Lighting Ideas

Since I enjoy burning candles (I’ve got the pumpkin scented one going now), I’m always seeking out sites with interesting candles or candle gift baskets. I found a site that has a section devoted to candle wedding favors. Since candles are often associated with romance (romantic candle-lit dinner, anyone?), they seem like a perfect addition to a wedding.

I really like these cute little mini lanterns for tealights. You can get white or brushed silver, and each one stands 5″ high with a removable lid to make changing out the candle easy. They’re only $2.95 (all of the candle wedding favors are pretty reasonably priced). Some of the other options are frosted votive holders with hearts etched in them, candles shaped like little chocolates, and Champagne gel candles (it’s made to look like a little glass of the bubbly stuff). It shouldn’t be hard to find something perfect for a wedding theme.

Well, Thanksgiving will be here next week, and Christmas is just around the corner. Do you like to do a lot of decorating for Christmas? Personally, I prefer subtle decorations to big garish displays, so I’ll probably just do a tree and maybe some small touches here and there, such as a few holiday candles.

I like these Christmas tree candles, because they’re stylish rather than tacky (I think so anyway). I wouldn’t really want a lump of wax shaped into a big decorated pine tree. These achieve their festive look with color and of course the trees drawn on the front. They’re sold by Fullfront Candles. I also saw some pretty white snowflake candles that would go well mixed in with these.

If you know someone who loves candles (*points to self*), then a gift basket could be a well-received Christmas present this year. This is sort of the super deluxe model (read: $100… lots of candles… real wooden basket), which I found over at Yankee Candle, but these kind of gift baskets come in a variety of price ranges. You could find something as low as $15 or $20 that would still come with a couple of decent-sized candles (which means hours worth of burn time) and maybe some small ones. It’s just something to keep in mind if you’re shopping for a candle-lover this Christmas season.

I really need to buy stock in Whole Foods. I swear, I can’t go into their store without buying at least three things that aren’t on my shopping list. Last night it was a pumpkin-scented candle (among other things). I don’t usually go for the smelly candles, but this seemed so appropriate for October. It really smells good too. Even before I lit it, it had infused the room with a pleasant spiced pumpkin scent. Of course, since I bought it at Whole Foods, it was about $8. I’m sure I could have gotten a pumpkin-scented candle from Fred Meyers or Target for about 1/4th of that. Oh, well. I love Whole Foods, and yes… must get some stock soon.

The thing I like most about tealights is that you can get about 100 of them for $10 or so at stores like Ikea. The only down side is that they’re not very interesting by themselves. Flat little white candles in metal tins. They really need to be placed in a cool candle holder to be interesting.

These teal, green, and blue blossom holders are just what I mean. Put those drab tealights in here, and suddenly they’re more appealing. I’ve seen several variations on these candle holders, all available online for $10 or less. If you’re looking for gifts for a candle lover (or just to perk up your own home), these could work nicely.

It will come to no surprise to anyone who’s been here more than once that I’m something of a candle junky. I don’t necessarily have them all over my home (okay, I do), but I drool over all the neat ones I see. I’ve looked at several candles, lamps, and lanterns with Halloween themes this year, and these candles from Uncommon Goods are among the cooler ones I’ve seen.

“As these 4”x 6” candles burn, the images are illuminated from within, creating a truly eerie gleam. Once the candle center has burned, simply replace with a votive or tea light for many more creepy nights.”

The Halloween candles come in three designs: black cat, witch, or jack-o-lantern. They’re $24: Halloween Candles

Some people build fires in their fireplaces often, and others rarely use their fireplaces. If you fall into the latter category, you might try decorating that big empty firebox with some candles. Now you can do your own arrangement (and many people do), or you can try something pre-made yet still fun, such as these birch logs, which have been carved out in several places to accommodate little tea lights. Upon a closer read of the product description on the company’s site, I realize they may not be real birch logs (it sounds like they’re just made to look real), but that’s probably okay, because then they’re not fire hazards if your candles get out of control. Anyway, the logs will cost you $15 if you’re interested, and they hold 12 tea lights.

Birch Log Tealight Holder

I’m a wine fan and a candle fan, so of course I got a kick out of these wine cork candles from Uncommon Goods. All you do is save one of your favorite wine bottles (or the one of the cooler looking ones), and turn it into the ideal candle holder for these cork candles. The wax will melt down the side of the bottle, so you may want to put something under it when you burn the candles, but that just helps create a neat overall look. For $22, you get a set of 12 corks, and each one is supposed to burn for about two hours, so it would be perfect for a romantic dinner setting.

Wine Cork Candles

If you’re into decorating for Halloween (and like decorations that might scare the trick-or-treaters), this skull candle might be suitably scary. Sold by Ablaze Candles, the skull costs $39 and is an impressive 10 x 8 inches wide and 7 inches high… big enough that you could put it in the window next to the door and people would see it as they walked up to the house. According to the company, their Halloween candles are made “in the artisan-style tradition that creates a distinctive high-quality sculpted look and feel like that of marble.” I don’t know about all that, but it’s a pretty good rendition of a skull, and it would make a fun Halloween decoration.

Ablaze Candles

Yup, grass. At least that’s what the description at the web site where this candle holder is for sale says. “Grass Votive Amber” There’s not a lot of information about the holder, but I thought it looked neat, so it gets a link. I’m assuming we’re not talking about real grass (now there’s a fire hazard waiting to burst into flames) surrounding your candle, but something flame retardant that’s made to look like grass (kind of… our grass is green around here).

Anyway, if the candle holder strikes your fancy, you can get it online for $45 from the Decorative Hardware Store.