Some inventive ideas for tea light holders

The tea light by itself can come across as a fairly simple object. However, combine it with a beautiful tea light holder, a setting and its flickering flame and you can understand why it is popular as a home decor ornament. If you do not wish to spend on designer items or are tired of the patented looks, try these inventive ideas.

Design basics

Keep in mind how you will be placing the tea lights. If you plan to hang them, the transparency of the holder becomes important since the light is viewed from a lower angle. If you would rather place them on a table or even on the floor, you would be viewing them from a higher angle. In this situation, the holder need not be transparent. Besides, make sure that you do not use flammable materials in the close vicinity of tea lights.

Creating a setting

Tea lights placed on table tops can have settings which can be altered easily to set the theme for an occasion. Use a flat, decorative plate or tray as a base and arrange the lights in a cluster. Create a bed of glass beads or marbles surrounding the candles. The beads or marbles will glitter with the light of the flame. You could also make the setting more thematic – such as using a combination of sand with seashells or pebbles. Floating candles and flower petals can be placed in a flat bowl to create a spa-like look.

Craft Ideas

Tea candles in standard clear holders can also be placed on old coasters, decorated with sequins, tiny mirror tiles or glazed mosaic tiles, bought from art supplies stores. You can also decorate small jars from the kitchen as holders. In case of glass jars, the candle can be placed within the jar since the flame will still be visible. If you have a decorative jar which is opaque, you could fill it up with pebbles or sand so that smaller sized candles can be placed closer to the top. Get irregular wood blocks from a carpentry shop and have circular recesses carved out to hold candles. Choose interesting forms and a flat base for stability. Check the blocks for any splinters, apply a protective coat of clear varnish.

Hanging tea lights

Hanging candle holders can be made of glass jars which have threading on their neck. Use stained glass supplies kits to paint on the glass. Integrate clear areas in the painting to allow greater play in light. A wire basket can also be used to suspend the jar. Use these creative ideas for holders and enjoy the soft lighting and subtle fragrance of the tea lights.