keeping it crafty

A lot of times when I set out to do something crafty it rarely works out well. It's either too time-consuming and I give up mid-way through the craft or it's just not fun. Somehow I always pick out a craft that is way beyond my skill-level. It should make me appreciate it more when I see a photo of how it should look, but I don't appreciate it at all. I'd rather go to target or watch tv than spend more time on a really difficult craft.

All that to say I made something this week that I really like! They're candle holders made from soup/vegetable cans. First, let's go over how much this costs.

1. a can of soup - about $.69 right?

2. tealight candles - a pack of 12 can be bought for $5 or less

3. ribbon (optional!) - I have a spool of about 4.5 yards that cost $3.99

So, you can make a cute, handmade, thoughtful gift for 12 people for around $20 (unless you don't have a hammer and a nail). That's pretty great.

Here are my two candle holders I made this week all thanks to a snow day:

NOEL and PEACE, for Christmas of course.

What you'll need:

1. a can

2. a black permanent marker

3. a nail

4. a hammer

5. ribbon (optional)

6. a tealight candle. I use tealights instead of votives because I don't like cleaning the remains of votive candles out of candle holders.

Here's what I did:
Choose a can; that's important. This is a larger can that had green beans in it:

Next, take a black permanent marker and make dots of where you want your lettering or design. They're kind of difficult to see, but they're there. The ridges on the can might seem hard to work around at first, but they actually help keep the text lined up so that it's all in a straight line and the dots are evenly spaced.

Now, choose a nail! I tried a thin and thick nail and the thick nail punched the holes faster through the aluminum, but they make bigger holes so be aware of that while marking the dots.

This can be a little tricky. It's good to tap the nail in it's spot lightly a few times to make a small dent. The dent will help hold it in place when you're hitting the nail harder to make the hole. They have a tendency to slide around sometimes.

Here's a line of punched holes:




















And here's the entire 'P' in 'Peace'.

To keep the can steady while punching the holes, I keep it classy and sit on the floor, hold the can between my heels and hammer away. I know. It's as awesome as it sounds, but it works! I've also heard of filling the can with water, freezing it, then taking a drill and drilling holes in it while the water is still frozen. The ice helps keep that shape of the can, but I haven't had any problems with it flattening out or warping in any way by using a hammer and nail. Plus, I know that cans of ice would sit in my freezer for days or weeks before getting thought about again. Just one more craft I would abandon.

Now, just tie on a ribbon at the top or bottom of the can if you want, drop in the tealight candle, light it and enjoy!

These are definitely a quick gift to make and they look really nice when lighted. It took me 30 minutes max (after a bit of hole-punching practice with the other one) to make the large PEACE holder.

Merry Christmas!