DIY: Winter Luminaries

DIY 2 Minutes

I came across these easy to make luminaries and thought they’d make a nice winter project!

The idea and instructions come from the Songbird website.

Gather These Supplies

Mason jars

Mod Podge Satin

Epsom salt

Fir branches – collected and trimmed to size with scissors

Small wood slices

Twine

Scissors

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Flameless candles

Paintbrushes

Spoon

There’s a three-step process to this project. You’re going to prepare the jars, then Mod Podge and salt them, and then add the embellishments. It’s relatively easy!

Prepare the Jars

Basically, you’ll need to make sure that the jars are washed and clean so that the Mod Podge sticks. You have two options:

Clean the glass with mild soap and warm water and let dry

Clean the glass with rubbing alcohol and cotton balls (or similar) and let dry

The reason for the prep is because oils and dirt can get onto glass and stay there, and they can cause problems if you try to Mod Podge the glass. By “problems,” I mean the Podge won’t stick. So please clean the glass before moving on!

Mod Podge and Epsom Salt

I used Mod Podge Satin for this project. You can use any formula really, but I recommend either Satin, Gloss, or Matte. You won’t see the finish of the Mod Podge, so it doesn’t really matter.

Put your epsom salt out on a plate on your work surface.

Paint a medium layer of Mod Podge on the jar in consistent, quick strokes. You want to work quickly because Mod Podge starts to dry pretty quickly, and you don’t want to have to do a bunch of layering of the salt. It will get clumpy on your final luminaries.

Roll the jar in the epsom salt, all the way around. Push down slightly. Bring it up out of the epsom salt.

Use a spoon to pour salt over areas of the jar that may not have gotten salt.

You can also use a small paintbrush to add to blank areas and then sprinkle a little salt on it. Just be careful not to add too much Mod Podge. Clumping salt doesn’t look great, especially with votives.

Keep in mind that if you miss a few areas, it will be hardly noticeable! Let your luminaries dry for several hours.

Adding Embellishments

Cut a length of twine that is long enough to wrap around the jar mouth around 6 – 7 times.

Start wrapping. Tie it once at the halfway point, then tie it again at the end. Tie the twine into a bow.

Use a hot glue gun to attach the branches to the front of your luminaries. Then place the small wood pieces on the front.

Place the LED tea lights into your new mason jar luminaries for a warm glow! You can also use real tea lights if you like, given that the epsom salt and Mod Podge are on the outside of the jar.

SOURCE: SONGBIRD

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Published by pat frederick

Published

246 thoughts on “DIY: Winter Luminaries”

  1. Morning All
    our temps stayed constant during the night at about 10* but we’re supposed to get more snow today and tomorrow…I remember as a kid, that ind of news would have me smiling and jumping around too excited to sleep.
    now? it’s like..oh great…more slop, more ice, more stuff to shovel.
    I am old…LOL

    Liked by 2 people


    1. Morning, Pat! It’s stayed at 18 since yesterday afternoon here. Some of the snow on my patio roof melted and, where it leaked, there is now a puddle of ice. Wheezer hasn’t been here – no food gone from his dish.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. We may get a bit – probably just a dusting – today and maybe up to 1-2 inches tomorrow. But way up in the mid-30’s for a few days at least after that.

          Liked by 1 person

    2. Mornin’ Pat and Filly!

      LOVE THE LUMINARIES!

      We in N FL think it’s awful and panic when our temp gets down in the 20s!

      How do you folks keep you pipes from busting in below zero temps?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. the entire back half of the house (the basement part) is built into the mountain so it’s under ground level with maintains itself at like 55*. the front half (the garage part) is open to the air. that gets cold.
        so the only pipe we have to worry about is the one the idiot plumber put on the front wall (over the garage door opening) up to the kitchen sink. and that has froze on occasion. we let it drip overnight if it’s going to be bitter cold, but if we forget, we have a heater in the basement that we can direct at the front wall that usually unfreezes it in a matter of minutes.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. The Black Communist cabal, the Chinese, the Muslim Radicals, the Elite human-child-trafficking rings and their sicko users, the LBGTXYZ and the abortion-euthanasia-eugenic-transhumanism agenda elites also do not want Trump to be president again.

