Festival of Lights Candelabra

Total Time Needed:: Afternoon Or Evening

Hanukkah's miraculous Festival of Lights is an illumination that warms the heart of our winter celebration. Our elegant candleholder can be adapted to suit any seasonal soiree (try arranging nuts around a flowerpot tray for a gorgeous solstice centerpiece), and although it looks fancy, it can easily serve as a group party craft as well.

Materials

One 1-foot length of 1- by 2-inch wood (from a craft store or lumberyard)
Acrylic paint (we used gold) and paintbrush
9 hex nuts (ours are 7/16-inch brass; bring your candles to the hardware store to size the nuts accurately)
7 cap screws, sized to fit hex nuts (one 1 1/2-inch, two 1 1/4-inch, two 1-inch, two 3/4-inch)
Tacky glue

Cotton swabs
Glitter, sequins, gemstones, and other decorations (optional)
9 candles, trimmed to fit nuts
Candle shaver (optional)

Instructions

Trim and sand the wood, if necessary, then paint it and let it dry.
Next, evenly space the seven screws and two of the nuts along the wood, graduating them in height from the tallest in the middle out to the nut on each end. Glue the screws and nuts in place.
Use a cotton swab to spread a little glue on the threads of each nut and attach nuts to screws with a single turn, leaving enough room for a candle to fit inside.
Decorate with glued-on glitter, sequins, and gemstones, if you like, and let the menorah dry. Add candles, shaved to fit if necessary.

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