Once the deliciously fragrant candle was gone from inside this 4" red cylindrical glass candle holder, I thought it would be nice for some kind of holiday decoration. I don't have houseplants, but I do like a small desktop plant, so I chose some succulents to put in this little red glass pot.
To remove the last bit of wax and wicks, fill the candle holder with hot tap water and let it soak for several minutes. The remaining wax should float to the top to remove and wash the glass. If not, the hot water will soften the wax enough to easily scoop out with a spoon.
To accent the red glass with dots, I used an adhesive stencil with some gold metallic glass paint - now the pot has a little holiday spirit that will still look good the rest of the year.
Load a stiff stenciling brush with a small amount of paint - less is more with stencils to prevent paint from seeping under - which can happen even with adhesive stencils if you overload the brush with too much paint.
Pounce the brush straight up and down - tap it across the stencil to fill in the design, then carefully peel off the stencil and reposition it as needed to repeat the pattern.
Follow the glass paint directions for curing - you can let it air-cure for a few weeks or put it in the oven for quicker curing.
After that, the paint shouldn't scrape off the glass and you can even put it in the dishwasher.
Let the paint dry overnight before handling the pot for planting - even then, you want to handle it carefully to avoid nicking the paint.
It sure is cute on my desk - we'll see if I can keep these little greenies alive!
