Easy Outdoor Wooden Candle Holders

Ahhhhh the sun is shining and it's so warm outside here you guys! It takes so long here in Calgary for any signs of spring to start showing up, but I think I can say that spring has finally sprung here! Although everyone that lives around here knows that you don't put any real flowers or plants outside until after May long weekend as it could still snow or frost over night, but that hasn't stopped me from brainstorming outdoor decor for the upcoming season. I had an idea in mind to make elevated candle holders that look like a high end item you would buy in an expensive store, but as always my version will be super inexpensive and easy to construct!

I actually went to google first to see if I could find any images of what I was thinking, and to my surprise it wasn't easy! There were some shorter coffee table versions for indoors, also I came across some plant stands, but I couldn't find exactly what I was envisioning. So I sort of took what I had in mind, went into my garage, pulled out some scrap 1x2's grabbed a few tools and started building and let me tell you....this is super easy to make and a beginner project for any of you wanting to start using power tools for the first time!!

Ok then let's get started shall we.....

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1. So first thing you are going to want to do is decide how high you want your stands to be. I just eyeballed it and decided on heights of 15 1/4" and 21 1/4" tall for my set of 2. I cut 4 sets of 15 1/4" legs out of my 1x2's and 4 legs at 21 1/4". You should have 8 legs cut in total.

To make these cuts I just used my mitre saw. Don't be scared of this tool! It will become your best friend in no time. It's just so easy to use and within seconds you will have precision cuts made for your projects. You can find inexpensive ones and very pricey ones. Ours is a Craftsman 12" compound mitre saw, it's a mid range one from Lowes and we've probably had it for 12 years now and are finally ready for an upgrade as it's getting a bit slower, but if you are just starting out you don't need to break the bank with this tool. Here is a great article I found on the best mitre saws for beginners.

2. In this step you are going to decide the width of your X cross sections that the base of your glass hurricane sits on by placing it on top of one of your 1x2" boards and make a mark. I left about a 1/2" on each side. You will then cut 2 of these pieces at the same length. mine measured in at just under 7" wide.

3. Now you are going to place your pieces together in an X shape to determine how wide you are going to cut your 4 small puzzle pieces. Mine measured in at 2 3/4" wide.

Then you are going to assemble 2 sections of your X that have notches in them that will puzzle together so that the X creates a nice flush design. I used my Brad nailer for this.

*after taking these pics I decided to make another X to support the bottom legs, so you may want to do the same and repeat these steps for the base.
 

4. Once your X's are done you are going to now attach the legs to your ends of the X. Make sure you make a marking as to how far down you want your legs to be. Mine are about 2 1/2" down from the top of each leg. To attach your legs again you are going to use a Brad nailer, going in from the sides of each leg. Be sure you use your level once you start attaching the legs to be sure you don't have any wobbly legs and all the legs are the same.

I should mention if you don't have a Brad nailer I would suggest just using some Gorilla Wood Glue and allowing things to set with clamps over night.

Now that your 4 legs are attached you can stop here and be done....or if you like, you can do what I did and add another X to the base legs for additional stability, basically repeating step 4.

The very last thing I did was give everything a quick power sand and then I decided to spray paint mine black. I had a couple cans of black spray paint on hand which I wanted to use up, but definitely be sure whatever spray paint you use that it's meant for outdoors, or if you decide to paint or even stain yours make sure you use a product specifically for outdoors. I would also suggest using a clear outdoor spray top coat as well to add extra protection to your wood.

Once it's all dry you can enjoy your hard work and style them however you like! Wasn't that easy?? I could have written this blog post just with pictures and you guys would have understood how easy it was!

I think these would be so pretty done with sand in them, or fill them with water and add some pretty floating candles! Wouldn't that be so pretty at night time!!? Or you could even use these as tall plant stands if you wanted....they are so versatile in my opinion, and you can really have fun with them!

Right now I put mine on my back deck next to my little bistro area, but I have lots of plans for the back yard this year... incase you didn't hear. We are building the second phase to our deck and will be also installing a pergola and privacy wall. There I plan to have a sectional or sofa of some type and I envision these candle holders in that area with lots of twinkle lights, cozy pillows, a glass of wine in hand and fully enjoying our new deck on hot summer nights.

Don't they look expensive!? I am proud of how these turned out and I know you guys can whip up a couple of these too in no time at all. I am even considering making them a set of 3 once the deck is all done, wouldn't that be pretty, 3 together!?

Let me know in the comments below what you think!

Have a wonderful day,

Dale