Decoupage Candles

Over the holidays I made Decoupage Candles

using pretty French napkins that I found in 

one of my favorite boutiques. 

They were so easy to do, so I thought I would

share the technique with you.

Supplies needed:
Glass encased candles
printed napkins
decoupage medium or white glue
 1" wide paint brush
glitter
ribbon

I used glass encased 'storm' candles. 

I found these in the candle section of my local home-goods store. 

Any glass candle will work, 

as long as it has an area of straight sides. 

Curves are too difficult to cover. 

I fell in love with this beautiful design. 

You can use any napkin that appeals to you! 

Specialty napkins with a printed design are best. 

They are sturdier than the average table napkins.

You will want to find napkins 

sized to fit the straight sides of your glass candle, 

so keep that in mind. 

Open up the napkin and tear it in half along the fold,

as shown above. 

To do this, work very slowly. 

This will give you a lovely edge that looks like 

hand-made paper. 

This edge will be the top. 

Next, separate the ply. Most napkins are 3-ply. 

This is tricky and tedious to find the edge, but

if you don't separate the ply, the decoupage medium

will only grab the innermost ply and you will be left with 

a blank candle! 

So make sure you separate the printed ply from all others. 

Now you want to wrap your napkin piece around the candle

and cut to size. 

You will want to keep your napkin top in line with the wax

inside the candle for best results. 

Trim the bottom if need be. 

Now comes the fun part! 

You will need a glue-safe surface to work. 

I have a stiff plastic reusable mat, but a plastic garbage

bag will work, too! 

To decoupage you will need a decoupage 'medium'. 

I prefer 'Mod-Podge' in a Matt finish. 

You can also use white glue, slightly thinned with water
if too thick, but not 'drippy'. 

Pour some of it into a plastic dish and using a 1 inch wide

bristle paintbrush, brush your 'medium' onto the glass candle

where you will apply your napkin. 

Don't be afraid to go a little past the area - it will dry clear. 

This part is a little tricky. You will want to hold the napkin

perfectly straight up and down in front of the candle

and then gently tap that edge in place, holding the rest of the napkin

away from the candle. 

Gently tap (do not rub) along this edge as you gradually

adhere the napkin around the candle, working your fingers from top to bottom -

tap, tap, tap as you go around. 

Do not pull on the napkin, simply let it fall in place. 

Try to keep your fingers as dry as possible, using a folded paper towel

 as a blotter on your work surface. 

Once you get the napkin in place, gently tap around it to secure. 

The napkin will be slightly 'bumpy' and rough, but this gives it 

that hand-made paper effect. 

You may find that the napkin has stretched a bit due to the medium or glue, 

so if you come up with an extra flap at the end, you can cut this off

once the candle has dried, dabbing the edge with more decoupage medium

or glue to hold any loose edges in place. 

Once the candle is dry, you might like to apply some glitter to the rim! 

There are two methods - either use glitter glue and simply apply it to the rim, 

or fill a small plastic lid with loose glitter, apply a thin bead of glue to the rim

of the candle, and then dunk the rim in the glitter! The trick is to use a very thin line

of glue so it doesn't run. 

Here you can see it did run a bit, but I learned from my mistake! 

You can finish your candles off with a pretty ribbon tied 

around the rim for gift giving- 

but remember to remind your recipient to 

remove these when burning the candle. 

I made 4 to keep for myself, and a dozen more for gift giving. 

If you are doing multiples, it is easiest to cut and prepare your napkins
 all at once, while your fingers are dry,

before starting to decoupage. 

I hope this inspires you to give Decoupage Candles a try! 

This is a beautiful way to use up those pretty napkins

you may have left over from special occasions 

or holidays and they make lovely gifts all year round. 

xoxo


Today I am linking with: The Enchanting Rose and
Rooted in Thyme - Simple and Sweet Fridays

Chinese Take-Out

On New Year's Eve, my Ramblin' Man and I 

 treated ourselves to Chinese Take-Out. 

This is one of our favorite treats. 

We like to stay home and get cozy on New Year's Eve, 

and the Mr. simply picked up the order on his way 

home from the office. 

It gave me an excuse to set out my small collection 

of Chinese linens and dishes. 

It all started with this little table cloth a few years ago. 

It was in pristine condition with cross-stitch on 

a stiff flax fabric, pieced together with beautiful stitching. 

I think I paid a whole $3.00 for it! 

From there I started collecting a piece here and there

and stashing it all away. 

Then, over the summer, I found two plates

and a few smaller pieces in this beautiful carp design. 

Finally, I could set a complete table for two! 

I have one really old piece that I acquired in the early 80's

when I had my own antique shop. 

It is this pretty little rice spoon with hand painted dragon

and 14 karat gilding. 

It just sort of kicked around in my collections for many years

before I started finding it some friends. :) 

I am so surprised that it has survived unscathed through all these years

and 4 little children! It was my inspiration to keep going with the collection. 

This little hand painted porcelain box has a pretty Chinese scene....

As does this one. 

