Making Christmas Silhouette Candle Holders

Total Time: 4 to 5 hours

Yield: 2 candleholders

Supplies:

• 2 to 3 printed silhouette images
• 2 recycled glass jars
• Mars black acrylic paint
• 2 to 3 paintbrushes
• wood glue
• 2 to 3 food colors or colored ink
• jute
• scissors
• 2 tea lights
• hot air gun

Steps:

1. On your computer, find some silhouette images that you want to use. Print them out and cut around the image. Place the image on the inside of a clean jelly jar. I normally just freehand paint my images on the jar. Using stencils or a printed silhouette image will make it easier for people to make this project.

 
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2. Place some Mars black acrylic paint in a container and start to paint the image on the outside of the jar. You will need to paint the image first and take a look at the end results. Normally it is a good idea to paint two or three layers of paint over the image. This way when the light shines through the image there are no clear spots.

 
3. Once the paint dries on the jar, place some wood glue in a container, and add your food coloring or colored ink.

 
4. Mix the ink or food coloring into the glue and start to apply the glue to the jar. In this project you need to be careful how much glue you add to the jar. You don't want a super thick layer of glue, but you want enough glue to coat the jar and see the color.

 
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5. After applying the glue to a small area on the jar take your hot air gun and start to dry the glue to set it in place so it won't run. There is no need to dry the glue completely. Just be careful to not set the hot air gun too hot. Your gun should be set to 200 degrees, do not set the gun hotter than 230 degrees. Hotter than this will start to burn the glue and make the jar too hot to handle.

 
6. Finish applying the glue to the jar and using the hot air gun to start the drying process. If you want, you can add a second color to the top of the first color.

 
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7. Now set the jar aside to finish drying. I never dry the jar completely with the hot air gun. I like the way the glue dries naturally and it makes it look like candle wax has dripped down the jar. If you are in a hurry, you can put the jar in the oven and bake it at 170 degrees for around 20 minutes.

 
8. Now add your jute around the neck of the jar. You will use the wood glue to glue the jute in place. Once the glue has dried, it is now time to add your tea light and enjoy your new candle holder. Once the light shines on the inside of the jar the image will appear through the drip wax look on the jar.

 
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