Valentine Candle Votive

Take a plain glass votive holder and make it a beautiful gift for Valentine's Day or anytime with this polymer clay craft. Marie Segal demonstrates step-by-step instructions for how to wrap the votive with polymer clay shapes. This polymer clay craft is a great way to recycle an old glass votive holder.

Materials:

• Used glass votive holder
• White, Olive, and Red Cernit
• Clay Blade
• Needle tool or needle
• 2 paper towels or an old towel/rag

Instructions:

Clean the glass by putting it in a warm oven, under 200 degrees F. When the wax melts, save it to a can or pour it out in the trash. Take a paper towel and clean out the glass while holding it with an old towel. I find the labels are easier to get off when the glass is hot. Clean the glass with glass cleaner or white vinegar.

Condition and pinch off little pieces and roll in to balls that are about 1/2" in diameter. Then cut some in half with your clay blade so you have some smaller hearts. Make 14 or 15 hearts, small and large. You may not use them all, but you will have them in case you might want to add more than I have. A little border of hearts around the top rim would be nice too.

Roll the balls in to little teardrops and then flatten the teardrops between your finger and thumb till it is about 1/4" thick or a little thinner. Use the needle to make an indentation in the middle of the wide part of the flattened teardrop. Set these aside. You might want to wash your hands before you condition the green. I didn't but you might.

Mix a 1/4 block of olive with a 1/4 block of Opaque white together until it is one color. Pinch off little balls about 1/2" in diameter. Cut some of those in half.

 
Roll the larger balls in to little coils about 2" long and roll the smaller ones in to smaller coil varying the sizes and lengths. Pinch one end of the coil in to a point. With the back of the clay blade make a mark in the middle for a vein.

Place some leaves varying the lengths as you place them on the votive. Where the shorter ones are, you can add a heart as if it is a flower. Or even maybe two flowers in one section.

I pull the end with the pinch of the long leaf back a little when I put it on. Make sure that when you put the hearts on that they are attached to the leaves. When you put the leaves on make sure that they are touching each other. If you have a straight sided votive that you are using you may want to use some of the Weldbond or Ultimate glue on the back of the leaves to hold them in place after baking. Since the leaves wrap the bulge of the glass on this votive, they are less likely to come off. Bake the whole thing in the oven for 1/2 hour at 275 degrees F and let cool in the oven until you can touch it.