Glass Bead Vase / Candle Holder

I went to Walmart to see if I could find something small and inexpensive to experiment on. If this turned out to be a total fail, I didn't want to have invested a lot of money. 74 cents... that seemed ok, even better than the Dollar Store.

I also bought some beads. I had some at home but wasn't sure if I could find them and these were very budget friendly. I bought 3 different colors.

Here are the items that I started with

• Modge Podge (Matte)
• Dylusions Spray in Vibrant Turquoise
• my 3 types of beads
• candle holders

I ended up using Mod Podge Hard Coat because my Matte was old and gloppy. I tried to tell where the Matte had been and where the Hard Coat was and I couldn't tell, so I think you can use either successfully.

Here is a picture of one of the decor items that I wanted to recreate...

And this is the other...

I poured some Mod Podge in a plastic cup and sprayed in some Dylusions Spray.

I stirred it with a Popsicle stick.

I began at the bottom with the candle holder inverted on a small craft paint container.

I used a paint brush to spread the paint down the glass. Since it was the bottom, I decided not to start with my newly purchased beads, just some that were hanging around the craft room. At this point, I wasn't sure it would work and I didn't want to waste my new beads. To my surprise, it worked!

I found it helpful to lay it on its side with something inside to hold it and press the beads with a popsicle stick. Whenever I used my finger, they would stick to my finger and come off... every single time...

I tried to work in small areas and let it dry. Sometimes they needed some structure below and beside them to stay in place with the wet glue. In this picture, I added some tinted Mod Podge to some "holes"... Every thing around this area was dry and allowed structure for the new beads that I would sprinkle in.

Here the beads have been added and the "holes" filled in. Once it is dry, I will rotate and fill in the next area until I have the look that I want. Rotating the glass candleholder as it drys. If you look very closely at the bottom of this picture there is a teeny tiny red seed bead that came from somewhere... it is there to stay, I CAN'T GET IT OFF. I didn't notice it until it was dried in place.

It didn't come out looking like my inspiration piece but I love it! I think all in, this project probably was around $6. And to me it is a priceless one-of-kind piece of art that I created.

I also made the space saving (completely breaks down to fit in a small space) and convertible (floor can be the wall and visa versa) backdrop that you see in this last picture. If you think a portable backdrop tutorial would be of interest, just comment below and I will post one.

Here is a small snippet of my process...

Here is a shot of a tea light candle inside in the top left picture... One container of beads came VERY close to covering the entire surface of the candle holder. I love peeking inside and seeing that the inside is as pretty as the outside.