Waste Paper Bin Challenge: Jam Jar Candle Holder

Hi everyone, happy Saturday from Wexford, Ireland!

Are you ready for this weeks Waste Paper Bin Challenge? Of course you are, we are getting good at this now. It's a really pretty one this week too - Jam Jars Candle Holder

Here are the supplies you will need:

1. Wash your glass jar in warm water and soap to get rid of the labels and food. If you jam jar held a strong smelling food and still has an odour lingering it a little trick to eliminate it is to rinse it out with a mixture of mustard powder and water. You can use any kind of glass jar for this project but the more unusual ones have the prettiest effects. I chose this jar that used to have tomato relish in it

Next, chose some scraps from your waste paper bin. The great thing about this project is that you can use even really tiny pieces of paper. 

Use your paper punch to punch out shapes from the scrap paper. Any small to medium punch will work fine but I find the mini punches work best as they produce a confetti size punch. I used a mini love heart shaped punch.

Once you have as many punched shapes as you are happy with, it is time to apply glue to the glass jar

Now, I would advice that you use a glue such as Mod Podge for this project as it is designed to be used on many surfaces for decoupage. Mod Podge can be quite expensive so you can make a variation of this yourself by mixing equal parts water with a white glue such as PVA. It won't be exactly the same as Mod Podge or as good quality but it will get you out of a sticky situation (pardon the pun) and will work for this project. So apply your Mod Podge/homemade M.P. to the sides of the glass jar in a thin layer. I stood my jar upside down and I also applied the glue to the bottom.

Then you can sprinkle your paper confetti over the glued areas.

When this layer has dried, apply another thin layer of glue on top of the paper confetti to seal it. While this layer of glue is still wet take your glitter and dust your jar with it. It might be an idea to place a sheet of paper under the jar while you are doing this to catch the excess so you can then pour it back into the pot when you are finished.

When this layer of glue + glitter is dried, apply a thin layer of clear varnish. I used a gloss medium because that was what I had to hand but you can use whatever you have, even a clear nail varnish would work fine. I would suggest you use a clear nail varnish you don't plan to use again though because I imagine some of the glitter would come away and end up in the bottle.

And that is it! Once that layer dries you have yourself a pretty, homemade candle holder. It looks really beautiful holding a tealight.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, check back in next week for the next instalment of the WPBC - Customized Bookmarks.

Have a beautiful + creative day

Ciara

xoxo