Glass Candle Holders: Easy Christmas Craft Gifts!
These glass candle holders make beautiful, inexpensive, and easy Christmas craft gifts!
If you're searching for Christmas craft gifts to do yourself or with the kids, these pretty candle holders are perfect. You can make them as simple or complicated as you like, making them great Christmas craft gifts for any age or skill level. Do an intricate design for your best friend while the kids whip one up for Grandma. Whatever you decide, you'll love these Christmas craft gifts!
Materials
-Empty baby food jars, washed, dried, and with the label removed (hint: a product called Goo Gone works wonders for removing sticky label remnants. You can find it in the paint and hardware area of any major department store).
-Glass paints
-Artificial "leading"
-Tea lights
Make It!
Begin by deciding on a design. The one thing you have to be careful of with these Christmas craft gifts is that you don't smash half of your design while working on the other half. If necessary, divide the craft into four parts -- the front, back, left, and right sides. Let the paint dry for twenty four hours between steps.
If you don't have that kind of patience, limit your design to the front and back. It'll still look great, and you'll only have to let it dry once.
Carefully outline your design in artificial leading. Make sure you keep the lines fairly far apart, but that they all still touch one another. You don't have to wait for the leading to dry before you start filling in the spaces with colors.
Work all the way around the jar, being careful not to wreck your hard work when you start on another section. Once you've finished, the paint will dry to beautiful stained-glass type candle holders that make perfect Christmas craft gifts.
Hints and Tips
-Paint from the center out. If you want to do a solid color around a central design, do the design first and work from there.
-An open magazine works great for holding the candle holder in place as it dries (or while you paint one side). Just lay it in the magazine's spine and don't let the kids poke it.
-Personalize these as much as you like -- after all, that's why they're Christmas craft gifts: because they're yours to create! Do up one with an apple for the kids' teacher, one with a Christmas tree for yourself, and one with an angel for your mother. These Christmas craft gifts are incredibly versatile, so don't be afraid to let your imagination take over!
