I love the look of punched tin candle holders, so I thought using miniature milk pails to make some would be fun. This may be one of the easiest crafts I have ever done. It would be such a great one to do with kids--unfortunately I had a busy day and didn't get around to this until my three year old was already asleep, but I may save some tin cans and make some more so he can help. Just be careful if a child is helping you because the punched holes can be sharp on the inside of the bucket. I chose to do a kind of star pattern on mine, but you could do anything you like--Christmas trees, animals, or just pretty swirls.
You will need:
Tin can or small metal bucket
Small nail
Hammer
Pencil or marker
Water
Freezer
Gloves or a towel (to hold the frozen bucket if your hands get cold)
Small votive candle or tea light
Directions:
On the outside of the can or metal bucket, draw a design (it doesn't have to be perfect, as you can see from mine above). Fill the can/bucket with water and freeze for two days. This keeps it from collapsing when you hammer it later. Just a note, I got a super cheap metal pail and when I froze it, the bottom popped off. No worries if that happens, just hammer it back on after the ice is removed later. Anyway, after two days when the ice is nice and solid, take the bucket out of the freezer and use a small nail and hammer to punch holes of various sizes in the pattern that you drew. Remove the ice by running the bucket under warm water until the ice can slip right out. Dry bucket and place a candle in it. If you have a hard time lighting the candle, I've heard you can light a dry spaghetti noodle and use that to reach down inside your bucket to light it.
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