Little Lights for Dark Days

Earlybird and and I were discussing just how dark it is at this time of year - and what a blessing "light" is, especially on these very dark days (and nights). So I thought it would be fun to make some lovely little lights in the colors of the season - informal Advent candles to place on our nature shelf. There was glue involved, so EB was on board!

EB worked on a plastic cup and I worked on four glass votives (one for each week of the season).

Using paint brushes, we just spread mod podge on the sides of the cups/candleholders and then stuck bits of purple and pink tissue paper all along the outside.

We did, of course, have help.

We placed our final crafts in the windows to set:

While the candles dried, I cleaned up the glue/tissue paper mess and then EB and I made up a batch of brownies for tonight. (They'll be served with peppermint stick ice cream - for "Pink Sunday!"). By the time the brownies were in the oven, the sun had gone below the horizon and the house fell into shadow ...

It was time to light the candles!

Earlybird placed his Advent candle in the empty manger. Here it will shine as we wait for the Big Night.

(Note: EB's candle is battery-lit, while my glass votives hold real wax-and-flame tealights.)

I placed my Advent candles on the Nature Table: 

EB said they look just like the sunrise!

:)

This week we'll be logging the hours of sunlight and paying special attention to the sky at the start and the close of the day. (Goodness knows, we're up for both ends of the day!) These are the darkest days of the year ... so every little bit of light counts. But the week after next brings us the solstice, and with it the return of the light. Slowly and surely, the days will get longer ... and brighter.

Well, my friends ... I hope you all had a nice weekend. Did yours go by as quickly as mine did? (Which was pretty darn fast!)

Thanks so much for stopping by ... have a good night, and I will see you all sometime tomorrow ...

❤

Comments

[Dawn]

Thank you so much, everyone! :)

And yes, Sue - as my "other" Sue kindly pointed out :D - plain glue would work just fine here. Mod Podge is just a water based craft glue/sealant that works well with all kinds of projects. Thinning your glue with a little water as Sue suggests would be ideal. EB tends to like things pretty sticky, lol!

Have a wonderful day, my friends ...

Blessings,
~ Dawn

p.s. The sun rose at 7:04 this morning ... the sky was such a lovely rosy hue. And what was really neat was the Full Cold Moon was still hanging in the opposite sky!

[Sue]

I love these, Dawn! We've done the tissue paper lights lots of times, but I'd never thought of doing them in Advent colors. If we weren't so busy getting ready to fly over there for Christmas this Sunday, I'd go get the supplies out right now! I'll definitely file it away for next time.

And, from one Sue to another... we have done ours with white glue lots of times - we just water it down a bit to make it less goopy and easier to spread with paint brushes.

[Sue]

A question from an un-crafty reader - what is mod podge? Can I just use regular old Elmer's glue for this? This would be a great way for me to recycle some glass jelly jars...

Your blog is an oasis of peace and calm in the frenzy of this season - thank you!!!

[The Ipps]

Those candles look so relaxing and calming.It gets light in the morning where we live around 9:30-10AM and then dark around 2-3PM. By 4PM it's completely black. Yet, the darkness seems just right for Advent and preparing.

[Sarah]

What a lovely craft! I love its simplicity.