Many bloggers have made candle holders from concrete lately and because I bought a big bag (25kg!) of dry concrete for my industrial table lamp bases, I had a little extra concrete to make candle holders too.

I used some plastic turkish yogurt containers and a milk carton as molds. I followed instructions for making concrete candle holders (in finnish) from the lovely blog Esmeralda’s.

Here’s my adaptation of the instructions in english:

1. Mix the concrete following the instructions on the package.

2. Pour the concrete to oiled plastic containers and tap to smooth the surface and to remove air bubbles.

3. Press candles and tea lights into the concrete. Use small rocks as weights if needed to keep them still.

4. Rotate the candles and tea lights as the concrete dries to prevent them from sticking to the concrete (I recommend removing the long candles when the concrete is set but not dried hard).

5. Spray with water a few times a day to make the concrete dry slower and prevent cracking.

6. Let dry 2-3 days before removing from molds.

7. Add felt pads to the bottoms of the candle holders.

8. Light candles and enjoy!

Top left: I made two versatile candle holders which can hold a long candle, a small tea light or a bigger tea light.  Top right: I made one candle holder that can hold three tea lights and one that can hold a pillar candle or a tea light. Bottom left: a candle holder which holds three long candles was made using a milk carton. I cut open one side of the carton and cut three round holes to it that fit the candles. I closed the mold with tape to hold it in shape while the concrete dried. Bottom right: close up on the versatile candle holders pictured top left.

Here’s how they look when the candles are lit:

Oh, what a cozy feeling these lights give! I think I’m ready for autumn darkness!