I found these wooden candle holders in the free pile at a thrift store and immediately grabbed them. I brought them home, gave them a little love, and now they have new life as coastal candle holders. They remind me of drift wood and hanging at the beach!
Here are the original candle holders from the free pile. They are made from real trees.
Coastal Wood Candle Upcycle Video
I started by sanding off the original paint and clear coat on them. I wanted to get them back down to their raw form.
*I used my Black & Decker Orbital Sander, along with my protective eye wear.
Here’s what they looked like once they were all sanded down. Check out the cool colors this wood had!
I wanted to give them a little color but yet still keep that incredible look they already had. I had wood tint on hand so decided to use it. I lightly painted one of them with Folk Art Home Decor Wood Tint in the color Cascade.
While it was still wet, I took a damp rag and wiped off the excess.
For the other candle holder, I painted Folk Art Home Decor Wood Tint in the color gray on it.
Once it was coated, I immediately took a damp rag and wiped off the excess.
I let them both dry completely. Both candle holders took on a little bit of the tint but not too much. This was just enough to give them that driftwood and coastal look I was going for.
These look fantastic, especially for a free find. Pinned .
Thank you so much Michele, I was thrilled to find them
What a great find! I had assumed they were made from driftwood. Pinned.
Thank you so much Joanne, and thanks for sharing.
Sanding this awesome find really transformed the candle holders into an amazing coastal look! How creative and what a fabulous idea!
Thank you so much Gail, I’m glad you think so too 🙂 I was so very excited to find these – and you can’t beat the price.
These are fabulous, Chas! What a great find for free! I love the color tint with those streaks showing through.
Thank you Beverly, I appreciate it. I was so lucky to find them. and I’m really glad I decided to strip them down instead of just paint them.
I love how they turned out to look like driftwood. They definitely have that beach vibe. Pinned. I’m visiting from The Happy Now.
Thank you so much Allyson, I’m thrilled you like them and are getting the vibe I was going for.
Create transformation!
Thank you so much Cynthia 🙂
This is awesome! Love the idea of upcycling the trees!
Thank you and I’m so excited you like it Alexandra 🙂
These are gorgeous! I love the wood.
Thank you so much T’onna
They look great! You did a fabulous job.
Thank you Lisa, I appreciate it.
You really scored with these candle holders for free! Fantastic transformation.
Happy Spring,
Kippi
Thank you so much Kippi 🙂 I’m so ready for summer
Love this! I am in awe of the creative hearts I see here. Thank you for sharing,HPS!
Thank you so much Anne, I’m thrilled you like the projects 🙂
Wow, you totally transformed those candle holders, Chas! Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s, you’re being featured Tuesday evening on my blog.
Thank you so much Ann both for the compliment and for the feature. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend 🙂
lovely! thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday! That shot on the beach made me long for the ocean.
Thank you so very much Sara, I’m so ready for summer – how about you?
Wow, what a great score and awesome upcycle! I love them, they can work for so many different decors.
Thank you so much Emily, I’m so very ready for summer.
What an awesome upcycle!
Thanks for sharing with Creative Compulsions!
Michelle
mybijoulifeonline.com
Thank you Michelle, glad you think so.
I love the fact that these were free and you were lucky enough to pick them up. I’m not sure what I would have done with them but I really love your project. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Donna, I just couldn’t pass up free 🙂 I’m so ready for summer, how about you?
These are beautiful. The little touch of colour is perfect. What a lovely update.
Thank you so much Julie 🙂 I’m so ready for summer.
Chaz,
These turned out so beautiful. Congratulations, you are being featured on Over The Moon Linky Party. I hope you stop by. eclecticredbarn.com/2020/03/over-moon-linky-party_22.html
Hugs,
Bev
You are so sweet, thank you so much Bev! You’ve made my day. Hope you’re having a lovely weekend and I’ll see you at the next party.
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn Please everyone stay safe and healthy. Hugz.
Thank you Marilyn, hope you are all safe and having a lovely week
Great find and beautiful pieces!
One thing I noticed on this and your branch candle holder ideas: You didn’t drill the hole for the candles very deep, so you can see a lot of the white plastic of the LED tealights. I know you said you were concerned about it being too deep for a real flame candle. But you could drill deeper and put some kind of spacer under a real tealight to raise it up so it’s safer. You could use a hole saw with a smaller diameter to cut a disc out of a thinner board an put that in the hole.
Keep up the great DIY ideas!