DIY Rustic Tea Light Candle Holder

It’s time for another round of #knockoutknockoffs, and this time all of our DIY projects were all inspired by Crate and Barrel.

In case you’re new here, I teamed up with some awesome DIY bloggers to bring you a fun summer series, where we share a knock off inspired DIY project from May-August. I’m sad that this is our last project in the series, but you can view all of the previous #knockoutknockoff projects HERE.

I’ve been wanting to create a rustic tea light candle holder for some time now and was instantly inspired when I saw the Woodsy Wood Tea Light Centerpiece Candle Holder on the Crate and Barrel website.

This project was super easy and didn’t require much time to make either. In fact, waiting for the sealer to dry is what took the longest. Not too shabby if you ask me.

4 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Rough Green Western Red Cedar Lumber

Saw {or get the woodcut at the hardware store}

Fine grit sandpaper

Drill &  1 5/8 or 1 1/2 Forstner Bit

Tung Oil, gloves and rag/brush {or any other stain and sealer}

Tea Light Candles

The candle holder on their site is 15 inches wide but I wanted something longer and more substantial to place in the center of our dining table, so we cut our wood down to 35 inches. You can customize the size to whatever you want and can even have the hardware store cut the wood for you if you don’t have a saw. Of course, if you have scrap wood lying around {that isn’t treated} you could always use that for this project.

I originally thought I could use some scrap wood but as it turns out, I didn’t have anything long enough and decided to keep this project extra simple by purchasing a 4 x 4 x 8 piece of {untreated} wood. We also decided to splurge on a new Forstner bit, but now I have enough materials left over to make at least 3 more of these rustic candle holders the perfect tool to make several more in the future! Plus this Forstner bit is much better quality and easy to use than the spade bit we used for my rustic ring box. I think I know what we will be making for Christmas gifts this year…

DIY Rustic Tea Light Candle Holder

Step 1: Cut the wood to size.

Step 2: Sand the wood with fine-grit sandpaper to smooth it out.

Step 3: Measure and mark where you want the holes for your tea lights to go. We measured 5 1/2 inches from both edges and then created holes 6 inches in between.

Step 4: Use your drill and Forstner bit to drill the holes for the tea light candles. We used a 1 1/2 Forstner bit because that was the largest we could find last minute, but I’d recommend a 1 5/8 bit if you can find it so that you can ensure you have space for the tea light holder as a safety precaution. The tea lights I had on hand, which were purchased from HomeGoods, fit perfectly in the 1 1/2 drilled out hole in their holders. We did decide to keep the holes a little more shallow so that the flame was above the holes rather than in it. We can always make the holes deeper later on if we decide to.

Step 5: Add stain or sealer to the wood. I LOVED how the wood looked au natural so I just added some tung oil for a nice finish. Make sure you use a sealer that is safe to use with candles and follow the directions for dry time.

Step 6: Add your tea lights and enjoy your new DIY rustic tea light candleholder!

Of course, you could also add any additional embellishments to the wood such as gold leaf or faux iron straps, but I decided to keep this project extra simple. I love how this turned out and that we now have a nice new centerpiece for our dining table. I’d like to make more of these from some of the branches we saved when the tree next door fell down.

So what do you think of the DIY rustic tea light candle holder?

You can view all of the previous #knockoutknockoff projects HERE.