      Liked by 2 people

  6. TheseTruths
    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)Offline
    Wolf
    January 18, 2024 00:54

    “I don’t think they’ll ever find a cure for cancer. I don’t think they want to find a cure”: Roger Daltrey questions Big Pharma as he nears the end of his time at the Teenage Cancer Trust

    The Who‘s Roger Daltrey is coming to the end of his hugely successful 24-year stewardship of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual charity shows, and his latest round of press interviews find him in typically sceptical form.

    Speaking with The Times [paywalled link] about his time in charge of the Trust, Daltrey – whose sister died from breast cancer aged just 32 – expresses reservations about the scientific establishment’s approach to finding a cure for the disease.

    “I don’t think they’ll ever find a cure for cancer,” says Daltrey. “I don’t think they want to find a cure. I’m being cynical here, but scientists look after the science but they also look after themselves. You do imagine if they did find a cure tomorrow it would be fabulous for the country, but there’d be an awful lot of scientists out of work. You might think I’m being cynical, but I do think that.”

    Daltrey goes on to reiterate that so-called ‘Big Pharma’ has more to lose than it does to gain by finding a cure.

    “It’s just human nature, isn’t it?”, he says. “You’re not going to invent something that’s going to put you out of work.”

    Liked by 1 person

        1. It was in that Truth post – the comment about Conway losing her to someone else. That judge is fucked in the head, we already know that! He’s another one just out to get Trump.

          Liked by 1 person

  9. Charlotte99
    January 18, 2024 3:29 am

    After 70+ days the soldiers are coming out of GAZA:

    Here’s what they saw.. They have gone house to house for over 2 months and are now rotating out for the 1st time back into Israel – they are saying don’t believe this fake news about the innocence of GAZA.

    It’s not innocent. – The strip is packed wall to wall with Hamas support in the population.

    Weapons in homes, RPGs, guns, rocket launchers in yards, support, ideology.

    It’s everywhere. – There is poverty, and there are also entire areas of cities full of buildings packed with apartments and homes full of appliances, modern comforts, vehicles, and a standard of living that could rival many places in Israel, that easily surpass most of the Arab world.

    This is not a deprived blockaded population in concentration camps.

    Soldiers describe being shocked by this – GAZA is under Egyptian & Israeli blockade but you would never know it, it (was) a modern prosperous thriving territory. – The tunnels, the weapons, the preparations & infrastructure to ‘go get the Jews’ are everywhere.

    In the houses, under the businesses, in the mosques, the UNRWA schools, the hospitals and clinics, GAZA is not an open prison – it is a giant terror base. –

    The notion this massive terror base packed with several million people and ruled by a terrorist organization for over 15 years that spent endless billions on above & below-ground terror infrastructure will be dismantled in 8 weeks is not realistic. The mission if fulfilled will take a lot of time. Taken from audio interviews of soldiers coming out of GAZA on extended rotations.

    https://nitter.net/Jewtastic/status/1747665967587684638#m

    Liked by 1 person

  12. https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-georgia-poll-joe-biden-2204-election-1861414‘
    Our Take: “How’s this for signal over noise? The media is absolutely freaking the F out over the prospect of Trump Admin 2.0.

    While this might seem obvious to most, I think it marks a major shift in rhetoric coming out of the Establishment, and it coincided with the calendar change to 2024 and escalated with the recent Iowa Caucus performance by Trump.

    Of course, none of this addresses the core, underlying issues with the US election system, and many of us believe there are going to be even more shenanigans in November 2024 than there were in November 2020.

    That said, the Media Industrial Complex is already giving away the Narrative game when it comes to all of the above, which suggests they either know the election theft attempt in 2024 is NOT going to be successful this time, OR…that whatever success it does see will be temporary in light of whatever counters such a scenario would trigger.

