You need to add something to this picture. Like imagination. Imagine that the candle stick is painted. Imagine that the candle is a creamy white. Imagine that the flower and the leaf are something that someone thought about for more than a second…if you do all these things, you’ll love this candlestick!

Our neighbor, Cookie Faust, asked Mike to help her make some candlesticks out of stairway ballisters. I call these spindles but they are called ballisters by people who know about such things. The candlesticks are going to be used in Cookie’s friend’s wedding. She had 12, and this is what one looks like:

Mike took these and cut them down into three sizes…8, 10 and 12 inches (I think). Cookie had been to Ben Franklin and bought square bases for the spindles to sit on as well as round tops for the candles to sit on.

Mike’s job was to cut the spindles down and make sure the square bottoms and round tops adhered, and with something as important as a wedding, hot glue was out of the question.    Instead, he used things in his shop to make sure the candles are sturdy.   Like this drill press…

The things below look like little monsters to me, but Mike said they are forstner bits, and they attach to the drill press and carve out perfect round holes.  Mike used the 1/2 inch monster.

And it made a great hole.

Fits like a puzzle plus he’s added a screw into the bottom which will make sure it’s good and sturdy.  Did the same with the round thing at the top.   While we didn’t paint these (I wonder what color they will end up being painted?), I did decorate them a bit so you and I could envision what they’ll look like for the wedding.    Cookie provided this little candle so that we could all get an idea of the final candle.

A little tulle ribbon…a maple leaf from outside the shop and a zinnia from the road.  I had to use what I had.  I think it looks good. I can’t wait to see how the bride paints and decorates these.  They are awesome!