Hey there! I hope your weekend was amazing! We had a little snow, which happens once every five years or so, visited the tree farm, and got the rest of our Christmas decorating done. We also spent alllll day at ballet rehearsal for the Nutcracker and finished the weekend off decorating cookies with our good friends. Quite a busy, wonderful weekend! Today I’m going to show you how to easily transform an ordinary log into a candlelight display piece for your holiday table or your fireplace! This project requires just a few supplies that you can probably find around your house and a little bit of elbow grease. Would you like to make this Tealight Log Centerpiece?
You will need:
1 Log (I used oak and how great would a birch log be??)
Tealight Candles
1 1/2″ Hole Saw Drill Bit and Drill
Chisel and Mallet
protective eyewear
Evergreen branches and pinecones (optional)
To make this tealight log centerpiece, we are going to use the hole saw drill bit to make circular holes in which the tealights will set. Place the log on a solid, flat surface and roll it until you find the resting side that is the most stable. Across the top of the log, set out the tealights and space evenly – I used four tealights, spaced about 1 1/2″ apart on a 14″ log.
Once you have an idea of where you want to place the candles, it’s time to drill the holes! Fit your drill with the 1 1/2″ hole saw and be sure to put on protective eyewear!
Hold the log steady with one hand and begin drilling your first hole.
Drill until your hole is the same depth as the tealight (this may need to be done in phases; see note below).
Next, remove the extra wood in the center of the drilled circle. To do this, use a mallet to pound a chisel into the center at an angle and chip out the wood. Continue chiseling until the hole is level across the bottom. I expected that this step would be painstaking, but it was actually quite easy and didn’t take long at all.
You may need to drill a little more and then chisel again to get the hole to the correct depth. Repeat for all desired tealight holes.
Pop in the tealights (they should be snug) and you’re done! I placed my log with some short evergreen branches and a smattering of pinecones on my kitchen table. The candlelight is so pretty and I love the cozy rustic feel that the log affords. I should note that the candles should only be lit when an adult is present – don’t leave this display unsupervised. It would also be really lovely in a fireplace! And definitely make a Rustic Pinecone Wreath to coordinate with your tealight centerpiece.
I first shared this project at Positively Splendid – you can check out all the projects from the Swell Noel series here.
Leave A Reply!