3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders

DIY Sunday!! I am so excited to bring you this SUPER simple diy Sunday project. You can make these two candle holders in 1 hour or less, no lie! If you have an outdoor party, these are perfect for the patio or poolside. They will look amazing as the candles in a centerpiece on your dinning table. Put them on a étagère or bookshelf. Place them on the fireplace mantel. They can be placed anywhere for some instant glam and pizazz! Don’t let the fact that they look a bit modern throw you because you can use other materials to get a totally different look. So, without further adieu, let’s learn how to make a set of 3d modern tabletop candle holders!

3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders, Step 1: The Materials

I got all of my materials at the Dollar Tree and the cost of the materials was literally $9.00. Yes, that’s correct. You can make two of these candle holders for under a ten spot. Here’s what I used to style my candle holders:

4 – 3.5” x 5” Picture Frames
2 Small Make-up Mirrors
2 Glass Votive Holders
1 Bag of White Decorative Stones

Not pictured:

Hot glue gun and all temperature hot glue sticks
1 Can of Seaglass Spray paint, optional.
1 Pair of Pliers
Miter box and saw
1 Roll of Green Frog Painter’s Tape.

3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders, Step 2: Tear Down

The first thing to do is to turn the makeup mirrors over and remove the little suction cups on the bottom. They should just pull right out. I put mine aside – you never know.. They’ll come in handy for a future project. Next turn each frame over and bend the little black metal tabs that hold the back of the picture frame on and pop out the glass and entire picture housing. After that, take your pliers and gently pull the little metal tabs straight out. They will come out easily if you pull them out straight. Don’t bend or wiggle the tabs because that could damage your frame.

When you have all the tabs pulled out, you should have a nice clean pile of picture frames without backing or picture housing.

3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders, Step 3: Measure and Cut Frames

Take two of your 4 picture frames and measure the width of the frame. Divide that measurement by 2 to get ½ the width and mark that measurement on the top and bottom of your frame. Then place the frame into your miter box and saw the frame where you marked the half-way point. It’s a straight cut. Cut the top and bottom so that your frame is cut directly in half. It helps to saw slowly to avoid damaging the finish of the frame – at least in my case.

3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders, Step 4: Glue Frames

Now it’s time to glue your cut frames to your un-cut frames. I eye balled the placement of my cut frames when I glued them to the solid, uncut frames. For this design I went with gluing the frames in a 90 degree angle so they looked like “X” or a cross when they were put back together. Run a small line of hot glue on the cut edge of each half of the frame and press and hold the glued side to the solid frame for a few seconds so the glue sets.. Repeat on the opposite side and then do the same for the last two sets of frames.

3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders, Step 5: Glue Mirrors On

Run a line of hot glue on the cross sections on the base of the candle holder and place your mirror holding it until the glue cools. This will be the support for your glass candle votive. At this point you are pretty much done. Just place your candle votive on the mirror and put a small votive candle in and light it up. Or, go on to the next step to customize the look a bit further…

3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders, Step 6: Finishing Touches

I decided to add a sea glass spray paint effect to the bottom of my glass votive. I taped green frog tape painters tape around the rim of each votive and then I went outside, turned the votive up-side-down on a piece of cardboard and sprayed a lite coat of sea glass spray paint to the bottom of each votive. I waited about 15 minutes and then took the tape off and filled each votive with some rough cut white stones and a white votive candle and I was done. It wasn’t much extra work and I love how they turned out!

If you enjoyed this simple diy, make sure to give it a like and leave me a comment below. If you make one for your own home, I’d love to see some pictures! You can send those to hello@michaelhelwiginteriors.com and you may even see them featured in a follow up post at a later date. I’d love to stay in touch so join my newsletter. The first issue is coming out September 4, Labor Day weekend and then every month after that. I’ll share all kinds of simple design tips and tricks plus a bunch of simple diy’s and decorating advice that I only share with my subscribers. You can sign up by clicking on the newsletter picture here and entering your name and email. Thanks so much for reading today and check back next week to see another diy Sunday project!!!

Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.