Craft with Resene, from the Australian Women's Weekly
Who would have thought pine chair feet could make such an amazing addition to your home décor? Stacking these shapes to make contemporary candle holders is a breeze.
What you'll need: Variety of pine wood chair feet mouldings (from hardware stores) and Arbee wood craft cubes (from craft suppliers) , sandpaper, Resene testpot paints. I used: Resene Fast Forward, Resene Raindance, Resene Wedgewood, Resene Surf Crest, Resene Dingley, Resene Permanent Green, Resene Norway, Resene testpot paintbrush, paint tray or plastic container, super glue for wood, drill and 22mm wood-boring drill bit, thin stemmed candles.
Sand all your pine pieces to help create a “tooth” for the paint to stick well. Wipe clean to remove any dust.
Stack pieces to create shapes that flow nicely. You can make these as tall or short as you like. Experiment with different shapes and heights for more interest when they are displayed in a group. Once you have decided on each candle holder’s structure, paint each section completely with two coats of your chosen Resene paint colour. I chose blue and green hues that worked well together as a set.
Add interest to some of the shapes, if you like, by adding details such as stripes in a contrasting lighter or darker shade. Another way to add interest and more dimension is to create a watercolour ombré effect (see top piece of each candle). To do this, you’ll need a darker shade of the base colour. For instance, for the blue block, I did the base colour in Resene Surf Crest and then added the darker hue of Resene Wedgewood. Tip some of the darker colour into a paint tray and mix with a little water to thin it down. Wet the paintbrush with water, then dip it into the thinned-down paint and paint it around the top edge of your block. Let it dribble down the block, lightly brushing it if necessary to give a smoothly blended finish. Repeat again for a stronger effect. (When assembling my candle holders, I inverted the ombré blocks so the darker shade is at the bottom.)
Once all your pieces are dry, stack and glue them together with a generous amount of super glue. Leave to cure.
Mark the centre point on the top of your candle stack. Drill a hole here that is deep enough for the candle to sit securely in place (at least 5cm deep). You don’t want it too shallow in case the candle falls out! If needed, touch up around the hole with the same colour of Resene paint and allow to dry. Put the candle in place and you’re done. Simply stunning!
Always ensure lit candles are under adult supervision. Always extinguish all candles before going to sleep. Replace candles when they are at least 20mm from the top edge of the candleholder.
Marsha Smith, Craft Editor. April 2019
Projects from the Australian Women's Weekly
View more project ideas from The Australian Women's Weekly magazine in the Resene weekend craft projects section.
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