Paper Paint and Pine: tea lights

I love anything modern and industrial inspired and am thrilled when I can “create” something fun that captures this look.

When my son was “sword” fighting with a piece of foam pipe insulation from our garage I had a light bulb moment! Oh, well first I took the “sword” away from him so my house would survive then I had my light bulb moment. Why not make tea light holders from that piece of pipe insulation he found!? Brilliant.

I just love how these turned out! I now have all kinds of ideas in my head on what I could make from pipe insulation!

• • •

You will need:

Foam Pipe Insulation

Tape--I used filament tape that I had but want to make a set with decorative duct tape

Tea Lights

Tray or something to put the candles on

Slate Chips or rocks

Spray Paint *optional

• Gather your supplies

• You'll need a sharp knife or a small saw to cut through the foam

• Decide the height you want your candle holders and cut

• For any uneven edges that you can't get "flattened" out just use a sanding block and then wipe away the dust from the foam with a damp cloth

**If you are going to spray paint your foam you'll want to do it now before you tape it. I did only one of mine with a light "dusting" of white spray paint so it had more contrast than the other two but I also love them without it.

• Use your tape to hold the foam together since there is a slit in it

• You could use any type of tape that you have but something "industrial" is going to hold better.

• Place your tea light on the top center of your holder and cut around it so you can create a "hole" for the candle to sit in. The foam cuts very easily so this should be an easy step. Don't cut the foam too wide or your candle will look lost.

• When you cut don't cut all the way down in your pipe insulation--just far enough "in" so the candle will sit in space you are creating.

• Once you've cut the outline then use your finger to push the foam down so you create a "hole" for the tea light or votive to sit in

• I made a second set of Tea Light Holders in graduating sizes. Follow the exact steps from above to create this look.

• I grabbed some slate chips from my landscaping and washed them and filled a white tray with them and added the industrial tea light holders. For the graduating set I placed them on a round white platter and added the slate chips. These are great for any setting in your house but they are perfect for outside on the patio or porch!