How to Make Candleholders for Mother's Day

Handmade candleholders are easy for little hands to make as gifts.

Mother's Day is a day to show the special mothers in your life how much you appreciate their hard work and comforting presences. Personalized candleholders last longer than flower bouquets and offer your mother a pretty reminder of how much you love and appreciate her. Plus, kids and teens with limited funds can still give their mothers something beautiful.

Things You'll Need

• Green polymer clay
• Clean baby food jar
• Baking sheet
• Small ribbon flowers
• Floral wire
• Craft glue

Instructions

1. Pinch a lump of green polymer clay about the size of your thumb. Roll it into a ball and press the ball against the bottom of your baby food jar. This ball will hold your other clay embellishments in place.

2. Pull 10 or 14 thin strips of green polymer clay from the brick. Roll the strips into skinny snakes with pointed ends. Press one end of each snake into the clay on the bottom of your baby food jar. Press the body of each snake against the body of the jar, arranging the snakes to look like waving blades of glass.

3. Place the jar upside-down on a baking sheet and heat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the jar for about 15 minutes, or according to the instructions on your clay packaging. Allow the jar to cool for about an hour.

4. Cut several 4-inch pieces of floral wire. Bend and twist them at the ends to look like curling flower stems. Glue a ribbon flower to one end of each wire and glue the other end of the wire between two blades of polymer grass. Allow the craft glue to dry for an hour.

5. Bend and twist your flower stems into their final positions. None of the flowers should rise above the lip of the jar. Place a 3-inch votive candle inside the glass jar.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have little artists that can't manipulate clay, try using glass paint instead. You can even paint on the flowers and stems. Simply bake the jar after painting.

• Try creating flowers from polymer clay if your artists are older. Roll five tiny pink or lavender balls and one yellow ball for each flower. Surround a yellow ball with the colored balls and press down on the shape with your thumb. Stick the resulting flower to the glass.

References

• Holiday Crafts: Polymer Clay Tutorials
• Teaching Tiny Tots: Toddler Activities: Votive Candle
• Make Homemade Gifts: Preschool Mother's Day Crafts