Butterfly candle holders are easy to make and a great gift idea. The materials are very inexpensive, and you can use your imagination for a variety of designs. To get started, you will need:
Small glass candle holders
Butterfly wrapping paper
Yellow
tissue paper
Decoupage
Cuticle scissors
Small paintbrush
Damp paper towel
You can buy whatever glass candle holders you like (or use some you
already have laying around). I bought mine at Wal-Mart for about $0.59.
You could also find them at thrift stores or yard sales.
I chose
butterflies for my design, but you could choose whatever design you'd
like--maybe keeping in mind the tastes of the person you're making them
for. You can cut out pictures from anywhere, including calendars,
greeting cards, magazines. Thin paper decoupages best.
After you
have some pictures in mind, use cuticle scissors (the kind you cut your
fingernails with) to cut out the pictures. These scissors work best on
small pictures and cut rounder corners than regular scissors. If you're
not going to use the pictures right away, store them in Ziploc bags.
You can buy decoupage at any craft store. It is normally found with
the glue. It allows you to permanently affix a picture to another
object, giving the object an overall glossy effect. Make sure the glass
you're working with is clean. Tear a piece of tissue paper into small
(approx. 1 inch) pieces. Using the paint brush, brush some decoupage on
to the back of one of the pieces of tissue paper. Position the tissue
paper on the glass and then brush some more decoupage on top of it.
Continue gluing on pieces of tissue paper, overlapping at the edges,
until the entire candle holder is covered (including the bottom--set the
candle holder on its top to dry). Brush one last coat of decoupage over
the entire candle holder. Use damp paper towel to wipe off any excess
decoupage.
After the decoupage has dried for about an hour (or
more), position the butterflies (or other pictures) on top of the tissue
paper. First brush some decoupage on the backs of the pictures and place
them on the glass. Brush another coat of decoupage over the entire glass
and set the candle holder on its top to dry again. After the decoupage
has dried, add 2 or 3 more coats of decoupage after each coat has dried.
That's it! These candle holders are only limited by your
imagination. Use different colors of tissue paper and a variety of
pictures for different themes. You could make these with holiday themes,
like for Christmas or Easter. They also make great birthday presents,
hostess gifts, or party favors. They are very easy to make and you can
make several of them at one time.
Copyright 2001. Rachel Paxton
is a freelance writer, mom, and owner of four home and family web sites.
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