As part of my budgeting plan for the holidays, I decided I wanted to try and think of new ways to use things that I might already have. I have far too many shot glasses that are sitting on a shelf doing nothing. In my early 20’s, I was very “into” collecting shot glasses from everywhere I visited. Now, I see them as dust collectors, wasting space that I don’t really even have. But the thought of tossing them rubbed me the wrong way, so I started to think of ways to utilize them instead. Follow along in just a few easy steps and turn tchotchke from your younger years into holiday tea light and candlestick holders!
Tea Light Holders
For the short shot glasses, I decided to make them into tea light candleholders. I started by tracing a circle with the shot glass on a piece of cardboard. I cut the cardboard slightly smaller than the circle traced so it would fit snugly in the shot glass. Put this aside for later.
With my glue and twine in hand, I wrapped the shot glass in the twine. Every layer, I added some glue to make sure that the twine would stay in place. Try to keep the twine tight around the shot glass so the glass won’t show through.
I then took the cut out circle of cardboard and added a little of the hot glue to the inside rim of the glass. I placed the cardboard circle inside the glass on top of the hot glue and held it for a few seconds to make sure it would stay.
Once that dried, I applied the letter. I bent the letter a little so it would form to the glass better. The letters are adhesive but they were not sticking too well to the twine so I added hot glue to it. I pressed down and held the letter for about a minute to make sure that it would stick. I repeated this process for all the shot glasses and that is that!
This is such a different and simple holiday decoration. The way the letters sparkle with the candles lit brings a smile to my face.
Candlestick Holders
So I have these shot glasses that I got on a cruise. They are a little taller and oddly shaped so I wanted to try and make them into candlestick holders.
I purchased some gold glitter spray paint and went to town. I first sanded down the shot glasses so the spray paint would adhere better. I stuffed the inside with paper towels so the paint wouldn’t go inside. I started with one coat of a white primer. After that dried, I then added the first coat of the glitter spray paint.
I let that dry for a day, then sprayed them down again to make sure they were coated nicely. Once they were dry I sprayed them with hair spray so the glitter would stay on. Add candlesticks and this project is complete! I was a little hesitant as to how the glitter spray paint would look but it looks amazing!
These two projects were so easy and cheap to make. I couldn’t be happier with how they look. I cannot wait to give these out this year! I hope everyone likes them as much as I do.
