Pottery Barn Candle Knockoff

This Christmas, why not wow with a gift that looks like it came straight from Pottery Barn?

Where else would you go to create your Pottery Barn inspired gift?  The Dollar Store or Goodwill, of course.

Load up your basket with a glass candle stick, a tall glass vase, a pillar wax candle {which is becoming harder to find these days}, some white tissue paper, and a bag of cranberries (okay, you might have to go to the grocery store to buy the cranberries).

To create your hurricane, you’ll need some Gorilla Glue. Apply some Gorilla Glue to the top of your candle stick. Be warned: a little goes a long way. Put the candle stick on top of the vase and allow plenty of time for it to dry and adhere.

Now to give your pillar candle some Christmas cheer. The possibilities are endless, you could add a black and white picture or a poem to your candle. I decided to add some Christmas music to my candle.
Whatever you decide to add to your candle, you’ll need to print it onto your tissue paper. First, grab a piece of card stock (the color does not matter), some tissue paper, and some tape.

Tape your tissue paper onto the card stock.  To prevent printer jams, make sure you tape all edges of the tissue paper onto the card stock.

Make sure to load the tissue paper into your printer in the direction that will result in the tissue paper side being printed on and not the card stock. Then print your design. You may also want to guide the card stock/tissue paper by gently pushing down on it as the printer is pulling it through.

When it comes out of the printer, it should look something like this:

Cut the edges to free your printed tissue paper. This is far easier then trying to remove the pieces of tape.

Wrap the tissue paper around your pillar candle. I secured my tissue paper into place using a few push pins.

Grab your hair dryer. Set it on high or hot and begin to apply heat to the tissue paper.  You will start to see the candle wax grabbing ahold of the tissue paper.

Continue working your way around the candle, heating every part of the tissue paper to the pillar candle.The last step, putting it all together. Put some of those cranberries into the bottom of the hurricane vase.

Then add your pillar candle.

What’s better than a Pottery Barn gift? A gift made from the heart on a Dollar Store budget.


*I shared this post, last year, on Money Savings Mom, when it seemed like the wax candles were easier to find and my photography skills were obviously lacking :)


And be sure to check out my other Christmas inspired posts:

Star Wars Ornaments

DIY Advent Calendar

DIY Santa Beard

Bunny Tail Tutorial

Looking for an easy craft even the kids can help with? Why not whip up some bunny tails.

Grab the following supplies:

Cotton balls {I used about 15}

Glue {Elmer's Glue or Tacky Glue}

String

Cut the string long enough to tie around your little one's waist.  Grab those cotton balls and begin to glue.  Glue the cotton balls to each other and then to the center of string.  The hardest part, wait for the glue to dry. 

Bunny tails, the perfect accessory for any Easter egg hunt.

Even Riley participated.

This was just for practice so when my little bunny realized her eggs were empty, I think she was disappointed.

But she certainly looked cute, wearing her bunny tail, collecting those eggs.

Library Tote

There is a small part of me, the part I admit is slightly obsessive and insane, that worries one of our checked out library books will get misplaced and will never be found again. So to thwart off the wasted energy I have put into worrying about the well being of said library books, I decided to designate a tote to them.

For this project, I had to head over to JoAnn Fabric to get a few of the supplies, like the ready made tote {I am all about short cuts when it comes to sewing}. They sell a package that includes 3 canvas totes {I used a 40% off coupon so they were roughly $4 for 3 of them}.

Other supplies you'll need:
Brightly colored felt {yes, another felt craft}
Straight pins
Needle and coordinating thread matching your brightly colored felt

Optional library card pocket supplies:
More felt {it's funny, I never tire of saying that}
Some clear plastic {you know, the kind your license is behind in your wallet, they sell it super cheap at most fabric stores}

I printed out R E A D using Berlin Sans FB Demi (I assume it is a basic word font), font size 350, to use as a template for my letters.

I cut the letters out and traced each onto brightly colored felt {using my water solvable pen}.

After cutting out the letters in felt form, pin them to your tote.

I hand sewed my letters down using a running stitch.

Optional Step: Create a pocket for your library card.

I hesitate to even share this step because I am by far a sewing expert but I love the idea of adding our library card to the bag {side note: though I worry about losing our books, I rarely worry about losing our card, at least my neuroses have limits}.

You'll need to make sure the pocket you construct is big enough to hold your card. My pocket, from edge to edge is 5 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches tall. The border of felt around is approximately 3/4ths of an inch.

Using my sewing machine, I sewed the top of my pocket {plastic and felt} to each other. Then, I sewed the other 3 sides onto the canvas bag, sewing both the inside and outside border of felt.

Obviously, with my stumbling how to explanation for my pocket, I am by no means an expert, so if you have questionable skills {like me}, it can still be done...give it a try!

So, there it is, our library tote.

Though intended to hold library books, Grace had other ideas.

I guess when life gives you lemons, put them in a bag and tote them around.

Linked up and big thanks to: