Use a butane grill lighter or long
wooden match to light the candle.

Pint-sized canning jars, glazed with paint to match a garden's decorating scheme, provide pretty, low-cost candle lanterns. These blue-hue jars enhance the garden scene while protecting the votive candles from breezes.

See below for instructions for creating these garden lighting accents. The technique described produces a lovely, glazed ceramic look that allows the candlelight to shine through.

 

Work outdoors to avoid breathing
paint fumes.

Select the containers you want as candleholders. Glass jars of any kind, vases, or deep bowls work well. Match candles to containers. Wide-mouth containers up to 6 inches tall can hold small pillar candles. Tea lights fit easily into half-pint glass jars or shallow bowls. You will also need a wide, shallow disposable container, such as a plastic pot saucer.

 

Wear eye protection and a dust mask and do all your spraying outside on a calm day. Fill the plastic saucer with water. Use a floral-type spray paint, formulated for spraying colors on fresh or dried flowers, and available from crafts stores or floral suppliers. (We used Design Master No. 743 Deep Blue.) Spray a light coat of paint on the water's surface.

 

Dip and swirl the container in
the saucer.

Create the soft, mottled effect on the glass by dipping each container into the water and rotating it once to glaze it with paint. To avoid fingerprints, use tongs. Coating the glass with too much paint diminishes the glazed effect. This method is not suitable for tableware used for serving or eating; the paint won't hold up to repeated washings.