candle jars

I'm not a "Martha Stewart" type of girl . . . don't get me wrong, I think her stuff is beautiful.  I just don't have the time, energy, or budget to attempt even half of the stuff she would for a Thanksgiving meal.  I'm a firm believer that less is more.

With that in mind, my husband and I are hosting his family for Thanksgiving at our house.  I've been pretty excited to put a little extra work in and make some new table cloths, table runners, and center pieces.

Hmm . . . centerpieces.  There are so many beautiful ideas out there, but we have to keep in mind that I'm a minimalist and I don't have a ton of resources at my fingertips.

Would you like to see what I came up with?  Of course you would because it's the day before Thanksgiving, and anything I possibly did as a centerpiece, you would still have time for, if you wanted:

Drumroll, please:

Candle Jars!!

This idea was inspired by an idea I saw at Crazy Domestic for Halloween which involved making Monster Jars.  The only real changes I made were to increase the amount of laziness put into the craft by simply not putting the faces on the outside.

I decided on red, yellow, and green to represent fall leaf colors.  (The Wal-Mart by my house didn't have orange or brown tissue paper.)

I also thought this made them more versatile since I can use the red and green when Christmas comes around in two days, and I can make more in a variety of colors for Easter, 4th of July, baby showers, birthdays, etc.

I prefer to light them with candles,

but I spray painted the lids silver just in case I ever decide to use white Christmas lights to light them instead.  (The lid snuffs the candle out if you put it on while lit.)

This was a simple project that took less than 2 hours total, although there was waiting time in between coats of Mod Podge, so jump in!  You still have time, if you hurry!