Wednesday, December 17, 2008

W.I.P.(Work In Progress) Wednesday

Okay Ladies - Here is the project that I promised you. I recently purchased a subscription to Southern Living Magazine. I mean - how can I live in Georgia and not read southern magazines right? ~smile~ (I also subscribe to Southern Lady Magazine too - but I digress) I absolutely love all of the great ideas I am getting from both of these magazines. If you have never seen them - check them out - they are full of wonderful decorating ideas!

I am always looking for ideas to help stretch the dollar and just happened across a great idea. I recently purchased some candlestick holders from Goodwill as I talked about it this post. I thought that I would try to see if I could change them out for the seasons, but was stuck as to how to disguise the fact - that my oversized candles were being used on my skinny candlestick holders. I love the different heights that I can achieve using these and maybe some day I will be able to find some larger ones. Until then - I ran across this great idea:
This image has been borrowed from the Southern Living Magazine website - I found one similar in the December issue of my magazine. I decided to try to see if I could copy it and make an inexpensive "candle wreath" as I call it. I went to my favorite store - Hobby Lobby and purchased my supplies.
You only need a few things to complete this simple project. I purchased three hydrangea clusters and some ribbon. I kind of like the berries that they added in the Southern Living magazine picture too. I can always add those in later if I want. The only other things that you will need to complete this project are scissors, a glue gun (save your fingers and use a low temp one - trust me I learned this the hard way - ouch!) and a candle. I simply cut the individual sprigs off the hydrangea cluster and hot glued them on a piece of ribbon that I had cut to size and tied to fit the center of my candle. Make sure that you leave enough length on your ribbon to be able to tie a pretty bow in back.
It's hard to make a small bow with the larger ribbon, but I kind of like the way it looks this way.

When I started this project, I was concerned because it looks kind of flat when you are first starting to put the sprigs on. Just keep layering - it will start to look fuller the more you add in. Add as much as you want - the more the better! I wiggled it down to fit around the base of my candle, but if you want to leave it in the center - it looks just as good. Imagine the possibilites with this project! This can be made for any season. You can use any type of flower for this - or you could layer small Christmas ornaments all the way around the ribbon. How cute would that be! The possibities are endless! I love it when I find a picture that causes such a light bulb moment. Especially one that produces such inexpensive results. Honestly - this project only cost me $11.50! Thank you Hobby Lobby for your 50% off holiday specials! Of course I already had the glue, the glue gun and the candles, but honestly - who doesn't have candles laying around at Christmas time!

So far I have made four of them. I still have four more to go. I was hoping to fill in the centerpiece with all eight of them like I did in my November post that I directed you to. But what do you think about leaving it like this - less is more? Or should I add in more of the candles around the outside of the filled jar. I even tried it with the top on the jar like you see in my very first picture at the top of this post, and I also tried it with candles inside the jar - which I wasn' t too crazy about. Maybe I don't even need the jar or - maybe I am just overthinking this whole thing!

I would love to hear your suggestions and also how you like this easy project that I made. If you try it for yourself, please send me your link and I will feature it on my blog so that we can all can see your "take" on this project and how it works in your home!

I am having so much fun finding inexpensive ways to make my home beautiful! I hope to be able to share more ideas with you in the future so come back to see me soon!

Blessings to you,

Kymber

10 comments:

Kristen said...

Beautfiul! So festive.

Anonymous said...

KYMBER.YOU ARE AWESOME MY LADY.THESE IDEAS ARE AWESOME.DOESN'T IT MAKE YOU FEEL SO GOOD TO MAKE SOMETHING GORGEOUS OUT OF WELL,NOT MUCH.THANK YOU,I WILL DEFINITELY USE YOUYR IDEAS....ANN

Lorrie said...

What a great idea. Once in awhile I see a Southern Living magazine - they do have wonderful ideas.

Lorrie

Glenda said...

This looks like a project that even a non-crafter (me) could manage. I like your way of thinking, I am always trying to repurpose things to avoid buying something new to worry about maintaining and storing. I have some large white candles packed up somewhere that would be perfect for this project. Just have to find some appropriate holders.
Of course they (candles) would need to be cleaned of the accumulated dust first. I read somewhere to use a cotton ball saturated with rubbing alcohol to clean the candle and not dissolve the outer coating of wax. Wonder if this works. I think the candles are packed up with some candle rings. When I next run across them, I'm going to give this a try. Thanks Kymber for your imagination to think of something like this and then your follow through to the execution of the idea.

Anonymous said...

Simple, quick, and easy. Love them. Thanks for the lesson!

kymber said...

Hi Glenda,
Thanks for the great comment. I am going to try your idea about using rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. Great idea! I hope it works. I have certain candles that get sticky the more you try to remove the dust and short of "melting it off" they end up looking terrible. I will definitely try this idea!
Blessings,
Kymber

Anonymous said...

KYMBER,I WAS WONDERING.WE HAVE A KINDA CHAIN.WE E-MAIL JOKES AND INSPIRATIONALS TO EACH OTHER.THERE'S ABOUT 20 OF US.YOU KNOW ALOT OF THEM.HAPPY TO BE,GLORIA,SUSAN FROM NAPS ON THE PORCH,CIELO FROM THE HOUSE OF ROSES.AND MORE.IF YOU WOULD,PLEASE E-MAIL ME @JAMESASKELTON@YAHOO.COM.WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU JOIN US...ANN

Glenda said...

Kymber, I think I tried the alcohol trick when I first read it. Best I can remember, it worked real well. Try it on an inexpensive candle or taper first, just in case it has to be relegated to emergency candle status.
The thing I seem to remember most was how the surface of the candle didn't feel tacky when I finished. Must have been at least thirty years ago that I tried it, so really can't remember all the details. Let me know how yours turns out.

Melissa Miller said...

Hello Kymber,

I really like your blog! I'll be back to check it all out very soon.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Warmly, Melissa :)

StitchinByTheLake said...

Kymber I love these candle rings...how clever! It made me wonder if some of those cute ponytail scrunchies you see at the dollar store wouldn't work for that too! Just think of the possibilities. blessings, marlene