Can votives.

These are great for those barbecue parties that run a little late — you’ve watched the sun set, and you’re fumbling around for the s’more fixings. And they’re using something you’d recycle anyway.

Save your cans from tomatoes and beans for a month. After you’ve removed the labels and washed each one, fill with water and freeze.

The next day, use an awl or a hole punch or a screwdriver and punch holes in a decorative pattern in each frozen, filled can. Be generous with the holes, you want as much light as possible to shine through.

Let the ice melt.
(I set the can in my herb garden so it waters it for me.)

Put a tea light or small candle in each can.

Voila! A home made candle holder good for the outside this summer.

I’ve also spray painted the cans to make them look a little more classy, but quite frankly, it’s a garbanzo bean can with holes punched in it, it’s supposed to be a little rustic.

Other summertime, okay-for-outside-candle is the Celebrity Saint Votive:

Take those largish, plain 7 day votives (that you can get at the grocery store in the Mexican food section) and paste a photo or US Weekly photo collage of your favorite celebrity (or the one that most needs your good vibes) on the outside of the candle in the manner of a saint.

(As you may or may not tell by the drawing, I’ve done post-Meyer-breakup Jessica Simpson.)

You could do also put these candles out for place holders around your picnic table for an outdoor party, where each guest could be Lindsay, Brandon or Paris. Determining which guest is which celebrity could be half the fun.

(Also, please don’t burn anything down. These are candle crafts for grownups — not wee’uns.)

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