Christmas decorating for me this year has been a slow process and that’s okay. Sometimes, I race ahead and get it all done in a couple of days. In other cases, I make things and add new touches right up until Christmas Eve. It’s just done when I feel ready to stop. I think this year’s decorating has been slow because it’s my first time decorating these rooms. Even though we had these same rooms last year, the kitchen has been renovated and many other spaces have been painted and altered to fit our style. They all feel different and I need to take some time to decide where I want to put the decor. Even though I like to play and make adjustments each year, I think next year will go much quicker because I’ll have a better sense of what I liked where.
Anyway, I have found that even though I’m working through the season at a snail’s pace (comparatively), I am really leaning into making things. I am crocheting garland, making all sorts of things out of dried orange slices, ordering materials to make some new handmade ornaments, and I’m already planning a day to make some new salt dough gingerbread houses since I gave the ones I made a couple of years ago when we moved. (I wasn’t sure how they would hold up in the heat of a moving container.) While I feel a sense of urgency to get it all done, I remind myself that it’s okay to take my time and enjoy the projects. And it’s okay if I don’t get everything done.
One of the things I worked on last week was these LED taper candle holders. I have never seen an LED flameless candle that I really loved, but I bought THESE on the recommendation of a friend. I like the idea of having the candlelight glow without the safety concerns (especially with curious cats.) These particular candles are real wax, so they look very convincing right from the start. It’s the flame that I was skeptical about, but they are fantastic. You can see in the photos how realistic they look…
Buying these taper candles presented me with a problem, though. I thought I had some silver taper candle holders, but I must’ve parted with them somewhere along the way because I couldn’t find them. I have a couple of glass ones, but these tapers didn’t fit tightly in them. I was able to find a pretty pair of pewter candle holders at a consignment store last week and picked them up for a good price ($18), but I didn’t have any others. What I would normally do with candles is stick them in place with hot glue or hot wax. In the case of an LED candle, that’s not going to work. So, here is how I got around that…
Materials
- LED Flameless candles
- Sticky-backed weather stripping (I used 1/2″ x 1/4″)
- Fillers like fresh cranberries, mini pinecones, moss, evergreen sprigs, beads, etc…
- Improvised candle holders like cups, mugs, small crocks, bowls, etc. I linked a few ideas below…
There is a video below if you prefer that method, but here are a few photos showing how I got these LED candles to stand upright in antique cups and crocks I already had. I thought for a while about different options like a ring of putty or a cardboard collar. I think those ideas could work, but I suddenly remembered I had some foam weatherstripping I had used around some of our windows and doors to seal gaps. It would be perfect.
I removed the paper protecting the adhesive side of the striping and stuck it on in a circular pattern. It’s lightweight, easy to remove and it helps the candle to stand upright without interfering with the on-off button and access to the battery chamber.
Because weatherstripping at the base of a candle doesn’t look very pretty, I added some decorative filler. I used fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs in one and preserved moss in another. Some other ideas would be mini pinecones, beads, small jingle bells, nuts, grains like lentils or whole oats, whole spices like cloves, star anise, or pink peppercorns… There are so many things you could use to make these look wintry, Christmasy, or to fit other seasons.
Video Tutorial
I love projects like this that are simple and classic and can be carried into other seasons and used year after year…
12 Responses
I love this! I did something very similar, using putty in the bottom of espresso cups for led candles. I did not add filler though, and I see that is a perfect addition, so will go back and do it.
I just want to thank you for your “slow” decorating this year. I love seeing all the beautiful homes, but I start much later than instagram, and am trying not to feel behind. While I appreciate the inspiration I get early on in November, even though I don’t start until after Thanksgiving, I will enjoy my house decorated for the season well into January.
Again, thank you for your inspiration!
VERY clever idea! And perhaps it is a blessing you couldn’t find your old holders because what you created here with natural things is absolutely stunning and very pin-worthy!
What great timing for your article! I have been trying to figure out how to display my led candles. I put some in windows on a timer, but they wouldn’t stand up well in my glass candle holders. Thanks for the ideas!
Great idea but I am so waiting patiently for your hand crochet garland post. Please, please.
I have the same taper candles and they are the best faux flames I have seen. I got mine on Amazon with a small remote control, that will turn them on for 2, 4, 6 or 8 hours every day.
I have had these candles for a couple of years and they are great! Currently I have them in candle holders but I have extra ones that I am go to try your idea. Yours look very festive and I can’t wait to do this tomorrow. Hopefully my husband has some weather stripping handy. Great idea. Thank you!
I have had these candles for a couple of years and they are great! Currently I have them in candle holders but I have extra ones that I am go to try your idea. Yours look very festive and I can’t wait to do this tomorrow. Thank you for another wonderful idea.
please give brand recommendations for 4×4, 4×6, 4×8 LED pillar candles. i am buying these tapers on your recommendation as well as the weather stripping (great idea!), but when i searched their site this brand doesn’t have the pillars in the color/sizes i need.
Yes, I am trying to find good pillar candles and will share when I find some good ones!
I found some really nice LED pillar candles at a local shop. The brand is Uyuni. I searched online and found a few sources. They were not inexpensive but the best quality and flame of any I have found.
Wow, those are some VERY realistic looking candles. Is there any greenish tint to the flame color in the dark? The biggest problem with LEDs is that most lights out there give off the wrong color temperature and therefore always look fake. The good ones are hard to find, and we all desire the good ones because they are so useful in so many places where real fire is a danger!
No, there isn’t a green tint to the flame. I would say it has an orange tint to it. When you look straight at it, you can tell it’s an LED light, but in the context of a room, it looks very realistic. My sons even thought they were real candles that I accidentally left burning.