The days are getting shorter, and you’re probably finding more and more reasons to stay inside your apartment — especially since the temperatures have become unreasonably cold. Who wants to trek to Ellis Library when it’s 18 degrees outside?
By this point, your apartment should be full of all the cool things you’ve made over the semester, so staying in shouldn’t be a problem since you’re surrounded by so much awesomeness. But what if you want to have a romantic dinner with your significant other, and the incandescent lighting is making your retinas sizzle? What if you’re looking to pick up your dreamy study partner, but your desk lamp just doesn’t fit the mood?
Why not make your own floral candle votive?
For those of you who don’t know, a votive is a small candle in a glass holder. When I saw the instructions for making your own votive, I started DIY-fangirling immediately. Guys, remember when I said I wanted a Japanese/California/ocean/vintage/hipster wedding? I lied — I want a “Phantom of the Opera” wedding, please.
In all seriousness, these things are beautiful in a romantic, gothic kind of way. I would totally use them at my wedding to give the centerpieces a mysterious, dreamy feel.
To make your votives, you’ll need fake flowers (buy ones with stiff, heavy petals), plaster of Paris, water, a bucket to mix the plaster in, a plate or wax paper to dry the votives on, rubber bands, wire clippers, glue and votives.
To start, get rid of the leaves on your stems and pull out the center of the fake flower. Use the glue to hold the petals in place. (You’ll want to use a votive to measure how flat your flower should be in order to hold the votive.)
Make sure all your flowers are prepped and ready for dipping BEFORE you mix the plaster. I can’t say this enough. Plaster dries quickly, and you’ll be working to beat the clock. Do yourself a favor and prep so you don’t end up with a bunch of fake flowers and a lump of plaster.
Follow the directions to make the plaster, and stick the entire head of the flower into it, coating absolutely everything. After your flower is completely covered, shake it a little to remove excess drips. Dip it as many times as you need to get the flower looking the way you want it to. When you’re happy, cut the stem off the flower and put it on your plate or wax paper to dry.
Put your votive in the center of the flower right away so it forms the right amount of space. If you want, you can use a rubber band to dry some petals around the votive so the glass is hidden. Once your candle is fully dried, you can light your votive and pretend you’re in Paris in 1870, not Columbia at the end of the fall semester.
We only have a few more weeks before winter break starts and we can begin looking forward to the holiday season, but there’s no reason to let yourself get down about the dwindling daylight hours until the first snowfall makes life fun again. Since we have to be stuck indoors, make the most of it, and invite your friends over to have movie marathons or all-night study sessions. And while they’re over, make sure they notice how crafty you’ve been lately.
You’ll look like the brightest one in the bunch.