I use it to hold the fortune cookies, and the 

oval one holds the fortunes. 

This pretty embroidered cloth was my most recent addition -
 a gift from a dear loved one.

Look at those tiny stitches! 

It is the size of a tea towel - perhaps it was a napkin?

I love how the dragons have 'smoke' coming out of their noses. 

I like their feet, too :) 

I even have a pretty Chinese tunic.....

Don't you love the detail? 

I set up my portable table in the living room, 

so we could get cozy in front of the fire. 

Maggie looks so sweet, doesn't she? 

She turned into a ferocious tiger once the food was set out, though! 

She wanted us to share! 

(Of course we did - sparingly :)

Everything was very cozy as I waited for my Ramblin' Man

to come home. 

The sun set on the last day of 2014, turning Mt. Rainier

a lovely shade of rose. 

I enjoyed these last beautiful rays....

It was a delicious last meal.....

We did some reminiscing of the year that was, 

the trials and the blessings.....

and made some plans for the new. 

And then it was time to read our fortunes....

I know I am blessed because I have you, Dear Friends! 

We made it through another year! 

The good and the bad and the in-between.....

It was all that much better knowing I had 

you to share it with! 

And so as we watched the moon rise above the mountains,

 hand in hand,  

the air was filled with revelry all around, 

echoing through the hills and valleys of our little corner of the world. 

Another year over- 

make way for the new! 

xoxo

Thank you, Dear Friends, for your friendship and support! 

It has been a blessing getting to know all of you through 

this little world of blogland. 

I have laughed and cried, been inspired and motivated, 

loved and learned from you and with you. 

I am looking forward to another year of wonderful friendship

with all of you! 

xoxo

P.S. - Daughter Heather is improving, slowly but surely. 

We are blessed. 

xoxo

Vintage Crocheted 'Doily' Pillows

When I am out thrifting, I am always

on the lookout for vintage crocheted pieces. 

As a crocheter  myself, I can appreciate the 

hours of work and skill it takes to create 

these beautiful treasures. 

Vintage crocheted doilies, placemats, 

and table runners can be re-purposed 

in very lovely ways. 

This holiday season I was inspired to create 

this pretty pillow out of a large vintage doily.

(You know, because I didn't have enough to do! *grin*)

 It reminded me of a beautiful snowflake! 

To make one of your own, simply trace the doily 

perimeter onto a doubled piece of fabric to use as a backing. 

I simply used a pencil. 

When cutting out your fabric - add 1/2 inch seam allowance. 

Sew your two fabric pieces together,
right sides facing, with a 1/2 inch seam allowance and 

leaving a 6-8 inch opening for stuffing. 

Turn right sides out and press. 

I used a piece of soft woven fabric I found at the thrift store.

This pillow would look equally beautiful with a colored fabric
as the background. 

Perhaps blush pink or soft gray? 

For the next step, you will want to pin your doily 

onto the flattened, unstuffed pillow, right along the edge. 

It is o.k. if the doily is a little larger or smaller, 

just pin it right along that seam line. 

This is where you will hand stitch the doily to the pillow. 

I made my pillow a little smaller than the doily, so 

that it would have a bit of a lacy edge. 

When you are done with the hand stitching, stuff your 

pillow with fiberfill and hand sew the opening shut. 

Hint: don't over-stuff, you want your pillow to be soft

and a little flat. 

Now you can embellish your pillow with whatever you desire. 

Here, I have used a burlap rose that I found at a shop. 

It had a little clip on the back already. I just slipped it 

gently into the crochet to hold it. 

It would be equally sweet with a jeweled brooch

or large button! 

You could even put buttons on both sides, 

catching front and back together with heavy 

thread to form an indentation. 

I also made some rectangular pillows for 

my French Settee'. 

The Large Pillow was created last year
from a crocheted table runner

and a dresser scarf.

(Click on the link to get the directions)

This smaller pillow was my recent creation.

I used the same construction techniques as the round pillow,
(and the same backing fabric).

The larger pillow was backed with a tea-stained dresser scarf,
highlighting the pretty crochet design.

I left the beautiful edges free.

Another lovely use of vintage crocheted table runners
is to use them as window treatments.

Here I have found one that fits my kitchen conservatory window.
I simply slid a thin tension rod in and out of the crochet weave
and hung it behind my reed blind.

(Showing the thin tension rod woven in the crochet...)

So easy and it doesn't damage the piece so it can be used
as a table runner when you want a new look.

A wider and longer one would look lovely as a cafe curtain
using curtain clips.

This is Maggie's favorite place to spend a cold winter day....

I hope this inspires you to take a fresh look at those
vintage crocheted doilies you might have collected
over the years!
For very little money and time,
you can create your own lovely pillows and curtains
found in those high-priced specialty shops.

Happy thrifting and creating, my Friends! 

xoxo

Linking with :My Salvaged Treasures - Vintage Inspiration Party

and 

Rooted in Thyme - Sweet and Simple Fridays

Won't you join the party? 

xoxo