Picket Fence Candle Surround

I'm often torn between many different home accents I could make for the rooms in my house. On the one hand, I love a vintage look. On the other hand, a rustic, country look is lovely. Then again, I've always been fond of Native American elements. Obviously, you can't have them all, unless you have a home where you give each room its own theme. When one room runs into the next, or can be viewed from another room, that can be chaotic. So, just settle on one type of decorating and make as many things - with that theme - as you can. If you love a rustic or country look you can do a lot with candles. Make small picket fences that surround your candles and you'll create adorable home accents that, although they're very cheap, look spectacular.

Popsicle sticks are one of the cheapest things you can purchase at a craft store. With them being just a couple of pennies each you can make the candle surrounds for very little money. One way to make the cute candle accent is to first cut the popsicle sticks to look like picket fence boards. Cut one end of the stick straight across, and the other end to be pointed, and you instantly create the pickets. Whitewash them, paint them, or use them as-is. Although you want all the sticks to be close in size, you can create a charming element by making some of the pickets just a tad shorter or taller than the others.

To create the fence, start with very pliable craft wire. Easy to bend, the wire will hold the pickets together when you use a wrapping technique that's very simple. Start with two thin wires, twist them together at one end, then slide one popsicle stick between them. Twist the wires on the other side of the picket, slide in the next picket, and twist the wires. Continue to do this to connect as many pickets as you need to surround the chosen candle. These wires should be placed high on the pickets, with another set of wires running low on the pickets.

After you have created a cylinder shape as the candle surround you can then decorate the pickets in any way you want. Glue on silk flowers, twist green wire around some pickets to make vines, or even write a sentiment on the pickets with a paint marker.

If you want the candle surround to have a bottom - and become a candle holder - just start with a small, round piece of wood from a craft store. After wiring all the pickets, wrap the bottom of the fence around the outside of the wooden circle, using hot glue or wood glue to secure.

Make very short candle surrounds for tea lights, and slightly taller ones for votives, or use the full-size popsicle sticks to make a fence around a squat, pillar candle. You'll love these adorable fences that create a country or rustic accent in most any room of your home.