How to make a St Patty's day candle holder

Welcome, March.  The groundhogs and cupid are gone, and now we can look forward to St Patty's Day!  Today let's use our Proxxon tools and Plaid paints to make a little candle holder to celebrate the day.

Supplies and equipment:

1/4" pine or plywood

wood glue

2" hole cutter and drill

Proxxon mini table saw

Proxxon OZI/E delta sander

Proxxon mini drill press

Plaid paints : lime green, yellow flame, Jack o lantern, purple pansy

new shamrock, pretty pink, and glitterific gold and glitterific purple
Krylon Crystal Clear spray

The first thing to do is to cut our wood pieces to size.  

Basically, we are making a little box

3" x 3"  (cut 2) for the long sides

2 1/2" x 3"  (cut 2) for the short sides

2 1/2" x 2 1/2"  (cut 2) for top and bottom

Using the proxxon mini table saw it is easy to cut the little pieces.

Notice I am using a straight little piece of wood to extend the miter gauge edge since I am using little scraps of wood. It might be a little wobbly if I hadn't added this extra support.

Putting the box together: What I have called the short sides (2 1/2" x 3") are placed inside the longer 3"x 3" sides so that we get a perfect square.   The bottom is glued inside the square.  If cut accurately this fits perfect and will help keep the box square. 

The top piece needs to have a 2" circle cut out of it.  I did it with a drill and hole cutter but you could also cut it with the scroll saw.    This is glued to the inside of the top.  

Now sand everything smooth with the Proxxon OZI/E sander.  I like to round all the edges too.  

Time to paint.  Using Plaid paints I drew some simple patterns onto 4 sides of the candle holder, then painted them.   When they were dry I highlighted parts of them with Plaid's wonderful glitterific paints.   In the right light they sparkle just like gold in a Leprechaun's pot

To make the handle, I first drilled two holes in the sides of the little box.  I used Proxxon's mini drill press for this.   Then I twisted some wire around a metal rod to add a little flair and inserted the ends into the holes and bent them over.  

Since I had so much fun with the mini drill press I decided to put a bunch of holes in my little candle holder so the light would shine through the sides too.  

I finished it off by spraying it with Krylon Crystal clear for a shiny finish.    

All done,  It works well with a small tea light candle or one of those small battery operated ones.   It makes a nice little centerpiece for a snack table.

Thanks for visiting.   Celebrate all your little holidays.   These projects are so much fun when you involve the kiddies.   They love to paint and this is a great way to showcase their art.

See Ya next time     Carol