What Do You Do with Old Birthday Candles?

This week we are making Lanterns for Martinmas. The Feast Day for Martin of Tours is actually November 11th but our Lantern Walk will be this coming Friday. It is common for Martinmas to do a coat drive or canned food drive; we are doing a canned food drive.

We've also made Tissue Paper Transparencies in the past (these are absolutely beautiful but best for 6th grade and up because of the time commitment, planning and organization, and fine motor skills required).

There are lots of ways to make Lanterns but this year we are doing small glass jars. I really want to find a loving use for old short birthday candles and I think this is it! We are using the adorable tiny jars from Petit Pot puddings (available right now at Misfits Market).

First:
Thoroughly wash your jar and dry it. Cut or tear small pieces of tissue paper and use liquid white glue or Mod Podge and a paintbrush to adhere the tissue paper scraps to the outside of your jar. We used Elmer's glue with a bit of Sparkle Mod Podge mixed into it. It looks great (and this is the ONLY use I've ever found for Sparkle Mod Podge)!

We had lots of colors of tissue paper left over from a Valentine's Day Suncatcher.

I also had some gift wrap tissue paper with glitter in it and that worked well too.

Pro Tip - put your fingers of your non-dominant hand inside the jar and "wear" it like a mitten so that you can work with your dominant hand and decorate the jar without getting all sticky.

Second:
Let your jar dry for several days. We turned ours upside down and left them on a painting board.

Third:
Make a handle for your lantern. We are using wire since the children had so much fun doing wire sculptures for Alexander Calder. I also went through my bin of costume jewelry, donated to the school over the past few years, and pulled out charms that I thought would make good dangly embellishments.

Fourth:
Find the short candles (our jars are particularly tiny). For us, the beeswax candles that fit in a Waldorf birthday ring are the perfect size. These are beautiful and handmade... and somewhat expensive... so you really want to burn them all the way to the end. But having a super-short candle in a birthday ring doesn't feel very festive. So this craft is absolutely perfect!

Fifth:
Go on a Lantern Walk with your child one evening after sunset. Enjoy! ❤️

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