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Maria Chatzi : Beach Treasure Candle

How to Make a Sea Shell, Driftwood, and Pearl

Beach Treasure Candle

By Maria Chatzi

Level of difficulty: Easy

Age: Teens and Adults

Materials:

a white round pillar candle, about 6 inches tall, diameter: about 3 inches
a strip of woven fabric, any shade of a sandy or earthy color, dimensions: 0.8 inches x 10.6 inches
a piece of turquoise tulle (or light lacy design), dimensions: 2.7 inches x 3 inches. (The one I’ve used was a scrap piece from a baby shower favor.)
a piece of driftwood, about 3 inches long and 0.8 inches wide (if it’s a little narrower on one end it looks better)
a golden scrap piece of aluminum foil. (I’ve used a protective aluminum foil lid from a food container.)
6 small seashells
4 small white pearls
2 big white pearls
Glue (crystal clear liquid or hot glue)

Instructions:

fig 1

1 Cut the tulle piece in the shape shown in fig 1 and glue it onto the center of the woven fabric strip, as shown in the same photo. Allow the glue to dry completely.

fig 2

2 Glue the woven fabric strip with the tulle on your pillar candle (the two ends of the woven fabric will overlap) and then glue the driftwood onto them, as you see in fig 2, with the narrower end pointing upwards. Wait for the glue to harden. This is the front side of your candle.

3 When the glue has hardened, embellish the candle with the seashells and pearls. You may copy my design if you like, or design your own.

fig 3

4 And now for the final step: Give the golden scrap piece of aluminum foil some texture by crumpling it and spreading it out. Then, cut out a fish shape with your scissors and glue it on the driftwood.

For steps 3 and 4, see fig 3. Fig. 4 is a close-up.

Wait for the glue to dry and you have a beautiful Beach Treasure Candle to give a coastal look to a window sill, a coffee table or a decorative shelf next to a small glass bowl full of smooth rounded beach pebbles.

fig 4

Tips

If you use liquid glue you need to be extra patient with this project — you cannot finish it in a day, due to the time needed for the glue to harden after every embellishing item you add to your candle. I suggest you glue all the embellishments on the right side of the driftwood piece on Day 1, and the ones on the left side of the driftwood on Day 2.
You also need to keep your pillar candle lying down on a flat surface (e.g. a table) while working on the embellishments and waiting for the liquid glue to dry completely.
If you use hot glue you need to be extra careful with the size of glue blobs, as hot glue spreads after pushing the shells and pearls in it. If you use too much glue your project may be ruined.
Instead of woven fabric, you could use a strip of burlap or wrap twine around your white candle. •

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Updated 1/21/14