"BOO" Candle Holders

What can you do with a 4x4 and a few empty tuna cans?

Make candle holders, of course!

(Lets imagine all 3 have candles in them, ok?)

Is it too early to be decorating for fall? Oh well if it is!

This was a such a fun and easy project...and almost free!

Want to make your own?

Let's get started!

You need:

Wood 4x4

3 empty tuna cans

Nails

Spray Paint

Scrapbook Paper

Glue Gun or Adhesive

Saw

Hammer

Carpet nails (optional)

I didn't measure before cutting the wood, but if you like the proportion of these, the biggest one is about 8.5" and the little ones are 6.5".

The wood I used was already weathered, but I wanted them to have a little more texture, so before cutting, I took screw (a nail would do too) and firmly ran it along the grain of the wood. You'll be surprised how well it will follow the grain of the wood once you get started.

I didn't take any pictures of this next part, but after cutting them, I nailed a tuna can on top of each piece of wood, again this was very easy. The nail should go through the can smoothly.

Then I didn't do any priming, just gave them a coat of black gloss spray paint, which to my luck made the cans glossy but the wood didn't come out too glossy, probably helped that I didn't prime.

Then it was decorating time!

Unfortunately, I no longer have my cricut and I wanted this project as cheap as possible since I'll only have it out seasonally, so I didn't want to buy vinyl or die cut letters... so I cut my own.

I printed off letters from word.

Font for the B is "Tw Cen MT Condensed" Size 500

The Os are "Tw Cen MT Condensed" in bold Size 350

Now I realize since the letters are black, I could have printed them on white card stock and cut them out, but our ink is a little low so it wasn't as dark as I wanted, so I printed them on regular paper, then I rubbed chalk on the back of the printer paper behind the letters, place the paper chalk side down on top of my black card stock and traced the letters with a colored pencil. Worked like a charm.

After cutting them out, I took an eraser to them and lightly erased any remaining chalk.

The edges weren't as smooth as I wanted after cutting, so I took a small nail file that I keep with my scrapbook stuff (easier to handle than a tiny piece of sand paper) and lightly sanded the edges.

Next came the hot gluing (glueing?) the paper on, mod podge would work as well.

I nailed carpet nails on for extra embellishment...I did the "o"s first and then thought I might like it better nailed on the green center paper instead of the orange...so they are different, but I don't mind.

A close up...

 

Total damage this project cost me:

$1.38 for spray paint!

Not much damage at all and I still have a ton of paint left in the can for future projects.

If you don't have any scrap wood, check the scrap section at your local Home Depot or Lowe's
They usually have scrap pieces of wood at a discounted price.

One more looky...

L-O-V-E!

This project can be changed up for any season or decor!

How cute would these be in red with white or pink candles for Valentine's Day?
How about white with red or green candles and "JOY" on them for Christmas?

Really the possibilities are endless!

If you like the little pumpkins on the shelf, take a peek HERE on the deets for those.

This week I'm linking up to...

 


Happy Crafting!