Someday Crafts: Guest Blogger - Thrifty and Chic Decor - Pottery Barn Inspired Votive Candle Holders

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Guest Blogger - Thrifty and Chic Decor - Pottery Barn Inspired Votive Candle Holders

Hello! I am so thrilled to be guest posting for Michelle today. My name is Alicia from Thrifty and Chic Decor aka "Thrifty and Chic". I am all about creating cheap and chic decor. My blog covers my attempts at doing this....so far it's worked out pretty good. I cover everything from refurbishing thrifty finds to sewing to really working out your DIY muscles with power tools and wood.

For some AWESOMELY GREAT, WONDERFUL and INSPIRATIONAL ideas....stop on over and see me at Thrifty and Chic (thriftyandchicdecor.blogspot.com)!

(That wasn't over indulgent was it?)

Since I've been given the opportunity to guest post on such a wonderful blog as Someday Crafts, I figured I would show y'all how to work out your DIY muscles to achieve a similar item like this from Pottery Barn but only for a fraction of the price:

They are selling this for $69. I know its beautiful n'all, but.....yeah, never in my lifetime.

I came up with a similar idea that will only cost you approximately $7 (especially if you have the supplies on hand).

Ready to get started?

Step 1:
Alrighty...first things first. You need a piece of wood (of course). I chose to use a 4x4 piece of birch. I cut it to the size I wanted with my miter saw (or you can have the guys at Home Depot do this for you).

The length of mine is 30 inches.

You'll also need a ruler (I don't know why I have two pictured here, although I did use both of them....I tend to lose things a lot, maybe that's why I have two....ya' know, just in case),

a drill (I chose one that had a cord because I knew I needed some power behind what I was going to do next),
preferably a 2" spade drill bit (I couldn't find one that size, so I had to use a 1 1/2" bit on this holder), and a pencil.

Step 2:

Mark where you want your candle holes. I chose to have 5 holes, so I centered the first one and marked off the rest at equal distance from there.

You'll then need to put on your safety goggles :) (Safety first!).

Now, center the drill bit directly in the center of where the hole will be (I marked this with an X).
Turn that bad boy on, hold on tight....and go to town!

I kept drilling away until my hole reached 1 inch in depth-this will ensure that the hole is deep enough to hold votive candles.

FYI~While in the process of drilling, keep an eye out for the heat of the drill, it will get extremely hot! If it gets to hot, it may start to smoke and spark and who knows.........cause a fire? Eeeeee.

So, if it starts to feel like its getting a little 'warm', turn it off....go get a snack, play with the dog, go for a run....then come back and it should be good to go.

While drilling the 5 holes, I only had to stop once to let it cool down.

Step 3:
Now for the easy and fun part.
Decorating!

On this piece, I chose to paint the whole thing. After letting it dry, I sanded the edges a little and added some stain to give it a vintage feel.

I then chose to use a wood applique to dress this bad boy (or girl) up, stained and painted that also.

Next, apply the applique using wood glue.
Or apply whatever other decoration you choose to use.

I found some beautiful candle holders to use as the 'feet' to give it more pizzazz.
Worked like a charm!

Just super glue these on.

Put the candles in.
And enjoy!

Here's another one I created... just to give you a little more inspiration.
I used the same technique as steps 1 and 2, but just chose to decorate it a little different.

After assembling, I wrapped this baby with some jute, then added drawer knobs as the feet since I thought it needed a little extra somethin'.

This holder holds 11 candles!
I'm loving the drama it creates.

The possibilities with this concept are endless. You can create a 1 candle holder all the way up to....who knows....30 maybe?

The wood can be stained, painted, spray painted, decoupaged (use wrapping paper for longer pieces), wrapped, embellished,.......etc.

Happy creating everyone!

and thank you Michelle for letting me invade your blog!!!

Come visit me at Thrifty and Chic Decor!!! I'd love to see you!

Thank you Alicia!!!! Now that is an awesome knock-off. I hate to tell Pottery Barn this, but I LIKE YOUR CANDLE HOLDERS BETTER!!! The feet rock!

If you didn't notice by now, Thrifty and Chic Decor is a hot, new blog. We named it a "Blog to Watch" because Alicia has the talent and the skils to inspire thousands. It won't be too long before Thrifty and Chic Decor is a household name among bloggers. Go visit her here and check out her past posts and ideas. When you do, you will see that you want to add her to your blog roll and become a follower. Go HERE NOW!!!