These were fun to do and much easier than might be guessed just by looking at them. The candles are store-bought--we just did the decorating.
Materials:
12" x 12" sheet of 32-, 36- or 40-gauge aluminum
12" x 12" sheet of 32-, 36 - or 40-gauge copper
pillar candle
scissors to cut metal
paper or cardstock
pencil
industrial-strength double-sided tape
stylus, dry ballpoint pen, bone folder, etc. for embossing
Steps:
1. The candle decoration demonstrated on the show was made by first cutting a strip of paper or cardstock for a pattern. Our strip was 1-1/2 inch wide and long enough to go around the candle with a 1/2-inch overlap.
2. Fold back the 1/2-inch overlap on the strip and divide the remaining portion of the strip into thirds. Mark each measurement with a dot.
3. Draw and cut out three 1-1/2-inch squares. Place a square diagonally on the strip at each dot. It should overlap the strip about 1/4 inch. Glue to hold (figure A).
4. Place the pattern on a piece of copper and trace around it with the stylus. Repeat on the aluminum strip (figure B).
5. Cut out along the embossed lines (figure C). NOTE: If you feel that cutting all those angles might be too tricky, you can cut the strips and the squares separately and apply them to the candle individually. It makes no difference.
6. Place a strip of industrial-strength double-sided tape on the back of the copper strip and wrap it around the base of the candle (figure D).
7. Repeat step 6 with the aluminum strip, but off-set it a bit so the squares alternate and overlap only slightly (figure E).
8. Cut a 3/4-inch-wide strip of copper, back with the tape and place along the middle of the aluminum strip on the candle.
9. Punch or cut out a number of smaller squares, back with the tape and place at random around the candle. Also place a smaller copper square over each of the aluminum squares on the band going around the candle (figure F).
To further enhance the candle's appearance, you can dress up the metal pieces before attaching them to the candle. Use decorative-edged scissors to cut the strip of copper that goes around the candle last. Emboss the copper squares that are placed randomly around the candle. Cut extra squares, emboss and attach them over the diagonally placed squares around the base (figure G).
Use a flower-shaped paper punch to punch flowers from a 2-inch-wide metal strip to go around the bottom of the candle. Curve up the edges of the flowers just so slightly. Coil a short length of fine copper wire into a spiral, place it in the center of the punched flower and anchor it in place by pushing a pin through a seed bead, the spiral, the metal flower and into the candle. Make similar flower centers in the middle of the punched-out areas of the strip. Add a bit of metal paint to the petals if desired (figure H).
Our first candle was ecru colored (figure I). Try the same design on a dark navy or burgundy-colored candle. It gives a totally different look (figure J).
Easy, easy, easy was the one where we put a piece of the copper into a die-cut machine and punched out a vine and then attached it with tape (figure K) to the candle!
Resources sheet aluminum, sheet copperLefranc & Bourgeois Glass, Tile & Metalworks
11 Constitution Ave.
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1396
Toll Free Phone: 800-445-4278
scissors
Fiskars
Website:
www.fiskars.com
double-sided adhesive tapeKreinik Mfg. Co., Inc
Website:
www.kreinik.comdie cuts and machineAccu-Cut Systems
Fremont, NE
Phone: 402-721-4134
Toll-free Phone: 800-288-1670
E-mail:
productinfo@accucut.com
Website:
www.accucut.com
Also in this Episode
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