Welcome friends! Today’s question is “When is a tealight holder not a tealight holder?” Well, I have a couple of answers. As I enter the homestretch of the last week before installing my latest vacation rental staging project, it is down to the little things that make a room complete; books to use as risers, candles, kitchen decor, and greenery. At this point of a project, I am usually down to only a few remaining items and a dwindling budget. Time to get creative.

In the picture below, you may notice the cutting board with my logo and “Good Tidings” on it. That was a Christmas gift that my oldest daughter and her husband made, and I love it so much!

At our local Dollar Tree, where it turns out everything is now $1.25, there were these cute cream ceramic tealight holders. They were nice quality and would go well with the nautical lake theme my client requested. And did I mention they were only $1.25?

The problem is, I don’t really need tealight holders for the bungalow. While jar or container candles are fine and safe enough for renters, tealight candles are not. The flame is too open, creating a burn hazard to children or pets. Nothing will ruin a vacation more than someone getting burned, so I say “no” to tealights when staging.

But what if it wasn’t a tealight holder anymore? What if I could still use the cute, roped design, but in another way? So, I took them home, found a couple of old succulents I had in my decor closet, and hot glued them into the center.

The larger succulent fit the tealight holder perfectly, but the smaller succulent didn’t really sit high enough or fill the space. So, in this case, I glued a scrap of wood in the bottom, glued the succulent to the wood, and filled in the void with some moss. Ta-da! The tealight holders were now cute little succulent vases. I was pretty smitten with myself when I finished this project, I’m not gonna lie:)

Then I found another treasure at the Dollar Tree. (Sorry, saying the $1.25 Tree just sounds silly, so the Dollar Tree it is.) It was a lovely blue glass tealight holder that was shiny glass on the top half and matte finish on the bottom. Again, perfect with the nautical lake color palette I’m working with. And, perfect to become a vase.

For this project, I just took some artificial greenery and plopped, I mean carefully placed, it in the tealight holder. And voila, this tealight holder had become another vase filled with greenery. The addition of artificial lamb’s ear really made this arrangement sing.

Both of these small arrangements will work great on a bathroom counter, nightstand or side table. Their diminutive size makes them the perfect solution when space is at a premium, and the pop of succulents and greenery go a long way to giving a room a homey, natural look. My daughter, who is getting married in June, pointed out that the same concept could be used for wedding or party table decor. Hmmm, could the Dollar Tree be the answer to staying within the wedding budget? 🙂

The next time you are shopping, whether it be at the Dollar Tree, a garage sale, or other home decor store, I encourage you to look past what something is, and try to imagine what it could become. Doing so is an excellent exercise in creativity and allows you to have one-of-a-kind items for your home.

Good tidings,

Diane