The fall catalog of Pottery Barn arrived, and as I methodically flipped through the pages I came across their birch bark candles. Upon further scrutiny, I discovered they were painted to look like birch bark. The wheels in my brain start turning. Google searches revealed birch bark sheets for sale, ranging from $16-$22 for an 8×10 inch sheet.
Yeee-owwwch! Enter plan B:
The next day I rode ALL around town to craft stores in search of birch bark sheets. Not a single store currently carried them. Feeling defeated and exhausted in my search, I headed home and turned the corner into my neighborhood.
(Ever have one of those SLAP-YOUR-FORHEAD-UHH-DUH-MOMENTS?)
Every day since Hurricane Irene, I had driven past countless homes, with PILES of downed trees curbside,
BIRCH TREES!!!
So I did what all home bloggers do…
I smiled and waved at the curious neighbor peeking out her front door at the crazy lady in sundress and wedges, peeling bark off the log pile, and handing it to her 4 year old like it was sheets of spun gold!
Normal people do that right?
Look at my beautiful pile of FREE birch bark!
Now that I’ve told you how I obtained the river birch bark, let me show you how easy it is to make a birch bark candle!
How to Make a Birch Bark Candle
Choose a any size pillar candle and prop it on top of a glass. This allows for easy bark application.
Next choose an appropriate sized strip of bark and place it against your candle, checking for fit.
In a well ventilated area (I chose outside on the grass), spray the BACKSIDE of the bark strip with spray adhesive. Follow manufacture’s directions for use. The manufacture said to wait one minute before applying.
After one minute carefully pick up bark by the edges and press against the candle. Repeat the process with additional pieces of bark until the candle is covered.
This part is VERY IMPORTANT! Trim all excess bark away from the top and bottom of the candle.
BIRCH BARK IS HIGHLY FLAMABLE. Do not allow ANY bark near the flame.
Adorn the candle with a raffia bow and enjoy the glow!
Birch bark candles are so simple to make and are stunning when lit! This craft would make an amazing hostess or teacher’s gift!
Happy Crafting!
Kim
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Looks cute! (And so does your french manicure!)
Haha! Why thank you sissy-poo! I started taking pics and was horrified at my hands so I quickly solved that problem. 🙂
Fantastic idea! The candle looks great.
I love this…now I’m on the lookout for some birch trees!!
XO,
Jane
Love it- it turned out so cute!! I love bark projects!! I host a link party at my blog on the weekends if you would like to come share sometime! 🙂
These are beautiful!
Beautiful candles and… THAT manicure! Wow! 🙂
So great! I am planning a vintage outdoor wedding and we were just talking about using cinnamon sticks…bark would be great too and free…off to go hunt for some LOL
Lina
Fancy Frugal Life
That looks really nice! and the colour of the bark looks great against the light of the candle 🙂 Thanks for the tutorial.
Love the look of these! Where can I find some birch trees in my neck of the woods?! 🙂
Megan, you should have a TON of river birch! They are indiginous to TN & VA (my state). Northern states (like MI)have white birch or paper birch, which has gorgeous white bark, I’d love to get my hands on that!
Came over here after seeing this project on your sisters blog. It went straight into my inspiration file. I’ll have to use my lunch break to go hunt for some bark now.
Thanks!
Seriously!!! That is so awesome! Fantastic job!
Fabulous! I would love for you to add your wonderful tutorial to my blog party. Thank you for sharing.
LOVE this! What a great fall face lift!
Hi there- just stopping back to say thanks for linking up at Feathered Nest Friday!
Love the natural look of these. Way to take an inspiration and make it your own!
I love love this, Sooo cute..I adore them.:)) I found ya per blog hop and had to stop in and say hello, officially following ya..Hope u can stop in and say hi sometime..(I have a linky fall blog party that this will fit right into if you don’t mind linking..:))..I’m Marilyn via http://theartsygirlconnection.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-crawl-day-5-blog-party.html ..happy weekend..
Kim, this is so pretty and resourceful! Another success!
Kim, this is so pretty and resourceful! Another success!
It’s an excellent DIY! I’m on the hunt for downed trees!
Michael
What a great idea…I love the rustic look!
evie @ brown paper packages
Those are gorgeous!! Love that you “recycled”!!
Beautiful! I was thinking too of ordering some birch bark online to try something similar! Thanks for the inspiration.
I like yours better than the ones I purchased- your candle look more organic.
I LOVE it! It looks soo nice. I have a birch tree out front and for the past two months I have been saying I was going to wrap candles with it. I think you finally pushed me to do. It just looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing.
~ Catie
Please stop by sometime and say hi! =)
That’s awesome… I might have enjoyed your re-telling of the birch gathering more than the actual tutorial because it was just THAT awesome! But I really do love the candle! : )
-Mel the Crafty Scientist
Love me a good Knock off {giggle} Seriously though, Gorgeous!
I’m crazy about this! I have birch trees in my front yard. Never realized I could peel off the bark. You can bet I am going to try!
I love it!!!Is so cute!!!!
So cute! Love the idea and have always had birch trees in my yard so I “harvest” and use in all kinds of ways.
I would have to say it would be better to have glass between the birch and the wax. After the great candle catastrophe of 2007 I will never trust that any paper around a candle is safe. The paper or my raffia caught on fire once and it acted like a wick since it was wrapped around the wax. When we noticed it was too late and the candle had already melted down the table and onto the carpet. Be very careful!
Love the candles and the description of collecting the bark! My children, now 16 & 14 can relate as they are accustomed to me pulling over to grab a branch, pine cone, etc. our garden club once had a speaker who advised us to wear a bright fluorescent vest when searching for natural items. She was talking more of taking pictures but he said no one questions a traffic vest as they look official. Never had the guts to try it myself.
Awesome, Kim! I love anything with a touch of rustic nature, and this fits perfectly into that category! Might have to add this to my Fall decor projects!
I harvested some cherry bark from some “driftwood” and now I know exactly what I want to do with it. It’s been in the back of the house with my other foraged finds – pebbles, agates, beach glass, acorns from the other coast where I grabbed them on a visit to see my daughter and family, misc. “fossil” snails, as well as agatized snail shells, and other treasures. Oh what fun it is to hide all my treasures in the shed!
Wonderful! Sounds like a little treasure trove for sure! 😉