Does your house look like mine right now?  I’ve got piles of holiday projects in every corner…some for family, some for friends, and plenty for my shop.  

I’m having a BLAST!! 

Even while I’m recovering from a little bought of illness, I can still keep the glue gun rolling.

Here’s what I’ve been working on…

Beeswax candles in vintage crystal punch cups.

Tagged and perfect for gift giving, favors, or holiday decor.  I just love the smell of natural beeswax – no toxins, paraffins, or messy chemical stuff.  All locally resourced.

My first set has sold (yes!), but will be adding more to the shop soon!

How about some grater attachments repurposed in to a beeswax candle holder inside a vintage canning jar lifter.  (I am secretly hoping that I can keep one of these!)

The look of aged zinc really grabs my attention and was super-happy to find a spray paint that actually has zinc in it.  Yippee!!  

So, of course I used it on the stainless steel grater attachments with a little dressing up to give that vintage zinc effect.  Topped off with a twin chalkboard tag – ready for gift giving!

The best part was that there were opening in the bottom of each grater attachment and I was puzzled how to make a surface suitable for a melting candle.  Then it hit me. (smack!)  A canning jar lid would be the perfect diameter, metal, and be able to be easily removed for cleaning!

(I love those kind of moments…aaaahhhh.)

Those slits in the grater are just perfect for letting the light flicker out – my favorite ambient effect at Christmas.

Now my whimsical items…

How about this rustic bird-in-nest tree topper?  Do you remember the Morris rocker I received?

When I saw that it was damaged beyond getting it back to it’s normal state, I just knew what I was going to do with those lovely rusty springs.

You don’t want to miss the next in the series: Handmade Holidays.  You can check out week 1 and week 2 for some great gift ideas and recipes!