Today's Tip ~ Sat & Sun, January 5 & 6, 2013 (house, ideas, daughter)
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Weekend greetings, kids! Scroll on down for Today's Tip.
HOMEMADE LUMINARIES
I love the sight of luminaries outdoors after dark. They have an aura of peace and tranquility. They can be used year-round, regardless of the temperature. They can be placed along your sidewalk or driveway, in your garden or anywhere on your lawn. (But avoid putting them on the lawn if your area is in drought and the ground is very dry.) You can even place them in snow.
Luminaries can be plain or decorated. For a simple luminary, start with a paper sack. Lunch size is best, but any size will do. Put 1/2 to 1 inch of sand or fine dirt in the bottom of the bag. You can even use gravel if you'd like. Stick a tea light or votive candle into the sand and light it. Voila! You have a luminary which will stay lit for several hours - sometimes all night if you use a votive-size candle.
It's fun to decorate luminaries. You can draw or paint pictures on them, use stickers or glue ribbons on them. Use your imagination! Using scissors, you can cut some holes in the bag - stars, circles, diamonds - whatever floats your boat! The holes make the light look really cool. Or use a hole punch to make lots of small holes.
This is a great project you can do with your kids or grandkids. If you feel it's not safe to use candles, you can place glow sticks inside the bags instead. The light isn't quite as bright, nor does it last as long or flicker as a candle does, but the bags still look pretty with glow sticks in them.
If you use gravel to stabilize your luminary, you'll probably need to put your candle in a small glass holder before placing it in the bag. Otherwise, it might fall over.
Caution: Never put a luminary with a lit candle in it on a wooden porch or deck or right next to your house. Safety first!
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I had some out for Halloween one year and the wind caught a couple on fire so I use the flameless candles in them now. I also make ice candles for NYE and use the flameless candles in those as well. There's just something about frozen water illuminated by a soft glow. I was driving home from work on Christmas Eve and someone in this really beautiful old house had luminaries all the way from the street to the front door on both sides of the sidewalk. I couldn't tell if there were real candles or not, but what a sight. Thanks Pam for another great tip.
We will put them out on Christmas Eve, however instead of sand or dirt we use bird seed. A large bag isn't that expensive and it's something that they (birds) enjoy if a bag spills or breaks open; otherwise the leftover bags get picked up and go to the local landfill where birds enjoy the seed. It's easy, inexpensive and environmentally friendly.
Luminarias supposedly originated in Santa Fe, NM. Residents of Santa Fe call them farolitos while everyone else in the state calls them luminarias. I can remember when I was a little girl my parents would take us to Santa Fe and all around Albuquerque to see all the farolito and luminaria displays. Old Town in Albuquerque has a wonderful display every year.
I like opening PJ's tip posts with the graphic at the top. Sometimes I get to wonder exactly what it is and this one could have been a caravan of cheese!
Luminaries are beautiful outside and the floaters look delightful in a pool. This one is a great idea for a kid's project! They get to enjoy the beauty of their finished work and learn more about safety and what *not* to do with a flame.
Along with sand and gravel you can always use kitty litter!
I only saw luminarias for the Cancer walk but haven't seen one lined up like that.It is gorgeous though.
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my son helped me do this and really looked nice. Was pretty inexpensive too.
