Thursday, October 24, 2013

Prim Hanging Tea Light Ornaments

Here is another Christmas tutorial. You can check out my last one for Cinnamon Gingerbread Ornies here.  I am so excited to share this one with you and I know you're all gonna love it! 

I had seen something like this on the computer a while ago and knew I had to make these hanging battery operated tea lights.


To make these I started by grunging up some battery operated tea lights.


To do this I melted a bunch of candles in a soup can in a pan with some water simmering.  I'm upset with myself for using my nice pan, when I had one I really didn't like sitting in the garbage pile, because the wax made such a big mess.

Then I added about 1/2c of cinnamon and 2 Tbsp ground cloves to the melted wax.  Using a plastic spoon, I put a thin coat of wax on the tea lights.  The tea light on the left is at this stage (below).  I really had to watch the temperature of the wax.  When it cooled just a bit, it was easier to smear on the tea light.  Once all the tea lights had on their first coat of wax, I put on another, thicker, bumpy layer by pouring the wax over the tea light on all sides (just not the bottom) and building it up until I was happy with each one.  The tea light on the right is at this stage.  It was important to constantly be stirring the wax because the spices kept settling at the bottom and that would change the colour and consistency of the wax.


Next I got some old zinc canning lids and wrapped rusty wire around to start the hanger.

 
 
 
Using pliers, I curled the little over hang part around the wire that was wrapped around the lid.
 



Then I looped the wire to the other side and cut it. 



Then I did the same as the other side and curled the left over wire around the wire on the lid to finish the hanger.

 
 
Next I cut some greenery off an artificial Christmas tree branch and glued it in a circle inside the lid and then added some pip berries.  I would have liked to use a pip berry candle ring or just some pip berries made into a ring, but I could not find any around here. Not even at Michael's.
 
 
Now, just place a grungy tea light in the middle and voila!  I can't wait to see what these will look like in a Christmas tree.
 
 
I used the one piece old zinc canning lids, but I think you could use old gem zinc screw bands with a snap lid glued in it.  I put one together to give you an idea of what it would look like. I didn't put the hanger on it because I wasn't going to actually use this one and I think you can find more rustic looking screw bands than the one I used.
 
 
Just a note on the supplies for this project;
I bought the 24 tea lights from Micheal's with my 40% off coupon. So they were $30, but I got them for $18.  But I was at Costco today and saw a pack of 28 tea lights with 6 extra batteries for $15!  I think I will still buy some, because the batteries are the same ones we need for our bathroom scale, so there is some value in that for us on top of the better price.  I bought the zinc lids as a big lot on EBay a few years ago and have been saving them for just the perfect project.
I think I got the artificial Christmas tree for free. I knew I would be cutting it up, so it didn't need to have all its parts.
 
So that is how I made these adorable lights. Thanks for stopping by.
 
 
 

28 comments:

  1. Morning, LOOOOVE this idea, so prim perfect....thanks for sharing, want to make some for sure, Blessings Francine.

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  2. I love this!!! I hope I can find everything I need to make some!! :)

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  3. Thanks Francine and Karen. I'm glad you like them!

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  4. These are SO adorable! I need these in my life! I've featured you on I Love That Junk and various other places. :)

    Please let me know if you have a Facebook page so I can link your features up to you!

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    1. Hi Donna.
      Thanks so much for featuring me on your networking sites! I'm really glad you like this project.

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  5. So adorable. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. It's nice not to worry about fire, that's for sure!
    God bless.

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  7. Love these! Thanks for sharing your tutorial.
    I am a new follower.

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  8. So so cute!!! I want to try this! So glad you linked up. Now following you :D

    Linsey

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    1. Hi Linsey,
      Thanks for hosting such a great linky party. And thanks for becoming a follower.

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  9. Those are so cute! You are so creative, and I am so glad you are sharing your ideas! It is getting me in the mood for the holidays!!

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  10. Hi! I have a question. A while ago I tried dipping the tea lights in hot wax and found out that after a while (within hours) the wax cracked and fell right off :( did you have any problems? Any tips? Not sure what I did wrong. Thanks! Love your blog

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  11. Hi! I have a question. A while ago I tried dipping the tea lights in hot wax and found out that after a while (within hours) the wax cracked and fell right off :( did you have any problems? Any tips? Not sure what I did wrong. Thanks! Love your blog

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    1. Hello,
      I really didn't have any problems with the wax cracking off and they all still look great. Maybe it was all the cinnamon and cloves I mixed in the wax. Or, because I spread on a thin layer first and then smeared on a thicker layer.
      I used a plastic spoon for both stages.
      I hope that helps a bit and thanks for the question.

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  12. Thank you! I am planning on dipping some this week and I will add more cinnamon to the mixture to see if it will make a difference. Once again, thanks :)

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  13. Adorable! Thanks for sharing! Carmen and the Primcats

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  14. Question: How many candles did you melt? You just say "a bunch of candles" so I'm not sure how many to use. Love this idea! Trying to get some lids now. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi Lisa,
      I melted 5 taper candles and 2 votives and I still had some wax left when I was done. I think I made about 24 that night.
      Merry Christmas!

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  15. Thank you for these wonderful directions, I love this project and will be making some very soon.

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  16. I love this project! I looked for an email to contact you, but didn't see one. Could I have your permission to link to this page in a blog post I'm writing?

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    1. Thank you! Yes you may add a link to your blog post.
      Oh, by the way, after a year I realize the need to store these at room temperature. Because this is wax on plastic, very cold and maybe even hot temps can cause cracking in the wax.
      Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

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    2. Thanks so much. I will let you know when I publish it in a week or two, and I will include your caveat with the link. :-)

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    3. It's up! Thanks again.

      http://thelittleacrethatcould.blogspot.ca/2014/12/12-diy-farmhouse-canning-jar-ring.html

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  17. These are so adorable! Thank you for sharing the tutorial. ESPECIALLY for how you grungied up the candle!!!! I will definitely be making some of these for this year. They will be perfect little gifts for my special friends at church and Bible study. Thank you again. May you and your family have a blessed Christmas~

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