Learn how to make easy tea light holder decorations!
Company on their way and your dinner table is looking a little bare? Grab some LED candles (only use flameless candles with LEDs, of course!) and whip up a few tea light holders to decorate! I have wintery, fall, and even festive designs you can create in a flash!
The full step-by-step video showing you exactly how to create your tea light holder was part of Maker Academy Weekend 2024. Get a pass to watch all 18 workshops, each with a printable handbook, transcript, audio files, design files, and support with a Maker Academy Weekend 2024 VIP pass!
Did you know ADVANCE with JenniferMaker annual members get a free 2024 VIP pass and lifetime access to the 2024 Maker Academy Weekend projects? Join now!
These layered tea light holders are beautiful, intricate, and deceptively simple! The delicate details look like you spent hours cutting them out, but there’s a secret: your cutting machine can do nearly all the work!
I cut mine out with my Cricut Maker 3 and used several kinds of cardstock for the different designs. But I made the designs fit all the Cricuts, even the tiny Joy! I love when everyone can make a craft, no matter which cutting machine they have.
If you have a machine with scoring capabilities, you can use a Scoring Stylus or Single Scoring wheel to create foldable creases where the tea light holder’s folds will go. I’ll show you how to set and attach the score lines in Cricut Design Space so your machine knows exactly where to put them.
No scoring tools, or don’t have a machine that supports them? No problem! I’ve also included no-score versions of the files that use dashed cut lines to create the foldable creases.
Once the pieces are cut, you just need to make a few folds, add a few dots of glue, and your delicate tea holders are ready for dinner! It’s really just that simple.
I’ll show you step-by-step how to create a polished, finished look with some extra cut pieces that came along with the design. Then you can pop in an LED tea light and enjoy the festive ambiance!
Let me show you how to make a delicate tea light holder! This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more, there is no additional cost)! Read my full disclosure policy.
Materials to Make A Delicate Tea Light Holder
View my Amazon shopping list for the exact items I used!
- Three (3) Sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ or 12″ x 12″ 65 lb. Solid Core Cardstock (any colors) -AND-
- One to Three (1-3) Sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ or 12″ x 12″ 65 lb. Foil Cardstock – I used One (1) Sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ Red Foil -AND-
- One (1) Sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ 65 lb. Gold Foil Cardstock
- One (1) LED Tea Light (Battery Operated) -OR-
- One (1) LED Tea Light (Remote Controlled)
- A way to cut your cardstock – I’m using the Cricut Maker 3, but you can also use the Cricut Maker, a Cricut Explore Series machine, the Cricut Venture, the Cricut Joy Xtra, or even the Cricut Joy
- Cricut Green StandardGrip Machine Mat 12″ x 12″
- Scoring Stylus (optional for files with score lines) -OR-
- Single Scoring Wheel (optional for files with score lines)
- Craft Glue (I used Bearly Art Precision Glue)
- Brayer
- Spatula
- Scraper
- Weeding Tool (optional for popping out small cutouts from intricate areas)
- Tweezers (optional for gluing intricate layers into place)
- Design #668 – My free SVG/PDF/DXF design files are available in my free resource library (get the password by filling out the form at the bottom of this page) or get additional access to the workshop video and printable workbook by getting a 2024 VIP Pass to Maker Academy Weekend or by joining the ADVANCE with JenniferMaker program as an ANNUAL (yearly) member!
How to Make Delicate Tea Light Holders!
The detailed step-by-step assembly video on how to make tea light holders was available to watch for free for 24 hours during Maker Academy Weekend 2024, held online November 7-10, 2024. Get access to the Maker Academy Weekend 2024 videos, printable handbooks, and design files with a 2024 VIP Pass to Maker Academy Weekend or by joining the ADVANCE with JenniferMaker program as an ANNUAL (yearly) member!
Answers to Your Questions About Making Delicate Tea Light Holder Designs Tutorial
Q: Where is your tutorial for this project?
