DIY Wood Block Candle Holder Tutorial

I like to think of us as amateur DIYers, more out of necessity than anything. I refuse to pay someone to do something that I can do myself, refuse. With the internet at my fingertips and the help of family (and Home Depot employees) we have managed to build a huge deck, a side gate and even figured out how to frame a wall. From garden boxes to shelving units we try to do as much as possible ourselves because we don’t charge labour 😉

What we do have though after a bunch of little projects is left over lumber. Wood, wood, all different shapes and sizes and a  whole list of projects to tackle. A few years ago my friend Julie from Try Small Things made these fabulous candle holders from gourds and I have been thinking of ways I could use some of her creativity to make some candle holders of my own, but out of wood because I want something solid that will last until I no longer need it.

While throwing out the trash last week I saw a leftover piece of 4×4 wood at the side of our house and I knew I had to have it. It would be easy enough to turn this ‘scrap’ piece of wood until something that I could proudly display, am I right?

DIY  Wood Block Candle Holder

So easy to make and can be customized to any length I love the way this turned out. With a few tools I had this finished in under an hour although I did let the stain settle for a full 24 hours outside before I brought it in because of the fumes. 

Can you tell that I love this Minwax Jacobean colour? It’s the same one I used for my DIY photography background and if I didn’t have kids, a dog, and a bad habit of moving furniture around every weekend I would splurge and redo my wood floors in it. One day right?

What you need:     

• A piece of wood. For reference I had an 18″ piece of 4×4
• Tea lights (mine were 1.5″ in diameter)
• Drill
• 1.5″ Spade bit
• Ruler (preferably bigger then piece of wood but not necessary)
• Pencil
• Sander (optional)
• Stain (optional)

Measure your piece of wood and decide how many candles you want it to hold. Mine was 18″ and I decided I wanted five tea lights to fit in it. Play around with the candles until you find the perfect configuration. I made marks at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15″. I wanted my candles to sit in the center of the wood so I also made a line lengthwise to slow me the center. 

Put the spade bit tool on your drill and place the center of the bit where you want your tea light to go. Push it in a bit and on the slower speed start boring the hole. I found that if I put the block between my feet I could hold it steady enough to pulse the drill until I drilled the holes.

Sand, sand, and more sanding. It’s up to you whether you want to sand but this piece of wood was outside and I drew on it with a pencil so I went ahead and smoothed out all the sides to prep it for staining.

I used my favourity Minwax stain in Jacobean on my wood block candle holder. After thouroughly saturating the block in stain I let it absorb for 10 mins before wiping off excess. It will continue to get lighter as it dries up and absorbs into the wood.

I suggest letting it dry in a well ventilated area for 24 hours if you choose to stain the wood. If you like the bare wood you can always use it right away. Just light your candles and enjoy your new wood block candle holder!

Aneta Alaei

Aneta is a Toronto-based mom of four that loves a good meal, great company, and learning something new. In her free time, you can find her trying to keep yet another plant alive.

Find me on: Web | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook