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Birch Bark Votive Holder

Walking along the beach a couple of months ago, the day after a pretty rough summer storm, we found this perfectly hollowed out yet intact sleeve of birch bark on the shore. The beautifully silver-white piece just begged to be picked up even though we weren’t quite sure what we would do with it.

A large bangle for the wrist? Too scratchy.

Slice it up and use for napkin rings? Too fragile.

Use it in a flower arrangement? Too large.

It turns out that we couldn’t quite make it into something else because it’s such a nice piece on it’s own. So, the idea to make it into a candle holder came to mind. While we wouldn’t put an actual candle inside given that the bark is pretty much kindling, we found inexpensive LED votive candles in our local grocery store that work great.


To make the votive holder, we just cleaned off the outside of the bark, scraped off some of the inside layers and then gently cut, using a utility knife the ends to smooth them out and slits into the naturally-occurring striations of the bark for the light to shine through.

And there we have it, an upcycled nature-made candle holder.

We had also recently sliced up a whole birch tree branch that had fallen and are planning to use for a separate project. But stacked on top of each other the slices actually make beautiful votive stands on their own.

Now we have lovely and free mantle decor to light the cold winter nights. As always though, be very careful and don’t leave lit candles unattended, especially on little piles of wood!

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Jackie

Wednesday 26th of April 2023

Such a great idea...I'm new to your website but think I will love all your decorations/ideas etc...

Kiara

Friday 12th of March 2021

Nice! Reminds me of the birch trees I used to have in my yard

Lyschel Bersch

Wednesday 14th of February 2018

Oh THANK YOU for saying that you wouldn't put a real candle in a highly flammable piece of birch bark! I was a little worried when I read the title. Lovely Piece with the LED candle :) LOL, I usually only want real candles but this is one exception!

Jane and Sonja

Saturday 24th of February 2018

Haha! Yes-that would have gotten us into trouble in many ways! Thank you so much for stopping by and your kind words :)

Mary, Living a Sunshine Life

Saturday 2nd of January 2016

This is absolutely beautiful! I've been wanting to plant a birch in my yard for some time now. My neighbor had one, but for some reason it didn't make it. Could be the funky weather we've been having plus the transplant shock. Either way, someday I want one in my yard because they are absolutely beautiful and I love what you've done with them. Thank you for sharing on the Sunshine Life Link Up!

indah nuria savitri

Saturday 5th of December 2015

Lovely craft indeed and how I adore the natural pattern of the birch bark

Jane and Sonja

Tuesday 8th of December 2015

We feel the same. Birch bark is simply beautiful and we can't get enough of it.

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