Ice Candle Holiday Centerpiece

"Ice Candles" make beautiful centerpieces for your holiday dinner table, and are very simple to make. Today I'm going to show you how to create your own unique and pretty ice display for a candle.
You will need:
A large empty paper-based coffee can, with a small empty paper based coffee can (or large plastic cup) Carefully cut off the aluminum rim from the tops of the coffee cans with a box-cutter.
Or-A 42 oz plastic container with a smaller plastic container (or large plastic cup)

 I filled the center cups with heavy doodads, nails, and coins to keep them weighed down. In the space between the two containers, you put leaves, flowers (real or synthetic), foil decorations, whatever you want. There are many possibilities! I plucked some yellow/green/gold leaf branches from the trees neighboring my house, and cut them, standing larger pieces on end around the sides of the coffee can one-making sure to face the brighter sides of the leaves outward. Once you have your decorations in the space, carefully fill it with water. I was a bit short on decorative confetti stuff this year, so I cut up some scraps of metallic red and green fabric for the other one, and added glitter in blue, white, gold, and green. The cap came off as I was sprinkling the green glitter, and the entire bottle dumped in...

All set! Carefully place in the freezer, making sure your weighted center stays in the center. Once frozen solid, you can dump out the heavy stuff and dip the bottom of the container in hot water to remove the plastic mold. For the center, carefully pour in hot water and wiggle until it slides out. On the coffee can deal, I just used a box cutter to slice the side and peel the cardboard away. Place your ice-ring in a dish just deep enough to hold the water as it melts (it's slow), and put in a candle that's shorter than the ice, for the best effect.

My camera didn't catch the full 'glistening', but you get the idea! These are so pretty. As the top melts down, it starts looking really interesting:

This photo looks sort of muddy, but it was actually quite lovely. I've been making these every year, and they're different every time. It's been added to our family traditions. Can't wait to see how the glittery one turns out!

More Creations Outside My Box

 Wow, was this necklace hard to do! I had the whole design in my head when I bought that round thing, which was a pendant. (Would you still call it a pendant now?) It was complicated, and I made it more so because I like to improvise, rather than lay out a concrete pattern. I just went by the image in my head, and work all the parts at the same time. I didn't use a measuring tape, or any kind of template, because I find that stuff constricting. So to measure while in progress, I had to carefully pick up the ends of each strand and hold them up, or around my neck, etc. I just have to do things the hard way, I've always been told. C'est la vie. And I wont even get started on the photography and editing...
   So anyway, I'm very happy with it, and I hope I can continue working 'outside my box' so that by the fourth quarter my work will truly reflect my shop name. I love Artfire for many reasons, and one of them is that we have a great community of inspiring peers. Be sure to come check us out, whether you're looking for handmade gifts , gift ideas, vintage, or just want to hang out in the lounge.