I wanted to share a really quick and easy idea for dressing up glass candle holders. Sonoma County has a few really good latin markets that sell these inexpensive candle holders, i purchased mine blank for about $1 each. Most times you see them with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe or another Saint printed on them, but our local market also has them in plain colors without any markings too. ;)

I always love getting a large assortment of these for outdoor parties as the candles burn forever and the long tapered glass enclosure helps to keep the candles from blowing out. Once I get them home I always dress them up in some fashion with little bits I have left over from kits, so I thought I’d show you two versions using bits and pieces from the Kenner Road July kits.

To create the Birch Beer candle I cut a 3″ x 7″ piece {i measured my candle circumference so I had an exact measurement for this} of JBS pattern paper {Scarborough Faire kit} and stitched along all four edges about 1/8″ in to create a border. Then I hand-cut the Birch Beer label {Blue Ribbon Kit} and layered it over a piece of cream cardstock. I cut the cardstock about 1/8″ larger than the label so there would be definition between the two pieces of patterned paper.

I then adhered the cream cardstock piece to the pattern paper. Then i adhered an embroidered ribbon {Sweetwater embellishment kit} to the cardstock and applied the Birch Beer label over the ribbon. Next, I punched holes in the corners of the Birch Beer label {there are four little circles in each corner which i punched right through} and then slipped the Tim Holtz brads and one metal leaf {Blue ribbon kit} for some visual interest.

After getting the label completely ready i adhered it to the candle with some heavy duty tacky tape making sure to center on the candle holder and match up the back seams.

Next I tied the ribbon up and trimmed the ends so they were a bit shorter than the candle and wouldn’t touch the surface it was sitting on. You of course could leave them long or tie a big beautiful bow.

Here you can see how the layers work and the metal foliage pieces really accent the label.

For the other candle holder I used the big gorgeous Basic Grey flower rub on in the june bug olio pack {Blue Ribbon kit}. This was a bit tricky as the glass was super smooth and the rubons didn’t want to release. My trick was to hold the rubon in the glass with my hand covering it so it heated up the rubon. then i began rubbing on one end and once it began to release i slowly started helping it by pulling up on the rubon film {the piece the rubon is adhered too}. Be slow and steady when doing this so you don’t break your rubon.

Once I had the rubon applied, I glued on some flower accents {Animal Crackers kit} and some more foliage metal pieces {Blue Ribbon kit}.

To finish off the candles i threaded the wicks with some buttons and a few mini metal flowers, just like all of those expensive candles you see in boutiques.

Now I have a few candles waiting for our next party or even as a hostess gift when we go to a friends house.

Also, we wanted to announce the winner of our July Blog Challenge “stamps”, Didee. I adore her cuddles in the garden layout and the stamped tag she used! Congratulations Diana you win a Blue Ribbon add-on kit!! Send me an email info [at] kenner road [dot] com and we’ll get it out to you asap.

Stay tuned for some sneaks and more as we get ready for our August reveal on Friday at 9pm pacific!

xoxo

You may have noticed by now that there is definitely a theme that we {the creative team} are working through on the blog this month. When I began developing the Constant Companion kit for May I really kept thinking about friendship, and I love that Jessi’s post on monday was focused around being a good samaritan, something that I believe can really make a difference in the world.

One of the things that i love doing for my friends is giving gifts that are a reflection of who they are and what they love. What i don’t love about gift giving is the price of gift cards and gift wrap. I {like alot of you I am sure…} have really made a focus over the last few years to be as green as i am able and I really believe that giving gifts doesn’t have to incorporate alot of wrapping or cost, it just requires some ingenuity and some personal focus on who your giftee is, and your scraps are perfect for creating quick and beautiful gift tags.

One of our friends recently made a move into a new house and I think there is nothing better as a housewarming present as a fabulous bottle of wine. Once those boxes are unpacked, or during if you’re like me ;), it’s nice to know there is something to savor for all of that hardwork and schlepping of boxes.

This gift tag took all of two minutes to create. I just stacked some of the Sassafras Lass chipboard frames from the May sweet dreams add-on kit and then added some paper {the striped pattern is from the rub-ons packaging} and a “welcome home” rub-on. Then I cut a slit in the top and thread the ribbon through and tied it around the wine bottle. Simple and very quick.

Another friend is expecting a baby in a few months and i found this adorable vintage baby lap quilt at the thrift store last week. I wanted to give it to her wrapped pretty, but I definitely didn’t want to waste a lot of paper on gift wrap. So I folded it accordian style and along with some vintage seam binding I added a bright and cheerful vintage style tag.

To create the gift tag I used some paper scraps from a few of the May kits and added them to the bingo card in the Mister Mister add-on kit. Then I stacked one of the October Afternoon Wild Cards on top with pop dots and added another Sassafras Lass chipboard piece with the “handmade” stamps from the Sweet Dreams kit {again, I used pop dots}. I love that the tag is bright and cheerful but it definitely has a vintage vibe that goes perfect with the quilt.

Here’s to new beginnings on life and home and hopefully next time you need a little tag or card for a gift you’ll turn to your stash. I know the recipient will love that you took the extra effort to create something personable for them, I always do.

happy friday!

ps : sneak peeks are sunday … any guesses on what’s coming next? ;)