Simple, cute, yet useful: a candle holder could be the perfect gift to give to your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day. By making the gift, you not only save money but also prove that you have the recipient in mind.
With a few household items, you can create something for less than $20. Hopefully you’ll have fun in showing your crafty side as well!
What you need
[list icon=”icon: scissors”]

• Jar
• Black matte spray paint
• Masking tape or paint tape
• X-Acto knife
• Sharpie or pen
• Tealight candle
• Gloves
• Paint pen

[/list]

Step 1
Start by taping the whole front of the jar. This will be the base for cutting out the heart or whatever shape you’d like. Overlap the tape slightly so that no spray paint gets through. After spray painting, you can take your Sharpie or pen and draw the shape you’d like.
I chose a heart for Valentine’s Day. The best part about taping is, if you do mess up, it doesn’t matter; just keep drawing until you get what you like because in the end your mistake won’t show up.
Step 2
Cut out your shape. Because an X-Acto knife isn’t the best for rounded corners, I cut very slowly, but actually getting through the tape shouldn’t be too hard. Just make sure whatever shape you want is the part of the tape that stays on the jar and cut off the excess.

Step 3
Before you begin spray painting, I would recommend taking old newspaper and stuffing it into the jar so that you have a little handle to hold when spray painting. Make sure to lay down some newspaper or parchment paper to set the jar on once it has been sprayed. To ensure you won’t get black on your hands, put on gloves.
Once you’re ready to spray paint, step outside.
Your workspace needs to be well-ventilated and somewhere you can get dirty so outside is your best bet. Shake the spray paint before using and keep it away from the body when spraying. I only sprayed one layer on to my jar, which worked well, but I would recommend repeating this step to give your jar a second layer if the paint appears too light.

Step 4
The most important part is allowing your jar to dry. I let mine dry for one hour, but don’t hesitate to let it dry longer. If you believe your jar has dried, you can now remove the tape. I did so very carefully and peeled strip-by-strip. I also added some design with the paint pen around my heart just to add to my candle holder.
Step 5
It’s time to light your candle holder. Just drop a tea light candle in and test it out. One cool thing about lighting up the jar is if you hold it close enough to the wall, your design projects onto it. Once one candle melts, you can always get another, especially since tealight candles are both plentiful and cheap. After enjoying your masterpiece, wrap it up with a new candle and give it to your Valentine. You could even keep it for yourself, to use at home all year.
And also, don’t forget the present for your lover.

By Renata Williams
Do you have a favorite Valentine’s DIY? What is it?