I wanted to make a tealight holder with a difference. Something that looked like something that it wasn’t. Does that make any sense at all? Well as I was brainstorming ideas, it hit me. Candles are hot, right? So why not make the wood look like it’s melting under the heat. A melting tealight holder! But how do I make wood look like it’s melting? Read on to find out.
How I made the melting tealight holder
I decided to use some pallet wood for this project. You’ll often see the long planks being saved, but the small blocks are usually disposed of. And I wanted to show that even these unwanted pieces can be turned into something unique and desirable. First I ripped one off and sanded the sides flat.
I then used the bandsaw to cut the block into an l-shape.
Next I drew the melting shape onto the wood with a pencil. I just did this freehand and didn’t worry about being too neat.
In hindsight I should have done fewer drips, because as you can see in the next photo, it was a bit awkward cutting it out with the jigsaw. I was originally thinking I could use the bandsaw, but that wasn’t possible due to the shape of the wood. I probably should have given it a bit more thought before I started, but I just got caught up in the moment!
The cut with the jigsaw was a bit ragged, so I used a file to smooth the edges and give me the contours that I wanted.
Once the wood was perfectly shaped, I used the drill press to drill the holes for the tealights. I used a 40mm forstner bit which is the perfect size for this purpose.
Finishing the melting tealight holder
It was now time to apply a finish, and I chose a walnut stain because I thought it would give it a rich, dark colour. However it turned out like this…
I was horrified at how bad it looked, but given the type of wood I was using, I wasn’t too surprised. So when stain goes wrong, you switch to paint. I’m a big fan of Fusion Mineral paint, and decided to use their coal black colour. I thought this would give the effect of a scary black ooze dripping down the wall. And as Halloween was coming up, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Take a look at the finished product. What a great way to use up a tired old piece of scrap wood.
