Craft: transforming traditional crafts

Materials

8 glass tea light holders
Assorted color tissue paper
Matte Mod Podge
Shimmer Mod Podge (optional)
Paintbrush or foam brush
Scissors
8 tea light candles
Small candle and holder

Directions

Step 1: Cut some tissue into roughly square shapes, measuring about 1"×1". Don't be too precise about this, however — you'll want your pieces to have a pleasing randomness.

It takes surprisingly little tissue to make enough squares for 8 candleholders. I used about ¼ sheet of each color tissue here.

Step 2: If you like, you can mix a little Shimmer Mod Podge into a larger amount of Matte Mod Podge. This creates a pretty silvery effect. Just add a tiny bit at a time until the Mod Podge takes on a pearly color.

If you don't have any Shimmer Mod Podge on hand, don't worry — this project works just as well with plain Matte Mod Podge (or gloss, for that matter).

Step 3: It's best to work in sections as you adhere the tissue to the candleholders. Begin by brushing a thin coat of Mod Podge onto the glass.

Step 4: Gently place some tissue pieces over the Mod Podge, aligning them with the top and bottom edges of the candleholder where needed. Let the tissue overlap here and there — this will form beautiful color effects when light shines through it.

Step 5: Next, brush another thin coat of Mod Podge over the top of the tissue, being careful not to wrinkle the edges as you brush. If you like, you can layer on some more tissue at this point, and brush on a third coat of Mod Podge.

You can get a preview of how the colors will look if you peek through the inside of the glass.

Step 6: Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until you've covered the entire candleholder. Allow it to dry thoroughly.

Blending Colors

For this project, I decided to use 2 shades each of green, blue, and purple tissue. I was able to blend the colors together by combining them in various ways, as shown here. You can get some beautiful effects by layering one color over another.

Using the Menorah

Place the finished candleholders side by side, with a small candle and holder in the center. This central candle is used to light the others over the 8 nights of Hanukkah.

Candles like this are available at many craft and home stores, or online at www.generalwax.com.

About the Author:

Diane Gilleland produces CraftyPod, a blog and bi-weekly podcast about making stuff. Her first book, Kanzashi In Bloom is currently out in bookstores.