A lot of times it can feel like winter weather wrecks our plans for design. Either the wind comes and knocks our outdoor lights down, or the cold and snow kills our flowerbeds.
But there are some décor tips that rely on winter weather to flourish in the first place.
Like these ice lanterns from HomeTalk
This candle is easy to make and works to perfectly capture the holiday cheer, using some natural elements from the cold winter months.
You’ll be grateful for all the cold and ice when you see how cozy and festive this candle is.
You want two coffee cans, one larger and one smaller.
Flip your big coffee can over.
You want the bottom of the coffee can to be facing upwards. Then, you take a can opener and open the entire bottom of the can.
Make sure the edge is smooth as you are using the can opener, this’ll come in handy later.
Fill the smaller can with rocks.
At this stage, any number of rocks will do, but you want to make sure the can is filled with them.
Then, put the smaller coffee can inside the larger one.
After that, pour water into the bigger coffee can so that it’s pretty much filled with water.
Your small coffee can that’s filled with rocks should be floating inside this, so take out as many rocks as you need to make it float.
Tape the small can in the middle.
Now you can have fun with design.
Since this is a Christmassy design idea, get some flowers or plants that remind you of the holiday season.
Some good ideas are boughs of holly, poinsettias, and amaryllis.
The flowers can be real or fake.
Cut off the stems so you can put the buds and leaves into the water.
Sarah recommends using longer or big pieces so that they don’t all float to the top and you can make sure that you get a good distribution of florals in your candle.
Stick your cans in the freezer.
The water needs to be frozen solid. When that is done, it’s time to take your candle out of the can.
Now, loosen it up.
In a sink, take the lid off the bottom of your coffee can, take the tape off, and run the metal can under warm water. This will help loosen up the metal part from the ice.
After taking the middle can out of the ice, you’ll start to see the ice candle taking shape.
Trim the trimmings.
To streamline the aesthetic a bit, cut off any stems or buds that are sticking out of the ice.
This can be done to your preferences, so you can be as stringent about it as you want, or ignore this advice entirely if you want your ice lantern to have some sprigs popping out!
Take it outside and light it up.
Make sure you use an LED candle, real flames will melt this really fast. Place your candle anywhere you want outside- a driveway, a porch, or even just your front lawn.
If you live in a place that is regularly below freezing at night, you will be fine to leave this candle on and outside all night long.
If it does get above freezing, you can just take it inside and stick it in the freezer. Or, you can let it melt and always make another one.
It’s quick, easy, and cheap to do, too.
Watch the whole process in the video below!
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