Ciara McGuire: The Twelve Makes of Christmas Day 2

Monday, 2 December 2013

The Twelve Makes of Christmas Day 2 - Festive Twig Votive

As many of you may know I am a big candle fan. For me, there is nothing more relaxing than sitting in the living room or in a hot bubble bath surrounded by the flicker and glow of candle light and so really it makes perfect sense that I would include this Festive Twig Votive into The Twelve Makes of Christmas.

I found my inspiration for this project from this twig and raffia candle holder on a wedding blog but I decided to adapt it a bit to give it a more Christmassy feel and also to put my own creative stamp on it.

Supplies

A small tumbler glass

Twigs

Embroidery floss in assorted colours

Strong glue

While shopping in a local department store last week, I spotted these cute little twig bundles. They are designed to hang on your Christmas tree but when I seen them I knew instantly that I could incorporate them into a project so I pick up a few packs. Normal everyday outdoor garden twigs would work fine though and probably would give a more natural feel.

I wanted to add a splash of colour to my votive and after toying with the idea of dipping the ends of the twigs in paint and deciding that wasn't the look I wanted, I eventually came up with the idea of wrapping pieces of embroidery floss around parts of the twigs. I think this really gives the votive that festive boost!

Next, I glued the twigs onto the outside of the tumbler in a random arrangement. I kept glueing until the whole tumbler was covered. *Tip* I used strong all purpose glue for this project which worked very well but you do need to hold each twig in place for a couple of seconds. I initially started by using hot glue but once the hot glue touched the cold glass the twigs fell right off. So I suggest you use a strong cold glue but always take care and read the instructions first. Also, do not light a candle inside your votive until the glue has fully dried.