Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Terrain Style Taper Candle Cuffs

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I love looking on the Terrain site (a sister brand of Anthropologie) since it mostly specializes in natural "garden lifestyle" brands and natural seasonal decor or nature driven brands. In Terrain's home decor section, I discovered several taper candle wreaths or candle cuffs which truly inspired me to make my own! Here are a few selections of Terrain's candle cuffs:

                                    

                                    

                                                    

















Hello and Welcome to this month's Creative Craft Hop co-hosted by Sara @Birdz of a Feather  and Donna @Modern on  Monticello who take turns every other month! The lovely and creative Sara is our host for this month! I'm so glad you're here checking out our creative projects for the month of May!


Candle cuffs can turn a plain taper candle into an artistic creation, adding extra sparkle and style. Imagine adding them to a tablescape for a simple and festive centerpiece or transforming your plain candles into festive decor anywhere in your home.  So let's turn a plain taper candle into a stunning creation by making a taper candle cuff! Here's how!

Materials:

  • Taper candle & candle holder 
  • Floral wire (20 gauge and 22 gauge)
  • Measuring tape/Ruler
  • Wire cutters/nylon jaw pliers/round nose pliers
  • Crystal Beads

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! Plus Google Adsense provides a platform for me to monetize my content by hosting ads from Google's network of advertisers. The money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How To:

Making a DIY wire candle cuff is a simple project that involves wrapping or twisting floral wire to create a decorative base that will fit a taper candle, then embellishing it with crystals or beads to form wire branches around the decorative wire base. 

First, I loosely measured around the taper candle and got about a not quite three inch diameter. You want to be able to easily place the cuff on the candle and not have the cuff fit too snug and possibly scraping the wax. 


Then I started guesstimating about how much wire I needed to twist, etc. and came up with twelve inches to fold and twist .  .  . 


and created a plain twisted wire ring similar to the Terrain style that would fit around the taper candle. If you look at the Terrain's pictures of candle cuffs, the twisted wire looked hand twisted and very natural like the one I created.

Then I thought I should make something a bit fancier with crystals since the twisted wire ring looked so plain and I wanted to make something different from the Terrain ones. Since the candle I'm using is pink, I pulled out my pink crystals (8mm) and a ruler and placed rows of two crystals along the three inch mark of my ruler - totaling 22 crystals to start.


Then, once again, I guesstimated the length of wire (about 14" folded) I needed to weave the crystals onto the wire.

Starting with groups of four crystals and sliding them onto the wire .  .  .
  
and twisting the wire once.



Then adding groups of four crystals to the same wire and twisting the wire once the crystals were added until .  .  .

all the crystals were added to the wire. I needed to add two more crystals to make the grouping of four even for a total of twenty four crystals.

Then I started shaping a ring of the wired grouped crystals .  .  .
and closing the ring of crystals with the wire that is left on one side. Next, wrapping another folded wire into the ring wire on the opposite side. 
To balance the look, two more folded wires were wrapped into the wired crystal ring on opposite sides - in other words, the folded wires are secured in the 12, 3, 6, & 9 positions. *I realized that I had to increase the length of wire added on the remaining three to about 24" giving me 12" when folded so I would have enough wire without having to add more.   
Now, it's time to decide how to decorate the wire extensions.  Begin by making several twists of wire to one of the folded wires extended from the decorative ring of crystals.

Thread a bead  to the middle of one of the wires, and twist several times to secure the bead in place. Thread a second bead about 1 1/2 inches (or less), from the first twist, and twist again several times. 
              
Make a third extension, adding a bead and twisting wires, as before.
                         
Continue alternating wires, threading a bead and twisting to form branches 
until .  .  .

you've created three extension branches. I forgot to take a pic without the flowers attached to the ends of the branches. So don't dwell on the flowers right now, lol! Continue making branch extensions to the three other group of wires.

To complete the look, lets make crystal and wire flowers to attach to the end of each wire extensions. To do this, begin by taking a 15" length of 22 gauge wire, folding one end over about two inches. Then slide a bead on all the way down to where the wire begins to fold.

Take the end of the longer length wire and insert it into the opening of the crystal bead and .  .  .

pull the wire end through the crystal until a small loop is formed at one end of the bead.
Once you have the small loop, separate the wires on the other end and .  .  .
insert another bead onto the longer wire, as before.
Then take the end of the wire and insert it in the opening of the crystal. Pulling the wire through the crystal until .  .  .

a small loop is formed. Be sure to move the crystal as close to the previous crystal as the loop is formed.

