you can entertain your family

Embossed Votive Holder Shade

Create the look of a Stained Glass Votive Holder

Supplies Needed:

Most items can be found in the Scrap booking/Stamping section of your local craft store.

Straight-Sided Clear Glass Votive Holder

Vellum

Craft Markers of various colors

Hole Punch

Decorative String

Embossing Powder in your choice of color

Versamark Ink Pad

Embossing Heat Tool

Scissors

Tape Measure or Ruler

1. Measure the height and circumference of your Glass votive holder with a tape measure or ruler. Use these measurements to cut out a piece of vellum. It is important to make sure that the vellum does not extend past the top of the votive holder because this will increase the risk of a fire hazard.

2. After you have planned your design with your stamp(s), use the Versamark ink to stamp the design onto the vellum. At this point the design will be clear.

3. Now sprinkle the embossing powder onto the stamped design. Turn the vellum upright and make sure all stray powder has been shaken or tapped off. Also make sure that your entire design has been covered in powder. You will be able to see this because the embossing powder will stick to the design that you stamped with the Versamark inkpad.

4. Use your Embossing Heat Tool to heat the powder. But be careful because the heat tool can get VERY hot! You will now have a beautiful raised design of the stamp you chose! Let cool for 1-2 minutes.

5. Now you can just color inside of the design on the opposite side of the vellum. Darker Colors look better for this as they give a bolder appearance when the candle is lit. Allow to dry for aproximately 5 minutes or the colors may smear.

6. Finally, use your hole punch to make holes in the center of the shortest sides of the vellum. Run your string through these holes and tie around your votive holder!

And, VOILE! A One-of-Kind Votive Shade that was fun and inexpensive to make! You can find more candle decorating ideas at www.ExpressiveCandles.com

About The Author

This Article was written by Michelle Gauthier of www.ExpressiveCandles.com. Michelle owns and runs Expressive Candles. They offer hand poured scented candles and shaped tarts. Michelle also has written other candle decorating articles, tips and candlescaping articles.

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info@expressivecandles.com

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A Brief History of Candles

For centuries man’s progress has been lighted by candles. However, people know only very few things about the origin of candles. It has been written that the first candles were made by the Ancient Egyptians. They used rushlights, or torches, made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in molten tallow. Unlike the candles, the rushlights had no wick. The Romans were the ones who it is said to have developed the wick candle. They used it to help travellers at dark, and to light homes and places of worship during the night.

America’s first contribution to candle-making was made by colonial women who discovered that if they boiled the grayish green berries of bayberry bushes they got a sweet-smelling wax that burned clean. But it was extremely tedious to extract the wax from the bayberries so their popularity soon diminished. The first important change in candle making since the Middle Ages was bought by the growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century. Spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil, was available in large quantities. The spermaceti wax, as well as beeswax, did not smell unpleasantly when burned. Even more importantly, spermaceti wax was harder than tallow and beeswax and it did not soften or bend because of the summer heat. Historians write that the first candles as we know them were made from spermaceti wax.

During the 19th century, people made most of the changes in candle making. In 1834, Joseph Morgan, invented a machine, which allowed continuous production of candles by the use of a cylinder, which had a movable piston that ejected candles as they solidified. Today, they are no longer a major source of light for people, but candles continue to be very popular and useful. Candles mean celebration, romance, ceremony, and can be an object of d

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Unique Tin Can Candle Holders

Ah yes the good old Tin Can. The tin can has been around for years, providing many different projects to be made from tin cans. They are one of the most versatile mediums for crafts, besides wood and foam. Best part about them, they are cheap. Tin cans can be used to make all kinds of candle holders, providing a unique touch to your home or garden. In this article, we will share some ideas on how to make interesting and unique candle holders out of tin cans.

There are two primary size tin cans, soup cans and coffee cans. Both offer a wide variety of different craft ideas. Tin cans can be cut, punched, painted, weathered and modified in multiple ways. They can be set on top of a table or hung out in the garden.

Let’s start with the basics. Most people will decide to punch holes into the can, which is the easiest. However you can use any type of cutting tools. A drill is handy, but even better is a Dremel tool. But for those who will be using a hammer or even a drill, let’s start there. Before you start anything, fill the can with water and freeze it. This will allow you to punch holes easier, with out bending the can.

It always helps to have some kind of plan or design in your head or on paper. In fact drawing the design out on paper allows you to modify it and then tape it around the tin can as a template. Think about weather or not you may want to paint the tin can or weather proof it for outside garden use.

One example of a design is a simple western motif. Download of a silhouette graphic of a dog howling at the moon. With the Dremal tool cut out the scene on the tin can. After painting it black and punching two holes at the top, you can hang it in a garden. Simpler designs would include punch out designs such as creating a bunch of tiny wholes to create a night sky effect. Patterns also look great.

Once you have cut out a design, painting time can finish the look of your candle holder. Allot of times I’ll choose black, because the light will shine through better at night or in a dim room. A light blue and white to match your kitchen d

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