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Mrs. Toucan, Boston Age and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Actuary Engagement Date: February 18, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: November 07, 2007 Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine Restaurant About Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!
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Leafy Votive

November 7th, 2007 @ 4:30 pm by Mrs. Toucan

I recently tested out a few different options to decorate votives for my co-worker Sam’s wedding. The inspiration came from none other than Preston Bailey:

Sam’s votives are 2.5 inches tall, so I bought 3 inch skeleton leaves from HQPaperMaker. Shipping is expensive because the company is located in Thailand, however, even with the extra shipping cost, I found that purchasing leaves here were still cheaper than anywhere else I looked.

When I made my first votive, they looked similar to the picture above. However, we found that when we burned the candle, it posed a serious fire hazard with the leaves sticking up so far from the edge of the votive. So this time, I trimmed down the bottom of the leaves, and now the votives look like this (click images to enlarge):


Initially, I was afraid the glue wouldn’t hold the leaves onto the glass very nicely, so I bought some hemp to tie around the votive. While I leave the choice up to Sam, here are a few other options/looks for her votives:

Tied in a bow

Tied in a knot

Which do you like best? Plain? The bow? The knot?

25 Responses to “Leafy Votive”

1.
MissFlamingo says:

I like without a bow, but both options are pretty. Great job!!!

2.
Sara says:

I like both, but I think it depends on what the rest of her centerpiece decorations will look like. What kind of adhesive did you use?

3.
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Miss Lovebird says:

I like it better without the bow too. Great project!

4.
StaceyS says:

i like it best without the bow-
did you try spray adhesive?

5.
MissHistory says:

I like it better without the bow.

6.
Rebeccalou says:

I tried the exact same thing with silver skeleton leaves after finding this Preston Bailey pic! I ultimately scrapped the project (turned out that simpler was better) but your votives look beautiful! I like the one without the hemp best. So elegant!

Small world, isn’t it…

7.
Miss Emerald says:

Without bow. What a cool project!

8.
acklesgrl says:

without bow

9.
Miss Toucan says:

Hey everyone,
To those inquiring minds, I actually used Scotch Scrapbooker’s glue with the 2-way applicator. I tried to use some other fancier decoupage glues, but they smelled really bad, and it turned out that normal clear glue worked best. :)

10.
Darlene says:

without the bow is so simple and elegant- love it!

11.
Lindsay says:

You can try using raffia and just making a knot with it. In either case, no bow, do either with nothing or with a knot.

12.
Susan says:

Plain or the knot. I think plain is the most striking.

13.
Mo says:

I like plain the best. The leaf really pops.

14.
SoireeLaura says:

Cute! I like them best without the string :)

15.
creme_de_violet says:

I like them with a bow.

16.
kbok says:

i loooove this. thanks for the great idea! can i ask how much the leaves cost? i looked for the price on the site and didn’t see it.

17.
kbok says:

i loooove this. thanks for the great idea! can i ask how much the leaves cost? i looked for the price on the site and didn’t see it.

18.
Krizia says:

Plain! It looks more ethereal and natural :) (if that’s not what you’re going for then i choose bow over knot!)

19.
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Miss Toucan says:

I actually had to request the cost of the leaves. When I bought them I paid $3.13 per pack of 100 3″ metallic leaves, but they are listed at $3.31 now. I bought a total of 600 leaves for about $19, and shipping from Thailand to Boston was almost as much at $17! Still cheaper than what I found at the Paper Source which was $3.50 for 10 leaves.

20.
Suz says:

nicely done! Plain ones are my favorite.

21.
lisa says:

love them
i thought of doing this but my reception place gives me votives for free. I am trying to come up with other uses for the leaves

22.
Kate says:

I like it best without the hemp - but if you’re worried about the glue sticking, I dig the knot over the bow.

Looks fab!

23.
Sheri says:

Just in case anyone else is in love with this idea, I found some skeleton leaves at Target packaged as “Vase Filler” 100 leaves for 6 bucks? I bought a pack of them on a whim, had my dad spray paint them copper and used them along with the fall leaves in my hurricane lantern centerpieces a couple of weeks ago! They take metallic paint really well =)

24.
Emily says:

I like it best without the bow. I love the inspiration for Preston Bailey- his work is always stunning. I recently found out that he has a collection for 1-800-Flowers where you can send one of his designs: http://www.1800flowers.com/refer.do?r=designerflowers&d=10320

25.
Weddingbee » Blog Archive » Leafy Votive Follow-Up says:

[...] Awhile ago, I wrote about the leafy votive candle holders I made for my co-worker, Samantha’s wedding. Sam and I both agreed with most of your comments about how the simpler option (no bow or knot) looked the best. After all, sometimes less is more! [...]


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Mrs. Toucan Mrs. Toucan, Boston Age and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Actuary Engagement Date: February 18, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: November 07, 2007 Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine Restaurant About Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!