Homemade Christmas gift idea (Candle Holder)

[Zem18]

Thank me later for this one.

So we were camping in the Adirondacks this past August and we took the wives and kids to Lake Placid. Went into this 3 story store that had tons of hand made furniture and knick knacks. (Forgot the name of it though) Wives loved it and I got my idea in this store. It's too late for this year but keep it in mind for next year. You may want to cut the trees this year so they can season or dry some. Drilling wet wood is not fun.

I borrowed a 1.5 inch Forstner drill bit from a friend and used my FIL's drill press. Also used his chop saw to cut the white birch to length. Used small tealight candles from the Dollar Store or craft store. Ribbon came from the Dollar Store as well. They came out more decorative than usable because it's wood and it will burn. I'm sure I could have found a sealant that was fire retardant or bought the flameless candles but didn't go that far. Feel free to copy the idea. I took one to work and the women asked me to make some for them and they'd pay me. I made some for them as gifts as well. They suggested selling them on ETSY. No clue what that is but will look it up sometime. 

Lastly, I didn't hot glue them together but you can. I used the ribbon you would use to tie onto a balloon to hold the three pieces together and then a one or two inch ribbon over the top to make it girly, I mean more decorative. Also did a few larger ones with 3 candles on top. No pics of them yet but will add tomorrow. 

Let me know if have any questions.

Just cutting and drilling which is pretty easy so save the idea for next year.

Materials needed:

White birch at least 2 inches in width, balloon ribbon, or hot glue, and 1" or 2" decorative ribbon, chop saw, electric drill (cordless too wimpy) or drill press, 1.5" spade bit or Forstner bit and tealight candles. 

 

Edited December 24, 2016 by Zem18
Pics

[wooly]

Pretty creative, and a nice decorative piece..... BUT, birch bark candle holders don't sound like a good idea to me for some strange reason.

You realize birch is made of wood right,lol

Edited December 24, 2016 by wooly

[DirtTime]

Nifty idea and cool as ice looking.

But, as wooly mentioned, it's wood, and birch for that matter. Many bushcrafters consider birch bark as one of the top ways to get a fire started with using a ferrell rod. It takes a spark pretty fast. 

[BizCT]

I'll buy them all. How much? Please note that I will sue you when my house burns down lol


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[wolc123]

They sure are purty but form should follow function and they fail the later part.   Don't do it folks.  Our house was lost to a fire around Christmas many years and it is not fun.  My old deer grinder, that got saved while submerged by the fire-fighters water down in the basement, still has the burn-marks on it.  That still serves to give me a timely reminder of fire safety every fall.          

[Paula]

Looks like they are tea candles so it looks like flame won't hit the wood

Edited December 24, 2016 by Paula

[Zem18]

Again they are more the decorative piece than functional and yes I realize birch bark and the wood itself is flammable. Ill pick up some of the battery operated tea lights and the function will also be included. Was using what I had at the moment. 

[grampy]

I like having a touch of the woods inside our home. Nice idea, they look great!

[Nomad]

Not a big fan of candles , I mean the are good for business , anyway heres a store bought one someone gave us . Along with a pic of a Christmas tree fire we had on Christmas this year.  Nobody was home but being in the city we got a call as soon as flames broke out one window . We made fast work of it containing the fire to less than half of one room . Decorations , strings of lights , holiday candles use caution .

[Zem18]

Our friends I gave them to used the battery operated ones. Here is a picture.