Accessorize your Candles!

I was amazed at how common this method of presenting candles and containers is in interior design shots, and how easily it can be recreated to add a professional touch to a wide variety of room styles.









This project can be as simple as wrapping a piece of twine around a glass/jar twice and then tying it into a bow at the front like these:


However, if you have to go out and buy twine or string for your project, then it kind of defies the purpose of this blog which emphasises making use of recycled materials to create home accessories.
Personally, I don't tend to keep a lot of twine around the place but what I do have a lot of is brown paper bags so if you prefer the more eco-friendly approach/wickerwork look check this out!



What you will need:

• Brown paper bag/twine
• Drinking glass or jar
• Nightlight/candle
• Scissors
• Elastic band/hair bobbin/thread
  

How to Make:

1. Tear a strip off the Paper bag of about an inch in width.

2. Twist the paper strip tightly by twisting the flat side with one hand and holding the twisted part tightly in the other hand to keep it in place.



3. Continue to twist until you reach the end. Press any paper which may be sticking out back into the twist, making sure it is smooth and thin like this when finished:

4. Wrap the twisted paper around a glass and tie at the front, being careful not to tear the paper.


5. You can leave it as is and place a nightlight or a candle in it or you can use it to hold bits and bobs that you might have lying around.



6. If you want, you can create a bow to add on to the front of the glass using another twist of paper.




7. Tie the bow together with string/thread/elastic (or a hair bobbin if you want to be really eco-friendly! You can match this with the rooms colour scheme if you want.) Cut the surplus paper off.


8. Slide in the long piece that will go around the glass in the back of whatever you are using to keep the bow together.


9. Tie the two ends at the back of the glass...



....and tuck in the loose ends.



8. All done!



Get Creative!

You don't have to add string to the glass, here are some other ideas that you could use instead:

• You could add an old elasticated bracelet...

• www.craftychica.com shows you how to make a sleeve out of material for a festive feel...

• You could clip on a flower hair accessory or even thread in a real flower head...

• You could add some stones or sand to the glass/jar to raise up your nightlight or just to add more interest to the design...

• You could also add a band of material around the jar/candle before you add the string/ribbon as seen on www.robomargo.com:

• Or wrap the string around a shell like this:

If you have any other ideas I'd love to hear them! :) Happy creating!

Modern Style Wall Art

I saw this modern style of wall art recently which I thought would be really simple to recreate with materials lying around the house:


The original piece is made from metal and would probably cost a fortune to buy and would be quite difficult to make, but the idea of a square sequence of wall designs with this type of pattern is the concept I have taken and tried to replicate as it is very in keeping with the modern style of decor.

Here is my take on the design:

Close up:


What you will need:

1. Old black jewellery boxes. (Ideally large in size, such as those for necklaces etc.)2. Nail scissors (with a pointed end)
3. Nails for hanging wall art.


How to Make:

1. Cut the interior lining of the jewellery boxes as in the picture:


2. Snap the two pieces apart, making sure not to tear the black material covering the box.





3. On the back of the bottom part of the box (the piece without writing on it in the above picture), etch in a design using a pointed nail scissors. (Used as it is sharp but also small enough to make detailed patterns.) In this case, I imitated the pattern on the metal squares, using diagonal wavy lines. If using this pattern, leave about a cm around the edges of the square without pattern, as a kind of boarder.





Experiment with the amount of lines you etch and the space between each diagonal line to create a more distinct pattern if you wish. Don't feel that you have to use this particular pattern either - concentric circles, squares within squares or abstract patterns could be just as effective!

4. Repeat this three times to create three designed squares.

5. Hang/balance each on a nail on a wall using the top edge of the box where the red dot in the picture is:
6. Line up the wall art either horizontally or vertically (as I have) on the wall.


7. Hold on to the tops of the jewellery boxes you have used for future projects and admire your new piece of modern art!


Look out for more Modern Style accessories in future posts!