    You can learn a lot watching things lie. Lately, a lot of career liars are telling the truth.” — Burning Bright

    Liked by 1 person

    1. From the article: “Donald Trump has a significant lead over President Joe Biden in a 2024 election poll in Georgia, a key swing state that could help decide who wins November’s race.

      An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of registered voters shows Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who recently triumphed in the Iowa caucus, with an eight-point lead over Biden in a hypothetical match-up: 45 percent to 37 percent.”

      Liked by 1 person

  13. https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-trump-maine-ballot-supreme-court-7614630adae92bbe0cd7ee3da4d05a19
    Our Take: “Maine took a different path, but ended up in the same place as Colorado. President Trump remains on the primary ballot in Maine, which will take place on Super Tuesday.

    ’Put simply, the United State Supreme Court’s acceptance of the Colorado case changes everything,’ Superior Court Judge Michaela Murphy wrote on Wednesday.

    Maine is up against its ballot printing deadline, which is critical path for ensuring uniformed and overseas voters can cast their ballots to be counted on March 5. SCOTUS has scheduled arguments for February 8, meaning, like Colorado, President Trump will appear on the primary ballot in Maine. More simply, all this theater was frivolous impact law intended to interfere in an election, and expand and advance the insurrection narrative.

    It is highly unlikely that the Supreme Court will uphold the Colorado decision to remove President Trump from the ballot. Legal minds are divided on whether they will address the matter of insurrection — but it’s become more likely since Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold officially urged the court to explicitly address whether J6 was an insurrection.

    I agree with the Secretary (gasp!) that the court needs to address the matter of insurrection. It’s all about the insurrection because it wasn’t an insurrection, and the high court needs to make it official.” — Ashe in America

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I think even many who use that protest don’t really believe it themselves – it’s just one more thing to fling around!

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Whoa!!! Look at THIS shit! Proof they knew!!!

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/exclusive-cdc-drafted-alert-for-myocarditis-and-covid-19-vaccines-but-never-sent-it-5560613
    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prepared to alert state and local officials to an emerging connection between heart inflammation and COVID-19 vaccines, but ultimately did not send the alert, according to a new document obtained by The Epoch Times.

    All four COVID-19 vaccines that are or have been available in the United States can cause the heart inflammation, or myocarditis, according to studies, experts, and agencies like the CDC. The first cases were reported shortly after the vaccines became available in late 2020.

    The CDC sends alerts to federal, state, and local public health officials and doctors across the nation through a system called the Health Alert Network (HAN). Messaging through the system conveys “vital health information,” according to the CDC. — The Epoch Times

    Liked by 1 person

  15. EXCERPT: “The prospect of a Donald Trump return to the White House in 2024 poses a “fundamental” challenge to Europe, the leader of the world’s largest investment company warned Tuesday. The Daily Telegraph reports BlackRock vice chairman Philipp Hildebrand issued his caution from the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

    In doing so he added his voice to the swelling chorus from Europe that fears a Trump return to the world stage. For his part, Hildebrand urged Europe to seize the opportunity to transform itself into a technological superpower that was less dependent on America. He added Europe’s capabilities on defense were “just not there” and required a rethink. Hildebrand said: “I see it as an opportunity for the construction of Europe.”

    Clearly, if [Trump’s election] were to lead to a rupture, which I think is what President Lagarde has in mind as a risk, then that would challenge Europe fundamentally.” — Breitbart

    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/01/17/blackrock-chief-warns-davos-elites-trump-victory-poses-fundamental-challenge-to-europe/

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Liked by 1 person

      1. Liked by 1 person

  17. Liked by 1 person

    1. Gail Combs
      Gail Combs(@gailcombs)Offline
      Wolf
      Reply to TheseTruths
      January 18, 2024 02:43

      The whole thing is a MAJOR FARCE!

      They had to pass an EX PO FACTO LAW which is UNCONSTITUTIONAL under clause 3 of Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution.

