Ann Winberg Silver Post Medal for All Time! 306 Posts
April 29, 2011
These simple and cute candle lamps are a snap to make and fun to give.
Approximate Time: 1 hour
Supplies:
glass container or candle jar lids
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votive, tealight, short pillar of choice
wire
wire cutters
seashells or other filler
pliers
Instructions:
The process is the same with all of the lamps. Once you decide on your supplies it is a matter of gathering all of your needed tools and having fun.
Make sure your container is clean; get a general idea of how you want your wire to look and try to get a close measurement of how long to cut your wire. You can always trim some off at the end or make a couple of curls or extra wrap around the container much easier than adding extra.
If your wire is hard to bend try making your design simple and all one piece to avoid cuts and extra bends. Try soft curls and twists instead.
With two of mine, I made from two pieces of wire by wrapping around the container hooking the ends together with one then made a bail or handle with another and hooked it into the wrap. The copper coil was very easy to hook into obviously because it wasn't tight to the jar, whereas the brown wire one was more difficult.
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To make a coil wrap your wire around any round object such as a 1/2" wooden dowel. When making your wrap tight to the container, make a bump out in your wire for the bail to slip through directly across from each other. I did not do this and it caused me a great deal of trouble.
The aluminum candle lamp wire is all one piece. I started by wrapping the wire around the base, securing the wire around itself then bending it straight up and then bending it into my design. Remember as long as the wire is stiff enough to hold the container if hung by the wire it doesn't have to connect to both sides.
Once you get your wire work finished set your candle in and fill around it with your filler. I used seashells and beads. You can use anything that is not flammable.
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You can also decorate your wire, but remember not to hang anything such as ribbon or anything else that would burn over the candle.
Any small glass container will work, just match your candle size to your container. For a quart size container I would use a three inch tall pillar candle for instance. Of the three I used for samples, two are lids from jar candles and the third is from a jar of jam.
The choices of wire are endless, it comes in all colors or you can even spray paint it. Hanger wire is so stiff I don't care to use it, to get the same look you can get what I call tie wire from lumber yards, that is what I used on the one labeled brown wire candle lamp.