PEBBLE CANDLESCAPE: ONE FOR THE GUYS

I think gifts for guys are some of the hardest gifts to find or make.  (At least I always have a hard time with it.)  Usually when I go to a cookout, I just take a bottle of wine and a side dish.  Most guys are pretty proud of their grilling skills, so I wanted to make something to give the chef of the day.

This project was inspired by Linda at "With a Blast" when she made a really pretty one that you can see HERE.  I was going for something a little more masculine.  
My supplies were simple...

plastic container with a lid

aquarium pebbles

smooth stones

box of matches

candles

raffia

double stick tape

Not shown:   scrap of burlap, brown paper bag and a stamp

This was so fast and easy.  I put the pebbles in the bottom of the container along with a few larger smooth stones and pushed the candles down in.

I used a piece of brown paper grocery bag and wrapped it around my match box and secured it with double-stick tape.

I thought it looked too plain and the white ends drove me nuts.  I colored the white ends with a brown marker.  I took a scrap of burlap and stamped it with the letter "B" for the guys initial and secured it with double-stick tape.  Much better.

Now all I needed to do was tie some raffia around it.  My friend Judy taught me that raffia behaves better if it's wet, so I soaked it in a bowl of water for a few minutes and then just smoothed it out and tied it around the container with a simple knot.

Put the matches in, pop the lid on and done.  So simple and so fast.  Perfect for a deck or patio and if fire is a concern, you can add water to the pebbles.  Also perfect for a quick Father's Day gift.  I guess you could turn this into a beach themed candle by adding a few shells as well, but I didn't.  
I did make a similar floating candlescape for a hostess gift earlier this spring....

You can read about that one HERE.  It was also fun and easy to make.

So there you go Linda....I've knocked off one of your projects...TWICE!  Thanks for the inspiration girl!