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Melting tealight holder

Melting tealight holder

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.

Melting tealight holder - Sanding

I then used the bandsaw to cut the block into an l-shape.

Melting tealight holder - Cutting on bandsaw

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.

Melting tealight holder - Drawing the shape

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!

Melting tealight holder - Cutting out the shape

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.

Melting tealight holder - Filing the edges

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.

Melting tealight holder - Drilling the holes

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.

If you’d like to make one of these, or have one made for you, feel free to contact me. Or you can receive my newsletter to get the latest news, updates and projects straight to your inbox.