      She can not give the DATE or TIME making it imposible to mount a defense and now had DELETED EVIDENCE.

      On top of that she fantasies about being raped and has made that public. ANY biased judge would have tossed case out and sent her for psychaitrlc evaluation.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. well, NY (tish james et all) wanted the law changed–and it was –to allow a one year window for anyone whose “case” exceeded the statue of limitations–ex po facto law?
          and then she destroys subpoenaed evidence, can’t even remember A YEAR it happened, let alone a date–so he can’t dispute where he was at the time–she claimed there was dna evidence but hasn’t produced it….
          flimsy witch hunt which i hope will make it to an appeal court and tossed–she’s a total nut job

          Liked by 1 person

  19. Winston
    January 18, 2024 8:32 am

    Argentina’s Javier Milei at WEF 2024:

    “Another conflict presented by socialists is that of humans against nature claiming that we, human beings, damage the planet which should be protected at all costs, even going as far as advocating for population control mechanisms or that bloody abortion agenda…Do not be intimidated either by the political class or by parasites who live off the state. Do not surrender to political class that only wants to stay in power and retain its privileges.”

    Liked by 1 person

  20. OK, this is horrible so I’m only going to post a little:
    https://www.theblaze.com/news/starving-2-year-old-girl-found-by-maintenance-workers-bound-in-duct-tape-report

    “The three people who lived at the apartment — Toniesha Deshae Perkins, the girl’s cousin; Kenry Joseph Flukers, Perkin’s boyfriend; and Mya Jhari Breaux-McGruder, the child’s teenage aunt — were arrested and charged with injury to a child and unlawful restraint of a person under the age of 17.
    —————-
    Five other children apparently live in the apartment and appear to be in good health. When the authorities presented the photo of the two-year-old girl, Perkins blamed it on her children, saying that they often tie each other up.

    Two children were questioned by the authorities, a pair of six-year-old twins. They both said Perkins and Flukers tie the little girl up because she “wastes” food. One of the twins noted that the girl gets “popped” if she tries to remove the duct tape, and Flukers allegedly used his belt to “whoop” the girl, according to Fox News Digital.

    One of the twins said Perkins told them to tell anyone who asked about the little girl to say they wrap each other up.”

    Liked by 1 person

  21. this guy is getting a lot pf pushback from his statement…but parse it out. a household with TWO graduate degrees–no doesn’t say what they are–paying “on” the debt for 23 years.
    comments in the article suggest they paid the interest ONLY for 23 years–in other words–their spending might be out of control. second they had a 3 year pause in payments (cv) did they make payments then? they never seem to take advantage of refinancing the debt for a lower interest rate or anything…and WE should assume their debt? NO THANKS

    “My wife and I left graduate school 23 years ago with a combined total of $70,000 debt. Since then we’ve made $500 monthly payments for 23 years ($120,000+). Today, we still owe $60,000,” wrote Cotterill on Tuesday. “Explain to me again why student loan debt shouldn’t be canceled,” he added.

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/student-debt-viral-tweet-socialist

    Liked by 1 person

  22. “Had enough yet?” [NF: Nope! Bring it on, MF’ers! Trump will just go higher!]

    “He’s a real catch…”


    “Time to widen the aisles”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I like it, especially with cheese sauce poured over it. It’s also in my favorite mw Chinese meal. But I always buy frozen anyway so….

        Liked by 1 person

  24. “Disease X and Fear Mongering — “Be first, be right, be credible.” But where is the integrity?”
    ROBERT W MALONE MD, MS
    JAN 18, 2024

    EXCERPT: “I have been working in the public health sector for over thirty years. This includes a fellowship at Harvard and numerous other courses on bio-ethics. In all that time, there has been one clear message. For the emotional and physical wellbeing of the public, the government and public health must not incite fear without cause. That to do so is unethical and immoral. Akin to yelling “fire” or “active shooter” in a crowded movie theater. That public trust requires transparency and truth telling on the part of public health officials and government.

