Ignoring Directions DIY: Fern Votive

You won’t normally see me posting recipes I’ve tried because a.) I don’t really cook, and b.) if I do cook, I have a really hard time following directions carefully. Rather than compartmentalize cooking into manageable steps, I like to throw lots of ingredients into a pot and bitch about it later when it’s not the beautiful concoction I had envisioned.

I do want to start posting more DIY projects, and I’m going to do so under the guise of “Ignoring Directions with Jessie” because it so happens that my penchant for “winging it” seeps into my creative life as well. Yes, I tend to waste some time due to failed projects, but I am also a visual, hands-on learner, so I just consider it all part of the process. I figure there are probably those of you out there who can relate and those of you who might need consider “winging it” once in a while. Sometimes, you stumble upon a good idea or a new technique.

I digress! I saw some beautiful papercut votives on Pinterest and thought I could probably make some interesting ones if I put some effort into it. This took about 15 minutes and it went down like this:

I grabbed a clear square (3 in. x 3 in) glass votive I happen to have. I went to my (disturbingly vast) paper collection and chose a woodgrain pattern and cut it into 3 in. x 9 in. strips. Then I realized that the votive isn’t a perfect cube and the paper should have been cut to compensate for the slightly narrower bottom, but I decided I didn’t care enough to start over, which is honestly something I should attempt to put a stop to. In the words of Tim Gunn, “Make it work!”

The next step seems more difficult than it is. Take fern stencil, trace it onto the back of the patterned paper, then carefully cut out the fern shape with a craft (X-Acto) knife. I left a little border around the edge for the sake of the integrity of the paper. I suggest cutting on a self-healing mat, otherwise you’re either ruining a surface or your blade.

Step into a ventilated area, whip out your spray adhesive (any kind will do) and spray the back of the strips generously. Carefully pick them up and place them seam to seam around the votive. The seam could be covered by a little ribbon or paper if it is noticeable. Since I used a heavier cardstock paper, it is repositionable at first in case you need to make some adjustments due to the fact that the paper is cut totally wrong for the shape of the vessel, which might have happened to me. Insert candle, add flame, done!

It still came out damn cute though and it casts a pretty light in the shape of a fern on the wall.

What do you think? Would you like to see more of my creations by happenstance? Answer the poll below and leave a comment with your thoughts!