Festive Candle Crafts

We were trying to come up with something crafty for the girls to do as a gift. I pulled up a bunch of interesting-looking ones on Pinterest, like cinnamon sticks wrapped around candles from She Knows and a cute mason jar craft from Spark and Chemistry, and I mentioned old reliables, like corn husk dolls. At the time, no one seemed particularly interested in doing anything. I can’t remember why–maybe no one was paying attention? For whatever reason, the kids said that they wanted to do corn husk dolls.

I went to PriceRite, because it’s a reliable source of corn husks. But while I was there, I bought a a 12-oz bag of Badia cinnamon sticks. It was a huge bag for only $2.99, and I figured that, even if the girls weren’t interested in doing those cute candles, I might make them myself sometime. Plus, Christmas is coming, and cinnamon sticks are great for crafty ornaments, too.

J came home from school when my purchases were still scattered on the table, and did she seize upon the corn husks? No. She zeroed in on the cinnamon sticks. “But, Mom, why do we have these? Mom, I thought that we weren’t making those cinnamon candles.”

“YOU guys said that YOU didn’t want to make the cinnamon candles. I thought that they were cute, so I got some cinnamon sticks.”

“So, wait, are allowed to make those cinnamon candles?” J asked.

“Yes! Of course you’re allowed! But I don’t have any candles right now because no one was interested in doing that craft.” Whatever. The next day I picked up some basic pillar candles, and I don’t think that J bothered to take her coat off before she started working on a cinnamon candle. This craft is easy. I’ve seen other versions using a glue gun and, honestly? I think the craft project would benefit with a little sticky reinforcement, but J was already off and running, so we skipped that part. When M came home, she set to work, too.

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The two of them were happily crafting, so I headed into the kitchen to do something. The next time I came around the corner, J was off and running on the other craft, a decoupaged mason jar. Argh. I’d actually seen these adorable small mason jars at the craft store, but I hadn’t bought them because no one had shown any interest in doing that craft. And they were super-cheap, too, but I feared that they’d just end up collecting dust in the garage like those big mason jars that we have.  So, that was my thought process at the store, and here I was at home, and J had retrieved a big, dust-covered mason jar, and she was already adding leaves from our supply for our Thankful Tree. Well, I decided, she’s already started, so no reason not to finish this one.  And it is pretty.

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Actually, we ended up adding a rafia bow around the rim, so it looks prettier now. But I was a little concerned about transporting this big ol’ jar, so we only made one of these. But again, it was very simple, like the decoupaged vases we’ve made before (which make an excellent gift).

Anyway, both of these crafts are easy for kids to do, and they’re a perfect either as a gift for relatives or as an activity for a bunch of kids this Thanksgiving.

 

3 Comments

  1. Big Sister

    We are really enjoying these beautiful candles that say “Thanksgiving” in the most festive way!

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