A: This is a special project we made for our free Maker Academy Weekend 2024 event! A complete and detailed step-by-step video premiered during the event November 7-10, 2024. You can get access to the video tutorial and printable handbook that details how to make this great project if you get a 2024 VIP Pass to Maker Academy Weekend or by joining the ADVANCE with JenniferMaker program as an ANNUAL (yearly) member which comes with other perks and bonuses, too!
Q: What is a tea light holder?
A: There are many types of tea light holders available, but mine is like a fancy little cup you can put the tea light in to hide the base and sides.
Q: What kind of tea lights should I use?
A: Only use LED lights to be safe in your paper crafting because other kinds can heat up.
Q: Can I use real tea lights in these?
A: No, never use lights with real flames in paper crafts. Please, don’t use votive candles or put these around real votive candle holders, because cardstock should not be so close to heat or flame.
Q: Can I use LED votives or LED pillar candles with these tea light holders?
A: Yes, just make sure the bases will fit! These can totally double as LED votive holders, or holders for small LED pillar candles.
Q: What can I put tea lights on?
A: Tea lights make great additions to your mantle or dining room table as a centerpiece! You can even make matching holder sets for certain occasions. Make a medium set of tea light candle holders in coordinating colors for your holiday celebrations, or make a large set of them for big events — then gift or reuse them! They look beautiful at weddings, showers, or even as low-cost DIY wedding gifts. If your glassware cylinder vases (or other cylinder holders) are dusty, wipe them with a damp cloth before use.
Q: What kind of paper should I use?
A: I use high-quality cardstock to cut the delicate pieces for my tea light holders. If you need a lot of paper (like if you’re decorating tall cylinder vases for a table scatter) look for deals that offer free shipping!
Q: Can I make these with a Cricut Joy?
A: Yes, these tea light holders will fit on a Joy mat.
Q: Can I make these without a Cricut?
A: Yes, you can cut these designs with a different cutting machine or print the included PDF files and cut them by hand, but the tiny details will be a challenge with scissors or a craft knife. If you’re making a whole tealight holder set, it will be much easier with a cutting machine.
Q: Can you resize these for larger candle size?
A: Yes, you can make them larger! Just make sure to measure the base of your candle and make the base of your holder just a little wider than that. Also keep the objects grouped in Design Space when resizing.
Q: Does one remote activate all of the candles?
A: Yes, the tea lights from my materials list have a remote that can control all the tea lights at once.
Q: If you flip the paper over do you have to mirror it?
A: Yes, with most designs you should mirror it so it’s facing the right way on the front. With these designs, you don’t have to mirror them because they’re symmetrical.
Q: Do I remove the plastic piece on top of my scoring wheel?
A: No, that piece helps keep anything from getting caught in the gears.
Q: When I look for card stock they don’t always have weight listed. How do I know how much it is?
A: Sometimes cardstock sellers list GSM instead of weight. 65 lb cardstock is 176 gsm, so anything around that weight should work for these.
Q: Will the tape runner work instead of glue on the foil tea lights?
A: I didn’t test it with these, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Q: How do I know if my design uploaded at the correct size?
A: If you are using Cricut Design Space Beta for Desktop, try switching to the Live version as this has sometimes worked in our testing, or use the stacked version of the design and ungroup it to spread the pieces out. Here are the dimensions you should see for each design on your Canvas:
- tea-light-holder-autumn-noscore-jennifermaker-SVG: 25.449″ x 8.656″
- tea-light-holder-holiday-score-jennifermaker-SVG: 25.717″ x 8.007″
- tea-light-holder-autumn-score-jennifermaker-SVG: 25.446″ 8.656″
- tea-light-holder-holiday-noscore-jennifermaker-SVG: 25.989″ x 8.007″
If you need help resizing your design, please see our Resizing Guide.
Get my free SVG files to make a delicate tea light holder!
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I love seeing what you make with my designs and tips! Please share a photo of your delicate tea light holder designs in our Facebook group or tag me on social media with #jennifermaker.
Love,
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