Hello everyone! I wanted to share one more Christmas crafting I did with my girlfriend in December 2017 :)

In addition to the Christmas wreath my girlfriend wanted to make (which I helped her accomplish), she also wanted to make Christmas/Yule candles (or candle holders) made from wood logs, which hold a fondue candle inside.

These log candles make a nice decorative change from the standard candles one would use to light up an evening meal, like a Christmas meal. You can of course use them for any meal, but they go well with the Christmas/Yule woodsy "spirit" of the holidays :)

We made these before making the wreath. I didn't take pictures of all the material before completion, sorry :/

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Cutting the log

My girlfriend showed up at my place one night with a log in her arms :) It was time to get crafting!

I cut the first candle log, and she did most of the second which I finished off, and I did the third on my own at a later date. I didn't have a good big saw, as mine had teeth that were too fine and not suited for sawing fresh wood too well.... but I did have a handy "swiss army" style tool that had a good cutting saw with larger and sharper teeth to get the job done better than the fine-tooth larger saw. It was tiring to cut the wood with a small 4 inch blade, but we got the job done :)

Make sure to get a log that is wide enough, wider than the 1.5 inch fondue candles that go into it. different widths give a different style, but we live int he city so finding logs by the road is rare enough, and luckily my girlfriend had found a log lying on the street that was just thick enough :)

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Drill the hole

After you cut the logs, drill down with a 1.5 inch wood drill bit. You can buy them at a hardware store. Of note, I recommend having a vice-grip station to keep a hold of the small wood logs. I didn't have one, and I had to hold onto the wood as I tried to drill with the 1.5 inch bit... which didn't work. It had too much grit on the larger surface area and I couldn't hold onto the torque.

To get the larger 1.5 inch bit to drill out the wood, I first used the 1.5 inch bit to make the shape that the candle would fit in. Then I took a 1/2 inch bit and drilled around the the circle shape to take out the most of the wood. At that point, I could use the 1.5 inch bit to refine the shape and make it round, without the torque spinning the log around in my hand :)

Don't drill too deep with the either the small or large bits, as the fondue candle will go too deep and be covered by the wood log (so to speak). Drill a bit and put the candle in to see if you have reached the desirable depth. If not, keep repeating that process of drill and test.

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Insert the candle

The drilling went a bit off-angle for me in one or two cases, so I had to put some wood-pulp shavings from the drilling inside the holes in order to even out the level when the candle was placed inside. Otherwise, the candle was a bit too lopsided :) They aren't perfectly level, but they are good enough.

After you're done drilling, put in the candles and presto: done!

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The first one I did was the taller log, which had the candle sticking out more. I was too lazy to go back to it and drill more :P

What do you think? Pretty nice anyways, right?

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These decorative wood log candle holders only cost the price of the drill bit and the fondue candles, along with time and energy to make :)

To buy these in a store would cost a few dollars, anywhere from $3 to $40 or more for sets.

We didn't look around at various designs. I see now that some crafters/sellers had a cut in the side for the wax to drip out of. Some log candle holders are also done horizontally.

$43

$20

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Thank you for your time and attention.

I hope you like the idea and maybe you will make your own. :)

Take care. Peace.