Tutorial - Wine Glass Candle Lamps

These are so easy that even the non-crafty person can make them. And you can make them for any occasion. Even harder to believe, they are dirt cheap! I bought the wine glasses at WalMart for dollar each, the scrapbook paper was on sale five sheets for a dollar, and the flameless candles are only a couple bucks for about half dozen. You probably have glue or a glue stick laying around the house, and if you don't have any enamel paint, that too is only a couple bucks. Not factoring in the paint (because you could make lots of candle lamps with one bottle, or leave them unpainted), each lamp would cost you around a $1.50 to $1.75! How perfect would these be to decorate tables at a shower or party? And since they are flameless, they are much safer than real candles.

Also, painting the stems is optional. If you are in a hurry and just want to throw them together quickly, they look cute unpainted as well. They can also be back to your wine glasses when your occasion is over!

To begin, you will need the following items for each lamp:
Wine glass, appx 7" high
Sheet of scrapbooking paper, 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 inch square
       Non directional designs on the paper works best
Enamel paint, usually sold in the same racks as the acrylic paint
Flameless tea light, do NOT use a real candle for this project
Glue stick (I recommend Elmer's, it sticks immediately)
Cardstock or paper for printing out pattern piece
Alcohol and cotton ball or paper towel
Scissors, paint brush, paper plate, glass of water (to clean brushes)

Instructions:
1. Print out the pattern piece above. Click to open the image, then right click and save to your computer. When you print it out, make sure that the little box on the pattern piece measures one inch square or your shade will not fit properly on your glass. Since this is a JPEG image, you might have best luck printing it from a photo program to get the actual size. Set aside for now.

2. Remove any labels and label reside from the glasses. I like to use GooGone for this, but a paste of baking soda, oil, and salt will also do the trick. Wash the glasses in hot, soapy water and dry. 

3. Wipe down the area you will be painting with alcohol. Once you have done this you need to make sure that you don't touch this area with your hands. The oils from your skin can keep the paint from sticking. You will only be painting the stem and the bottom so just hold the top while painting.

4. Paint the stem and bottom of the glass(es). Mine took two coats. Be sure to let them dry completely between coats. Also, if you notice air bubbles, don't worry, they will disappear as the paint dries.

5. The enamel paint you used requires baking to set the paint so that the glass can be washed. Follow the instructions on the bottle of the paint you were using. For example, for the brand of paint I used, I was to allow my paint to dry for 48 hours. After that, I set them in a cool oven, I set the temperature to 325 degrees, baked for 30 minutes, turned the oven off, let them cool down in the oven before removing. Your instructions may be different depending on the brand of paint you used.

6. Cut out the pattern piece and trace around it onto the backside of the scrapbooking paper. Remember to make sure that the little square on the pattern piece measures one inch square. Next cut out the lampshade from the scrapbooking paper. Meet the two straight ends together, overlapping by about a half inch. Secure that overlap with glue or a glue stick. Depending what kind of glue you used, you might need to hold your edges together with paper clips or clothes pins while you are waiting for your glue to dry. You might notice a little point extending at the bottom of your shade, just snip it away.

7. After your lampshades have dried, and your wine glasses have been baked, set a flameless candle inside the glass, then set the shade on top of the glass. The little tea lights will have a little off/on switch at the bottom. So easy! 

NOTE: Although flameless candles are so much safer than a real candle, remember that you are still combining paper with heat (and a battery) so I wouldn't recommend leaving them unattended when they are turned on. Play the video below and you can see how real they look.

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