Need place card holders for a wedding? Or maybe signs for a bake sale? Here is a quick and inexpensive solution: tea light card holders.
All you need are tea lights/votive candles, wire (I used 18 gauge), wire cutters, and needle nose pliers.
First, measure and cut some lengths of wire. Mine were 4.5 inches each.
Then grab the very tip of the wire with the needle nose pliers and twist the wire around the tip of the pliers, trying to keep the wire coil flat.
To keep it flat, it helps to hold the entire coil in the grip of the pliers as you make the last few turns.
Next, you need to insert the wires into the candles. My tea lights had loose-fitting wicks, so it was easy to slide the wire down right beside the wick.
If your candles aren’t as accommodating, you could heat up a wire and push it straight down into the wax to melt a hole, then immediately insert a coil into the hole before the wax hardens again. (Make sure to hold the hot wire with a potholder, and don’t use vinyl-coated wire or the coating will melt.)
Then, insert your cards. I cut mine from plain white card stock measuring 2.75 inches wide and 2 inches tall. But you could also print out fancier cards on your printer, or use some of those pre-designed business cards that you can get at office supply stores and copy shops.
Of course, it goes without saying that you cannot burn the candles while they are assembled as card holders. (Yikes! Fire hazard!) They would also be best for grown-up events, since they would not qualify as “child safe”.
You can trim the wicks off if you want, but I like the idea of leaving them intact. Just think… If you are using the card holders for a wedding, then the happy couple would be able to take them apart afterwards and use them as mood lighting for their honeymoon!
I have some more fun ideas for how to make DIY place card holders… So stay tuned!
What size tea light candles did you use?