I've never before made any 4th of July decor - it's just not a holiday I decorate for. But recently I found some long thin tealight holders and I just couldn't get the thought out of my head that three of these together would be perfect for creating a patriotic centerpiece.
If you've ever shopped at IKEA, then you know that it's not a store you can just pop into quickly to pick up one thing. Going to IKEA is more of an event, but it's an event I enjoy every single time because you never know what you're going to find!
On a recent trip to IKEA, I spotted the
Hallare tealight holders on literally the last display before entering the checkout area. I stopped to look at them for a moment, then continued on to purchase the few items in my cart. As I was standing in line waiting to pay, I started to envision a grouping of those long thing tealight holders painted like an American flag, and before I knew it I was out of line adding three of these candle holders to my cart.
SUPPLY LIST FOR STARS & STRIPES CENTERPIECE
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: PRIMER
The Hallare tealight holders have a clear acrylic lacquer finish, so I was concerned that my acrylic would not stick if I painted them directly. To avoid a potential problem, I decide to quickly prime the three candle holders before painting them. I used a can of primer that I had on hand from a prior project.
STEP 2: PAINT
As soon as the primer coat was dry, I used painters tape to tape off a line between the second and third tea light cans. I then painted the top and sides of one candle holder white, and the other two red. It took two coats of each color to achieve solid coverage.
The aluminum tea light cans are not removable, so I simply painted around them. If you get any paint on the aluminum, it will easily scratch off with a finger nail once the paint is dry.
As soon as I was done painting the red and white, I peeled off the painters tape and painted the other end of each candle holder navy blue. Rather than applying painters tape to the fresh red and white paint, I simply used the line of the red and white paint as a guide for painting a nice straight line with the blue paint.
STEP 3: ADD STARS
Once all three candle holders were painted, I added the tea lights to see how it looked. I used red tea lights for the red stripes, and white tea lights for the white stripe and to create the appearance of white stars on the blue end of each holder. I liked it, but I felt like it looked incomplete.
I used a sheet of white adhesive vinyl and my star shaped paper punch to cut stars stickers.
My first attempt at cutting a star from the adhesive vinyl didn't go well, as you can see bottom corner of the picture below - the vinyl shifted on the backing, and the result was a chewed up mess. I tried again, turning the vinyl sheet over, and this time I got a nice, clean cut.
The key to cutting adhesive vinyl with a punch is to turn the vinyl sheet upside down so that you see the backing through the whole in the punch. This way, the blade of the punch cuts through the vinyl first, and then the backing, which produces a clean cut.
I then peeled the backing off of each star, and applied the stickers to the blue paint.
I stepped back to take another look at my completed centerpiece, and I was thrilled with the impact of the stars! Now it really looked like an American flag!
This super easy, stars and stripes centerpiece is going to be the perfect addition to our backyard barbecues this summer!
I spelled out STARS AND STRIPES on my
DIY chalkboard pennant banner, and hung it on the stucco wall of our garage, stuck a few American flags in our planters, and just like that, our backyard is feeling very patriotic!
And with 21 tea lights, this centerpiece is going to create a lovely glow in the backyard for summer evenings.
Despite a rainy summer thus far, we haven't yet had many mosquitoes. However, if the mosquitoes become a problem, I can replace the tea light candles that I purchased at IKEA for red and white citronella tea lights.
Now that the backyard is 4th of July ready, we just need to plan a barbecue and invite some friends over! Yay summer!!
Labels: 4th of July, candles, seasonal
