Pressed Flower Votive Candle Holder Gift Idea

Flower pressing friends, here's a cool Christmas idea gift idea for you to make, that's unbelievable easy.  

1.  Glue a pressed flower of your choice onto each side of a triangle or square votive candle holder.  I tend to prefer Perfect Paper Adhesive for gluing, but in this case any white glue should be fine. I also recommend using flowers pressed in a Microfleur microwave flower press since they tend to retain more of their color.

2.  Tear a piece of white/translucent tissue paper into a square that will cover each flower by at least 1/8".  You could also cut the square, but the torn edges give a much nicer, "artsy" look.

3.  Cover one of the flowers plus an extra 1/8" of an inch around it with either matte Modge Podge, or Perfect Paper Adhesive.  Place a tissue paper square on top, press out any air bubbles, and then carefully apply another coat of either Modge Podge or PPA over the tissue paper.  Make sure to cover the edges of the tissue paper, but avoid getting excess on the glass. Repeat for each flower.  Allow to dry.

There you have it!  The tissue paper lends a certain whimsical look to the pressed flowers, and also helps protect the flowers.  Avoid using greens since they readily fade unless you add some kind of pigment - with either water color, or markers such as Prismacolors. 

For the candle holder above I used osteospermum flowers (a type of African Daisy) in several shades of purple. Which ever flowers you choose to use, be sure to have plenty on hand - everyone you know will want one of these!

what I'm getting for Christmas

I don't know about you, but I'm getting the glory of God for Christmas.

My youngest takes after his Dad so much, especially in his passion for giving carefully selected, thoughtful gifts to those he loves.

The other day, with a sparkle in his eye, and a sincere look on his small handsome face, he announced to me that he is giving me the "glory of God" for Christmas.

Wow... Really?
"Yes Mommy, the glory of God."

Since then, when I get crabby or fed up with the slushy, sticky, dirty, or crumbly mess my kids have just made, my young one says, "The glory of God, Mom, remember I'm giving you the glory of God."

What is the glory of God? I'm not exactly sure - but I've heard it said that God's glory is everything that makes up God; His authority, power, and sovereignty. I also know that the Psalms mention God's glory a lot, and Pslam 19 says , "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

Is a little first grader really going to give me the glory of God for Christmas? I highly doubt it. But the great thing is, I am getting it for Christmas. And so are you. God himself has blessed us with it, in the gift of His son. Emmanuel=God with us. We get God, and His glory. He gave us the gift of Himself. Isn't it ironic that this gift that comes from a child?