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.

“Optional Image link: http://www.expressivecandles.com/emailnewsletter/votivecovers.jpg

info@expressivecandles.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Using Candles For Home Decorating While Entertaining During The Holidays

Candles bring meaning to many events in our lives, such as birthdays, holiday dinners, and religious celebrations. Candles add warmth, styl, and mood to every room in your home. Whatever the style of the candle, whether it’s lit or unlit, it could be a wonderful adornment to any room.

Before choosing how to use candles in your decor, it’s helpful to know what candles are made of:

1. Organic Candles - are non-toxic and biodegradable candles made of wax from palm and soy beans.

2. Paraffin Candles - Paraffin wax is the commonly used material in making candles because it can easily be molded into desired shapes.

3. Gel Candles - are jellylike candles that produce a rainbow - like shine when lit.

4. Aromatherapy Candles - utilize natural oils for a variety of benefits - to either calm or make one person more alert. The main purpose of aromatherapy candles is to induce the desired mental states for healing and relaxation.

5. Oil Lamps - usually composed of floating flowers within pretty glass bottles and produce different color of flame as desired.

Candle accessories:

Candle accessories are for candle enthusiasts with great taste for beauty and details. Homeowners with children and pets in the home would choose an electric candle rather than real flaming candles. Candle quenchers may be used to eliminate the bad smell resulting from extiguishing a candle.

Candles could beautify your house and set the mood or they can be a nuisance. To make the most out of decorating your house with candles, consider the following tips:

1. Combine candles of similar color with varying shade and of different shapes together. Remember, using odd number of candles is more aesthetically pleasing than using an even number of candles.

2. Align tapers of different sizes with the tallest candle on the center and place them at the center of any table.

3. Pick your favorite clear or colored bowl and fill it with water, then let some candles float on it.

4. Change the fragrance and colors of your candles with seasons and moods you desire or would like to revive.

5. Fill up your fireplace with candles to make it the centerpiece of the party.

6. Remember informal arrangement is more interesting than a too formal arrangement. Be creative.

7. Use unscented candles on the dining table so the flavor of the meals will not be overwhelmed by the candle’s scent.

8. Floating candles in a swimming pool creates a wonderful effect during an outdoor party at night. Just remember to take them out when the swimming session is about to begin.

9. Tealight Candles could be used as alternative to birthday candles.

10. Place Votive Candles on the coffee table to create a warm glow in the center of your living room.

11. Taper (dinner) candles will look nice on dining room tables and side tables.

12. Pillars will look nice when clustered together with various heights on a tray to create a centerpiece for the buffet table.

Successful candle decorating in the home is not complete without keeping safety measures in mind. You don’t want to fill your house with lit candles of magnanimous beauty only to find your house in flames. Here are some guidelines for using candles safely.

- Don’t place your candles beside the window or on combustible material.

- Remember to use non-flammable candleholders.

- Don’t let children or pets play with the flaming candles.

- Always trim the wrick to prevent smoking.

- Don’t forget to extinguish the candles when you don’t need them anymore.

Using candles allows for stretching your creativity in a neat way like no other form of decorating. Have fun with it!

David Arnold Livingston enjoys decorating his home,
especially during the holidays. He recommends the resource:
Flash Candle

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Close
E-mail It