    The CDC codifies this basic premise in their public health risk communication statement: ‘Be first, be right, be credible. That’s the mantra for crisis communication. Health communicators, whenever a crisis occurs, always be prepared to provide information to help people make the best possible decisions for their health and well-being.’

    In 2018, the World Health Organization came up with the idea of ‘Disease X’, which is a placeholder for a disease that could be a potential cause of a future major epidemic or a pandemic. The original idea being that planning for an (imaginary) “Disease X” would allow for scientists, public health officials and physicians to design the best possible practices for a future epidemic or pandemic. They then formally added “Disease X” (an imaginary disease) to the top priority list of pathogens.

    The idea behind Disease X was later weaponized to create a fog of fear in the public as well as governments. The weaponization started with COVID-19 communications. In a 2021 study, it was found that the “the only predictor of behavior change during COVID-19 was fear. Despite their finding that such fear was related to a decrease in both emotional and physical wellbeing, the authors concluded that using fear to drive the public into compliance was the only path forward for public health. The authors write:…”

    https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/disease-x-and-fear-mongering

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox just talked about him not showing up to the 2nd impeachment hearing today. Same old/same old “scheduling conflict.” Yeah, right!

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Collin Rugg
    @CollinRugg
    NEW: Senator Chuck Schumer says Democrats will only fund border security if it is tied to sending more money to fund the war in Ukraine.

    Borderline treason.

    “We said we have to do both. There were a couple of people in the room who said, let’s do border first. We said: ‘We have to do both together.'”

    Since Biden took office, illegal border crossings are up 277%. (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol)

    Your government thinks Ukraine is more important.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Just hit 20, still cloudy and gloomy, slight hint of snow…the snow is melting on my patio roof again and dripping. That doormat is going to be solid ice! LOL

    Liked by 1 person

    1. we’ve got snow falling here and about the same temp as you.
      almost forgot! did you ever see deer BOXING?
      yesterday there were 2 deer–standing on their hind legs with their front legs “boxing” with each other. fighting over the last of the salt lick…we have a new one to put out, just didn’t get there yet.

      Liked by 1 person

  35. I know we’ve seen this before but Malone’s comments help understand exactly where this guy is coming from – for me, anyway.

    “The President of Argentina’s Rallying Cry for Libertarianism—Javier Milei’s 2024 Speech at Davos”

    ROBERT W MALONE MD, MS
    JAN 18, 2024

    EXCERPT: “Buckle in, this is a speech for the history books. Summary quotes and the transcript are below the video.

    Note that “Libertarianism” as used here by Milei is synonymous with the classical liberalism of the US founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson. Life, liberty, property. The term “classical liberalism”, while sometimes used to describe libertarianism, is actually a modern invention. There is a school of political and economic thought which advocates that we should be using the word liberalism (which is very different from what in the US are called “liberals” or left wing) to describe the true philosophy of individualism. Also keep in mind that Javier Milei self identifies as an anarcho-capitalist in the mold of Murray Rothbard, and you can hear echos of Rothbard’s arguments in this speech by economist/president Milei.”
    —————-
    Last bit of the speech:

    “20: “In concluding, I would like to leave a message for all entrepreneurs and business people here, and for those who are not here in person but are following from around the world:

    Do not be intimidated either by the political caste nor by parasites who live off the state. Do not surrender yourself to a political class that only wants to perpetuate itself in power and keep their privileges.

    You are social benefactors, you are heroes, you are the creators of the most extraordinary period of prosperity we have ever seen. Let no one tell you that your ambition is immoral. If you make money, it’s because you offer a better product at the best price, thereby contributing to the general well-being. Do not yield to the advance of the state. The state is not the solution, the state is the problem itself. You are the true protagonists of this story.

