Rain on a Tin Roof

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DIY Animal Candleholders

Have you ever seen something, told yourself you could totally make that and then you found out, ummmm, no, I can’t do this.

Happens to me all the time. Truth.

I have had many crafting and DIY fails. And that’s ok.

Sometimes, I can salvage them. Sometimes, I don’t know whether to call it a fail or a win.

Here’s how I took my latest potential fail and still came out with something pretty.

DIY Animal Candleholders via RainonaTinRoof.comThis whole project started months ago when I saw this candle holder on Anthropologie. That link goes to Pinterest because the candle holder is no longer available.

But its current availability status was not why I decided to make my own.

That candle holder was….wait for it…..around $600.

For a candle holder!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have $600 to spend on a candleholder that will inevitably be thrown to the ground by the strong willed kid (as the doctor called her just last week).

Then, one day while perusing the Target dollar spot, I found plastic animals for $3 a pop.

I bought four of them, brought them home and spray painted them white.

And then, I couldn’t figure out how I could get them to stand on top of one another.

I tried various methods. Once a week or so I would walk by them in my craft room, contort them in various positions trying to make it work, but alas it was not meant to be.

So, finally last week, while attempting to finish multiple DIY projects, I just drilled holes in a couple of them, stuck a candle in and called it done.

DIY Animal Candleholders via RainonaTinRoof.comDIY Animal Candleholders via RainonaTinRoof.com

I used the largest drill bit we had, in fact it was one that came from Grunt Labor’s grandpa who I never had the pleasure of knowing. I feel we would have gotten along fabulously though. Apparently, he liked junk as well. I’ve heard there was one occurrence where a dumpster was rented to toss out much of his junk while he wasn’t looking. I’m still recovering from the fact that I wasn’t around at that time to save some of said junk.

And that was the ADD kicking in.

Back to the drill bit. It wasn’t as big as the candle so, I just rolled it around the hole I was drilling to make it bigger as I was drilling. I still didn’t make it as big as the candle – I wanted them to fit in there securely, so I left the hole slightly smaller and used a lighter to soften the bottom of the candle wax before I stuck it in.

DIY Animal Candleholders via RainonaTinRoof.com

And that’s it.

DIY Animal Candleholders via RainonaTinRoof.com

A salvaged DIY fail.

Thoughts?

You should also check out…

Easy DIY Dollar Tree Skull Candleholder for Halloween – this is such a spooky and fun project!

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Comments

  5. Donna Wilkes says

    Clever and creative. I bought myself sheep candleholders for Christmas, but the three only set me back $40. I’ll be searching the thrifts for large plastic animals now. HMMM, I wonder if dinosaur candleholders fit with my eccentric decor?

    Reply

  6. Cathy says

    “And that was the ADD kicking in.”

    No wonder I love your blog Jenna, we truly must be ‘Sistas from another Mista’! I’m reading along, also lamenting your lost chance of getting some good Grampa’s junk…it took me a minute to sort out what you meant by that comment – then the light went on, “oh ya, she was talking about drilling holes….” I was right along for the ride…drives my husband nuts.

    These look fantastic! I never would have thought of doing that. We don’t have an Anthro store around here. But if we did, I’d like to think I wouldn’t entertain the thought of spending $600 on candlesticks of any kind. I’d also like to think that I just have $600 just sitting around not on its way to someone elses hands… 🙂

    Reply

  7. chris aka monkey says

    that doesn’t look like a fail, a fail is when you toss them in the trash and say crap they cost me 3 bucks a piece lol…… they be way cute and look like $ 600 xx

    4

    Reply

  11. Kari - the Sweetest Memory says

    These are way cuter than the original! I bought the lion and giraffe from Target for my daughter’s Safari party and made centerpieces. I took them off the centerpieces (and repurposed the other materials), but I haven’t been able to figure out what to do with the animals. I totally have to try this. Beautiful!

    Reply

  12. Jen @ Migonis Home says

    LOVE THEM! Fabulous for less. And seriously, who would want to spend $600 on candlesticks when you could buy a couch for that price? Jeepers. And I didn’t even know you could just drill into plastic easily like that!

    Reply

  13. Emily @ Two Purple Couches says

    Fab 🙂 I think this was an awesome way to salvage your project! And $600 for a candleholder!? That thing better have been made out of diamonds for a price tag like that! You could have so much fun making a menagerie of candle holders… and how cute for parties!

    Reply

  25. Kathleen says

    FINALLY!!! Cannot tell you how many times I’ve wanted to know where all the “animals” are being found by DIYers! Of course, it’s now almost a year later, but maybe next January, Target will stock more?! (Just had to thank you for giving your source!) I’ve just recently found you & I’m hooked! Love your style & finding we both love Anthro ~ even if only to copy things that are “not quite” in the budget ~ haha! I have a few purchases ~ but mainly browse there for ideas!

    Reply

  29. lisa says

    HelloHey there. I haven’t signed up for Stitch Fix yet, simply because I have SO many awesome stores all around San Francisco that I can’t have any extra clothing options coming at me via the mail. However, I must say, it looks like fun to receive a box of things to try.

    Reply

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