You'll need:
Wrapping paper tubes or paper towel tubes or TP tubes, hot glue gun & glue sticks, flat black spray paint, and battery operated tea lights from Dollar Tree.
Pretty and no fire danger!
After picking the perfect spot for each tube, I glued them together to stay in place, then hot glued around the rims (drippy & wax-like) & finished it off with a few coats of flat black spray paint.
before & after with battery operated tea lights.
Such a beautiful Halloween decoration! I almost wish I could keep it up all year long. The flicker of the tea lights is so realistic and lovely. I bought so many packs of tea lights @ the dollar tree. They're the best invention! The only thing I would change about my finished diy would be - to have only used the paper towl and wrapping paper tubes (taller/longer tubes). I used mainly toilet paper tubes & glued many together to make them taller, leaving a not so seamless look. But being October when I made this, I had a few months before wrapping paper season and used what I had.
I will definately be making more again this year! My house will be a flickering candle castle!
^ THIS IS THE PINTEREST PHOTO I USED AS A REFERENCE WHEN MAKING MINE.
Such a fun craft and beautiful outcome! Start saving your tubes & try it out.
xo
How did you get the tealights to stay in place in each tube?
ReplyDeleteHow did you get the tealights to stay in place in each tube?
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere else that you glue the tea light to the tube
DeleteYou use a craft wire..poke through top of tube, 2 pieces in a criss, cross.. approx. 1 in from top end....snip off close to tube wall...then as you hot glue, top and sides, you glue ends of wire to tube, and to hide them..prevents candle falling through, and easy to replace or remove candles...
DeleteWhen I make these, I will get some cheese cloth and cut them into circles, (somewhat bigger than the tubes) then I will hot glue them into the tops of the tubes, making sure that the cheese cloth goes deep enough so that the tea lights nest slightly below the tops of the tubes. I will also paint the tea lights black with a small brush and flat black acrylic paint, then I will add the hot glue drips to the tubes and that will cover up the cheese cloth excess.
ReplyDeleteYou can buy black tealights at Dollar Tree.
DeleteI thought of the cheese cloth solution, because of when I was thinking about doing this last year, I tried out a tea light and saw that fell right through the tube...hmm, so I was like...well I will have to cut out a little round shelf to fit inside the tube, but then what a pain in the tookus that would have been. Better off to make a sling for it to sit in this way I'll be able to change out the tea lights if they go bad or need a new battery.
ReplyDeleteI've had a better idea as to how to keep the tea lights in! Wax paper bathroom Dixie cups fit into the cardboard tubing up to a point, then you'll have to cut the excess off, then hot glue in place so that you'll be able to take the tea lights out easily to change the batteries or store them.
ReplyDeleteMini cupcake liners work well, just be sure to get the foil ones.
ReplyDeletemasking tape, you will be painting the tubes so it will not show when you are finished
ReplyDeleteWhat also works well is stuffing the tubes with either newspaper tissue paper or something of that sort up to the point of where you want your tea light to be
ReplyDeleteUse a glue gun to put a ring about an inch down on the inside of the roll, this makes a ledge for the tea light.
ReplyDeleteGenius! Best idea! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is very informative post,
ReplyDeleteClean Burning Candles
Thanks!!!