Is Imitation Truly The Sincerest Form Of Flattery?

I think it’s one of them for sure.

I have this friend, Emily. If you’ve been here for more than a minute then you already know that. You see, we talk nearly every day and we love most of the same things and we both have large families and we both are stay-at-home-moms who blog as a creative outlet and we love creating! That’s just a couple things we share.

To say someone inspires you is a term we use loosely quite a bit. Liking a picture of someone’s home is far different than liking something so well that you have to go out and get the supplies and do the same thing! Emily is that kind of inspiring for me.

This is just one of Emily’s MANY completely stunning tablescapes but it’s the one that we are here to talk about today. To see just a tiny collection of some of her fall tablescapes, click HERE and check out one of her blog posts.

So back to what I was saying. I took one look at this amazing tablescape and I was instantly drawn to the darling candle holders she made out of lengths of tree branches! I mean – how cute are they? I wanted to make some immediately but I didn’t have any trees in my yard that I could get branches from easily (my maple tree in the back yard is crazy tall!) and when I looked for branches I could buy (general birch) they weren’t the right diameter.

And so nothing happened for a while. Months even.

And then!

I had a windfall.

Literally!

On Labor Day weekend this year we had a really big windstorm and a big chunk of my huge maple tree came crashing down. You can bet I instantly knew what I was gonna make with some of the branches!

Using my chop saw, I cut some branches into lengths that I wanted for my candle holders. Emily’s were much shorter and smaller in diameter but this is what I had to work with. I will likely still make some smaller and shorter ones as well, using more of the branches.

Next I took a 3/4 inch spade drill bit and I drilled holes in the middle of each one for the candle.

Make sure you drill deeply enough that it will hold the candle securely. I went down close to an inch, I’d say.

Now I could have left them just like this and they would have been fine. “Fine” has never worked for me. I didn’t have a choice as to what type of tree branches I was going to get to use. The only tree I have in my yard of any size is the maple.

But I really prefer the look of a birch with it’s lovely paper thin white bark.

Alas, I didn’t plant a birch years ago. So I did the next best thing. I got out my paint!

A little dry brushing of my favorite Benjamin Moore White Dove in a flat finish (what I mix my homemade chalk paint with) and I was much happier with the look of them.

Of course then I had to see what they would look like on my table so out came some other things and a rustic tablescape was born.

I think these candle holders fit in perfectly with the old fashioned Christmas style I’m craving this season. The touches of red here and there and the natural elements in the napkin rings compliment them well.

Just a little sparkle with some glittered poinsettias…

Still lots of space to allow conversation around this table setting – a pet peeve of The MR’s. If I have a tall centerpiece he generally removes it.

Until next time, sweet friends. I hope this has inspired you to create some candle holders of your own!

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