Valentine's Day is one of my favorite times for crafting. There are so many possibilities. I dug up some of my favorite Martha Stewart Craft punches and found this great double use for them. They can be combined to punch strips of paper and make these lace looking votive wraps. The great thing is that these candle holders are actually made from re-purposed baby food jars. Keep reading below and I'll show you how easy it is to make these fun votives.
TO BEGIN HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GET STARTED
- Washed and Cleaned Baby food jars
- Glitter Paint, Translucent Glass Paint
- Martha Stewart Studded Hearts Punch All Over The Page
- Martha Stewart Doily Edge Punch
To start off you're going to need to tint, color or paint some jars. Deco Arts makes this great new glass Stain but I only had it in blue. For this project I use Martha Stewart Crafts pink Transparent Glass Fill and Glitter Paint. The glitter paint by nature isn't opaque, it's translucent. This is ideal for this because it lets the candle light shine through.
Before you paint the jars you want to clean out anything that might be greasy inside. The best way to do this is with regular rubbing alcohol. This gets any leftover residue off and allows the paint to stick better.
Pour about a teaspoon of paint in the bottom and while swirling the jar slowly turn it over and let the paint run out. I find the best way to get a clean finish on these jars is to use clear packing tape and tape them upside down inside an old garbage can. The remaining paint will run out and the jars should be dry in a few hours.
In the meantime you are going to make the paper votive wraps. I think that white looks best with the doily edge punched against the pinks and reds. Take an 8 1/2 x 11inch strip of paper and cut it into 3 inch wide strips. Position the heart punch in the center of the page using a light as a guide if needed. Alight the hearts going down the center but alternate right-side up and up-side down.
Now you want to grab your doily punch and punch right down the strip on both sides. The great thing about Martha Stewart punches is that they have a guideline on both sides to ensure you line the punch up perfectly.
Now you just need to take your jars, which should be completely dried, and wrap the paper around them. Secure the ends with double sided tape. I used flame-less candles inside for stress free burning. Another great thing about flame-less candles is that you can put tons of these votives all around the house. They'll last for hours and hours and you never have to worry. Now that's a goodValentine'sday!
