Turn Pillar Candles Into Elegant Centerpieces

Candle-dressing

For those of us who rely on our own gardens for quick bouquets and centerpieces, this time of year can present a challenge. But not for Lucy Rivas of Bella Flora: You can find a way to decorate with almost anything, she says, picking up some remnant leaves from orchid plants in her studio. She covers the base of a 3-inch pillar candle with the leaves. She plucks a palm leaf, strips it, and ties the narrow palm ribbon around the waist of the candle. Three candles and several leaves later, she has created a beautiful and natural-looking centerpiece.

Candles are wonderful because they take to a limitless number of treatments, Lucy says. Pulling leaves from magnolia trees, dusty miller plants, spent orchids, or even using dried lavender, Lucy adds a warm, natural look to her candles, perfect for a late-winter table.


1 What you’ll need: clippers, corsage pins, hat pins, straight pins, rubber bands, an assortment of leaves (magnolia, orchid, palm, etc.), spool of thin wire, and candles.	2 Simply line the base of the candle with leaves and anchor with a rubber band. Or tie a thin wire around the waist of the candle.	3 Use blades of Monkey grass or a stripped-down palm leaf to cover the rubber band or wire. Glue doesn’t adhere to wax, so you’ll have to pin the leaves to the candle.