    And rest assured that starting today, you can count on Argentina as an unconditional ally. Long Live Freedom, Dammit!”

    https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/the-president-of-argentinas-rallying

    Liked by 1 person

  36. Viva Frei
    @thevivafrei
    The sad and scary thing about E. Jean Carroll and the unbelievably corrupt anti-Trump judicial system is that it confirms that it’s not even enough to not know a batshit crazy lunatic.

    A batshit crazy lunatic can literally fabricate a story out of whole cloth, and if the judicial system is corrupt enough, they will punish an innocent man.

    History doesn’t repeat. But it tends to rhyme.

    Liked by 1 person

  37. Like

  42. “‘It feels like something has gone terribly wrong’ – 5 Swedish police officers forced to pay fine to convicted Syrian migrant who brutally attacked them during Quran-burning riots. The new Europe: Swedish officers who were injured defending people against rioting migrants are forced to pay damages to their convicted assailant”
    January 18, 2024
    editor: REMIX NEWS author: JOHN CODY

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “In a shocking twist, five police officers are being forced to pay a fine to a Syrian migrant who was convicted for severely injuring one of them during riots related to a Quran burning during Easter of 2022. The officers will have to pay out a total of 12,650 Swedish crowns (€1,122) from their own pockets to the 45-year-old convicted Syrian who has been sentenced to two years and seven months for his role in the riots.

    The officers have reacted with near disbelief over the outcome of the case. “It feels like something has gone terribly wrong in the legal system here. We are there and doing our job, yet individual police officers must be forced to pay out of their own pockets to people who really wanted us dead,” says Aleksandar Jeremic, who is a group leader in a civil suit involving the Botkyrka local police area and is now one of the five police officers ordered to pay court costs to the foreign national, according to Danish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

    The case stems from the Quran riots, which began in Örebro’s city park over Easter weekend in 2022. They were preceded by far-right activist Rasmus Paluden burning a Quran in Sweden, leading to the violent riots that lasted several days. However, the judge in the case is defending the decision to fine the police officers, saying he is sticking to the letter of the law.

    “I understand if it appears offensive from the police’s point of view. But there is no mistake that has been made, the rules are as they are. The issue of damages was separated into a civil case, and the police withdrew their claims, so they are considered the losing party and must pay,” said Johan Nordgren, councilor at Örebro district court and the judge who made the decision.

    Several police officers were injured so severely by stone-throwing rioters in Sveaparken that they needed emergency care. Among them was Johan Westberg, who was hospitalized with a severe concussion and hand injuries that are expected to take years to heal. Westberg is one of the officers requesting damages after the 45-year-old Syrian was sentenced to prison for “gross sabotage against police operations.”

    The criminal case and the civil case were handled as two separate matters. The Syrian was sentenced to over five years in prison, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court and reduced to two years and seven months. However, the Supreme Court decision also destroyed the officers’ civil case. The judges there argued that officers are not entitled to damages in a case of “gross sabotage against police operations” because it is considered a crime against the state and not against individual police officers.

    Based on this finding, the officers had no hope of winning their case. Westberg and the other police officers in the case therefore withdrew their claims for damages. However, in the procedural code, anyone who withdraws their civil case is considered to have “lost” the case and must pay the other party’s legal fees. This is what happened in this case, resulting in severely injured officers being forced to pay damages to the Syrian who attacked them.

    “I don’t intend to pay a penny. Then, they better foreclose on me. This is so wrong, I was in Sveaparken as a service (provider), it was not optional to work,” said Johan Westberg, who no longer works for the police, according to Dagens Nyheter. The police have appealed to the Göta Court of Appeals. Their attorney, Ester Andersson Zandvoort, says it is very strange how the case was separated into a criminal and civil case to begin with.

    “It is exactly the same claim for damages as in other trials and in none of the other cases has it been separated. It is very surprising that this judge has acted this way. We will appeal,” she said.”

    Liked by 1 person

  43. Liked by 1 person

    1. i didn’t see the picture but i read the headline. jill went to Hunter High School for some event and someone took a picture of her in front of the sign but the “school” was obscured…Hunter High

      Liked by 1 person

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