Silver + Glass + Candles ==> Make a Wow Candlescape

There may not be an original thought out there in the Universe. Well, okay. Yet it sure is nice to have fun with some of the old ones now and again. Building this candlescape was definitely a fun experience for me. So much fun in fact, that it changed and grew over the season.

I am a big fan of sterling silver anything. I also love, during these long winter nights, to add candlelight into my home. So there ya go, I had the idea for my candlescape. I have limited space to build any kind of Christmas display, so I simply utilized my 36" round glass table. Besides, glass is a very safe base for candles. NOTE: It pays to use the GOOD or reliable candles. I find that the cute, or the cheap, candles have an unknown record of performance. No one wants to leave the room for 10 minutes and have the candles melt down. Never leave the room for more than a minute. Also, be ready for the smoke alarm which WILL set off when you douse this many candles. Ha!



It started easily and almost by a formula.

Take two sterling candlesticks. Now, shop at Pier 1, Crate & Barrel and Michael's Arts & crafts for some glass sticks or pillar holders.

Buy taper, 3" pillar and tea light candles. I find taller pillars can get messy. As it is, I usually trim the pillars once or twice with an old chef knife. I like the Linen scent from Michael's (I am not a fan of scented candles , these are very mellow). My tapers are Kiri, from Denmark, and last at least 14 hours each. They add a bit of beeswax to the tapers which is good for your brainwaves and the ions help to settle dust in the home. Since I am allergic to almost everything, I find substantial relief on dusting days by burning these candles in the evening. The tea lights are from Pier 1 and last about 4 hours. Most candles are made from petroleum products -- 'nuff said.

Gather a tall stick at Pottery Barn, some mercury glass at Home Goods, and well -- you have a starting place for a sparkling display. So far, I was feeling good, I had enough light to replace a roaring fire in the fireplace, and enough height and variety to satisfy an HGTV designer.

Did I get carried away? No? Not yet.

Okay, add a glittery mesh deer, some garlands of pearls on silver wire and some large mercury ornaments. I am now on Level 2. Sparkling and glimmering in a pool of silver, glass and flame.

I am delighted with my own home festival of lights. Certainly I can find more to add...


To add some depth to the silver and ivory, how about some gold and bronze? I find tree shapes in metal and glittering candles as well as some smaller ornaments. Most items were new in November 2009 and easily purchased.

I could toast marshmallows on this set-up.


Who needs a fireplace?

I guess my only disadvantage is that I had no room on my table for dinner. Oops, it was a selfish act to build this light show and allow it to completely take over my dining table.

One more noteworthy Christmas decorating event last year took place outside my own home. I was watching the natural creativity of my (then) 6 year old grand-nephew. All I did was pull out supplies. Look what this boy built in decorating this 20" tree (I love how he used the pixie sticks on top as flair).


The last photo was the tablescape he created using some of my candlescape supplies. I gave no guidance or directions for either. He set this up for a family dinner. Just Wonderful! I hope to find out that he is still as creative this year.