Super Easy Tea light Holder

One of the things that I love about our house is that it is a gift that keeps on giving. Our dog, Gracie, loves to run underneath the house and bring me presents. It's usually just an old beer can or two that was left behind by construction workers when they built the home, but this time she actually brought me something useful!

She brought me this awesome chunk of wood! Most people might dismiss this as trash but I like it, it's all weathered and distressed and cool looking. (I have this problem where I can't throw things away- it drives my husband nuts.) Anyway- I knew I could make something out of it but what? 

Hmmm... a tea light holder? Yes!

This was super easy to make and only took about 30 minutes from start to finish and I had all the materials to make it already on hand. If you want to make one of these yourself all you need is:

A piece of wood (If you aren't fortunate to have a dog who fetches you wood your local home improvement store can cut wood for you to your desired length, usually for free!)

1 1/2" Drill bit 

Power drill

Sander & Sandpaper

Stain or paint

Tea Lights

First I sanded my wood to smooth it out and get rid of uneven edges.

Then take your drill bit,

And use your tea light as a guide to measure the depth to which you will cut, then tape it off. This way you will not drill to deep into the wood.

Next use a pencil to mark the spots you will drill. SInce I was only drilling 2 holes I just eyeballed it. If your using a longer piece of wood and drilling several holes, measuring might be the way to go!

After I drilled my holes I sanded a little more around the newly drilled holes. Then I used some Minwax stain I had on hand and finished it up. Remember to wipe off any extra stain before it dries for an even finish. This allows the wood grain to show through. 

Then light it up!

For such and quick easy (And free!) project I'm happy with it. Something like this would make a great gift, and to change things up a bit you could use colored tea lights for different seasons, what do you think? 

Linking here!