Elegant Votive Candle by Candy Spiegel

You can be sure of one thing when you live in Michigan — during the winter, the days are short and generally cloudy.
Christmas lights and holiday fun helps get me through November and December, but when the decorations come down in January, the cloudy, dark days can easily bring a person down.
So, I decided to extend the sparkle of the holidays right through winter by making an elegant candle holder.
I started with an inexpensive, plain votive cup. (I got mine at the Goodwill store for less than a dollar.)
At first, I planned to add just a bit of sparkle to the bottom third of the cup, so I started with strips of 1/4 inch Sticky Tape, like this.

Leaving the top of the tape on, I went in between the lines with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and added a light layer of  glue.
NOTE: You will want to use your Ultrafine Metal Tip for this and really spread the glue around. If you put it on too thick, it may drip down the side of the glass.
On the glue, I sprinkled Ultrafine Transparent Glitter in Blue Rain (120).

Then, I peeled off the covering on the tape and added Faux Snow. And this is where I got a bit carried away … In fact, I loved the look of the Faux Snow so much, I used Designer Dries Clear Adhesive to cover almost the entire exterior of the cup! It reminded me of a sparkly sweater and I just kept going and going.
Then, using my finger, I applied a little adhesive to the top rim and dipped it in some additional glitter.
I let the cup dry over night and then gently brushed off the excess.
Naturally, I wanted a little more added to the votive. I found a couple of clear beads from Maya Road in my stash and went to work making embellishments for my votive.
The first one has a flat back, so I used Art Glitter’s Very Black Permanent Stamp Pad and a Tim Holtz snowflake stamp to add a bit of design to the back.

I then heated it to set the ink, covered the back lightly with a layer of Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and dusted it with the same Blue Rain glitter I used on the glass.
Then, I thought that as beautiful as this white and silvery votive was, I still might like a little color. So, I took a smaller bead and covered one side with adhesive and then a layer of Microfine Opaque Bahaman Blue (512).  Because the surface was not flat, this was a bit more difficult and I had to repeat the process once the first layer was dry. Keep in mind that if you do the same, make sure to smear the adhesive with your finger … Designer Dries Clear Adhesive can dry with a bit of dimension that you will be able to see in your finished product if you don’t smear it out.
Next, I attached a bit of ribbon and a few jump rings.

But, it still didn’t feel quite finished to me.
So, I adhered a piece of Sticky Paper to a scrap of white cardstock and then ran it through my Sizzix Big Shot with the small bird die from Tim Holtz. Then, I removed the protective layer off of the Sticky Paper and covered the image in the same Blue Rain glitter. For a final touch, I added an eye with Ranger’s Liquid Pearls and then attached it to the votive with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive. Because I was attaching it to the Faux Snow on glass, I had to hold it for a minute or two before it took hold.

Then, I inserted a flameless tea light and …

CAUTION: I have no idea how Faux Snow or glitter will hold up to heat or a flame, so I would recommend ONLY using flameless lights inside the votive. They are safer and just as pretty!
This is sure to keep the winter blues away!
I received Art Glitter products in exchange for this post.