Over the summers, I’ve gotten into inexpensive outdoor decor for my woodland backyard.
When I first bought my house, I purchased a black metal hanging candelabra that could work for indoors or outdoors. I tried putting wax candles in it before hanging it on the limb of a tree, but the wind kept blowing out the candles plus they dripped all over the candelabra and the ground. Ugh. Somehow, I left it hanging outdoors on a tree limb for more than 20 years. No surprise, but the color faded and rusted in some spots. I figured I would give it to the guy who recycles metal.
But a couple of weeks ago I decided to spray paint it. I painted it lime green like much of the other accent decor in the yard that contrasts with the deep blue adirondack chairs.
Although I missed a spot and need to respray that area and I foolishly gave up on removing the old hardened wax that was left in one of the candle holders, it was easy to do and looks so much better than it did when it was rusty black.
Since I knew that real candles (even dripless ones) wouldn’t work, I decided to look online and see if I could find some kind of faux candles that would work in the candelabra and not make a mess or potentially set fire to the woods. Sure enough I found battery-driven faux candles that were designed for use on Christmas trees. Each candle that comes in the set of 12 runs on 2 AA batteries. Next, I measured the candle holders and determined that the candles would fit perfectly.
The flameless candles came from an online retailer, Light In The Box, and not surprisingly, the company is Chinese though they have an address in California and are a stock price on the NYSE. The flameless candles are made in China. You can buy them in sets of 6 or 12, but I needed 7 candles. So I bought the set of 12 for the candelabra, and the price was “marked down” to $23.19 from $31.05. The shipping cost $9.95 (you know that I hate to pay for shipping), but they were exactly what I needed. BTW, the candles are 6.5 inches tall and a little more than an inch wide.
It took a little more than 2 weeks for them to arrive from China, but they made it. I loaded each of 7 candles up with AA batteries. The way you illuminate them and shut them off is by an LED remote. You need to be fairly close to the candles. I had been hoping I could turn them on and shut them off from inside the house, but driven by a small CR 2025 battery, that would be too much to ask. Sometimes I need to click the ON button a couple of times to turn on all 7 of the flickering candles, and sometimes I needed to click the OFF button a couple of times to turn them all off. Nevertheless, they all work!
And they add just the right atmosphere to my backyard when we are outdoors using the Solo Stove or just sitting outside in the adirondack chairs have a cocktail. I am happy with them and my newly spray-painted candelabra!
That looks beautiful, especially at night. What a good idea to salvage the holder and to make your garden even more beautiful.
Thank you, Marcia xoxo