This week, with the season for Carols By Candlelight soon upon us, Roy decided that it would be a good idea to show you an old fashioned way to make a beautiful candle holder, which will protect your candle from going out and also stop any little fingers from getting burnt! I thought it was probably a bit early to be getting ready for carol services, but Roy showed me advertisements for carols starting as early as December 5, so we thought you might need a bit of time to make your candle holder. So this week, Roy Creates a stained glass candle holder.
You Will Need:
- A glass jar. Don't use a plastic jar, the candle may well melt it!
- Cellophane in various colours
- Glue which dries clear
- A paintbrush
- Scissors
- Water soluable pen
- Wire. You could use a wire coathanger if you wanted but Roy used a thinner, easier to cut wire, bought in a roll from a hardware store
- Sand or dirt
- Electrical tape. Roy used black, because it looks like the lead in early leadlight windows, but you could use whatever colour you like.
- Pliers
- Wire cutters
- A candle
Note: if you can't get cellophane tissue paper also works, but it doesn't let as much light through.
Method:
- Make sure your glass jar is clean and dry.
- If you want to make an elaborate pattern, draw templates for your pattern onto paper and cut them out. You can then use these to mark out the design on your glass jar, using the water soluable pen. Roy likes the more random look himself, using geometrical shapes.
- Cut out your cellophane. If you decided to make templates, use these as a guide to cut out your pieces of cellophane. Roy just cut out squares, triangles and rectangles. You want your shapes to be pretty big (about 5 centimetres is perfect)
- Cut a number of strips of electrical tape and then cut them down the centre to make thin strips, about 5 millimetres wide, ready to hold your cellophane in place.
- If you want, put a thin smear of glue on the jar, just to hold the cellophane in place while you put the electrical tape on. Roy chose not to do this, but it might make it easier for younger children.
- Put the cellophane on the jar, in a nice arrangement. Don't worry if some pieces overlap a little - it will create a new colour!
- Use the electrical tape to hold the cellophane securely in place. The electrical tape is a bit like lead in a leadlight window.
- When you have covered your jar, ask an adult to help you twist a piece of wire around the neck of the jar, and tightly twist the ends together. Then, cut another piece of wire, long enough to make a safe, curved handle over the jar. You don't want it close enough to burn little hands! Slide one side of this piece of wire under the edges of the wire around the neck and twist it securely together to hold it in place. Repeat this for the other end of the wire on the other side of the jar. This makes your handle.
- Cover the sharp ends of the wire with electrical tape to make them safe.
- Put a bed of sand or dirt into your jar. You want enough to hold your candle securely in place.
- Push the candle into the sand or dirt so that it is held in place. If you have a big jar and candle, you could put a lump of blue tac under the candle to help hold it in place.
- Ask an adult to light the candle and enjoy!