Continue adding crystals to the wire until .  .  .
the third crystal is attached and .  .  .
the forth one and finally .  .  .
 the fifth one is attached. Be sure to straighten out the longer wires and begin twisting them together.
Then take the twisted wire and .  .  .
twirl it into the center of the beads, cutting off any excess twisted wire.
Make several more for a total of .  .  .

twelve flowers - for each candle cuff. I know there are eight flowers pictured below, but you'll need twelve flowers all together.

Attach the beaded flowers by wrapping the wire ends of the branch extensions to the back of the flowers, through to the front and back again, twisting the wires together to secure. Straightening and smoothing the twisted wires out as much as possible.

I think I got carried away with making this taper candle cuff, lol! It seems to be a bit bigger than my inspirations! But I'm loving it! And hope you'll try your hand at making one.

Up next is Sue @Shop at Blu sharing How to Refresh Metal Garden Decor! Be sure to check out all of her great ideas!

And please make sure to check out all of our super talented bloggers and their amazing creations listed below:
Sara  -  Crochet Necklace

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Upcycle Picture Frames to Trays

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Have you ever looked at a picture frame and thought that would make a pretty tray? Creating one of a kind trays from picture frames is a great way to bring new life to something that might be stashed in a junk drawer, closet, or sadly, thrown away! Just imagine that DIY trays are the ultimate home hack! Perfect for styling, serving and streamlining your space! They can elevate your decor, serve in style and organize with ease - the stylish way to serve, decorate, and declutter! Trays do it all!

Now, imagine transforming old picture frames into decorative, functional trays by applying stained glass window film to the glass. It's a great way of repurposing frames into faux stained glass serving trays, vanity trays, or just decorative trays!  How beautiful would that be!

But before we get to the how-to, it’s time for another Creative Craft Hop co-hosted by Sara @Birdz of a Feather  and Donna @Modern on  Monticello who take turns every other month! The lovely and talented Donna is our host for this month!

And if you're visiting from our other amazing host, Sara @Birdz of a Feather, her gorgeous crochet leaf earrings are truly one of a kind, handcrafted, and quite unique, aren't they! 

Now back to my project! Upcycling an old picture frame into a serving tray involves cleaning and sometimes painting a sturdy wood frame, reinforcing the back with thick cardboard, and installing handles and decorative feet. This is one way to create faux stained glass crafts using faux stained glass window film for an instant, colorful transformation. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Well it is!!!!

Materials:

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! Plus Google Adsense provides a platform for me to monetize my content by hosting ads from Google's network of advertisers. The money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How To:


Let's begin with this picture frame from an earlier post that I took apart. You must use pliers or other tools to remove any hardware, like a sawtooth hanger, triangle hook or any brackets on the backing of the picture frame that would prevent the frame from sitting flat on a surface. 

Then take the inside of the frame apart.  The frames I'm using were basically in good shape so no painting was needed.

For the first frame, use the cardboard backing as a template (don't worry! I'm saving the original cardboard backing with the design base and embroidered florals) to make a new backing using white posterboard. White posterboard will help make the colors of the stained glass film pop as opposed to using a dark color which would diminish the look .  .  . 

along with corrugated cardboard from an old cardboard box. Then add glue to cover all of the cardboard and .  .  .                                           
then placing the cutout white poster board on top - matching edges while smoothing it out.
While the glue is drying, unroll the stained glass window film and select the design from the pattern you want to use. Once the glue has dried, place the new board backing on top of the film design selected and .  .  .
                      
cut out.

Next, clean the glass from the frame thoroughly with water, glass cleaner or alcohol. The directions for the film call for spraying enough water on the glass to easily install and reposition the film. But, for this frame, I just glued down the film edges all around the white board backing and smoothing it out (sorry for the shadows).
Here, I'm about to insert the faux stained glass film board in the frame after placing the glass in first.
And it's a perfect fit!
        It's time to screw on the feet - that is, after removing the staples and paper scraps along the back frame.
Line up the feet with the corners of the frame to insert the screws.
The metal feet fit perfectly along the corner edges of the frame.
Looks pretty good!
To attach the handles, I used masking tape to cover the holes and area along the handles for an exact placement on the frame.  
And then had my hubby to drill the holes on each end .  .  .
to screw and attach the handles firmly to the frame.
How cool does this look!


I found the next frame for three dollars at an estate sale in my neighborhood last year. It's smaller but I love the details and design.
And the backing was done in a velvet-like black material (which catches a lot of lint, lol). I removed the hanging hook and attached stand to allow the frame to lay flat on a surface.
I followed the same steps I did on the first frame to add the stained glass window film and .  .  .
handles. 
At first, I decided not to add feet, but later changed my mind.
This setting looks so adorable!


I hope you enjoyed how I upcycled picture frames into trays! Up next is Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction sharing her lovely Crochet Tablet Case! And be sure to check out all of our super talented bloggers and their amazing creations listed below: