Birch Votives

“The winter loves me,” he retorted, and then, disliking the whimsical sound of that, he added, “I mean as much as we can say a season can love. What I mean is, I love winter and when you really love something, then it loves you back, in whatever way it has to love.”

John Knowles

I lied when I said I was done with my Christmas gift preparation. Not intentionally of course. With just two shopping days left, I can be found down in the basement finishing up some homemade presents. This year I’ve found a great deal of inspiration and assistance from good old Mother Nature herself. I came across this idea on another blog site and decided to recreate these Birch Votives for friends & family, and a few for myself too. I’ve decided to share the step-by-step process for anyone who would like to make a set for themselves to keep create a glow in their own home and welcome the official start of winter.

Begin by finding a few fallen limbs of birch. I certainly wouldn’t advocate cutting anything that hasn’t already fallen. For anyone who lives on the upper half of the Eastern seaboard, Superstorm Sandy provided quite a few fallen limbs to choose from.

Cut only was you need, leaving only your footprints behind and return home to slice the discs to your desired height.

For some variety I suggest cutting from different parts on the fallen trunk or branches or cutting from several different ones. Saw into individual disks using a sawsall (reciprocating saw). Once cut to desired length, sand the ends so they are smooth and can stand without wobbling.

 

Using a 1 1/2 inch spade bit drill a hole just deep enough so that a tea-light will fit flush with the edge of the disk. Sand the surface once more to clean up any bumps of the surface and brush away any sawdust that was left behind.

Light & enjoy, that’s all there is to it my friends!