Another 70's Style Craft

I was going through yet another one of my old magazines and found an ad for a candle holder that my Mom made back in the late 70's.

And guess what? Me, being the pack rat that I am, had the seven ash trays needed to make this candle holder. And I think my Mom bought them for me before I was married. Yikes. Just check out that lovely gold color - very 70's. Enough said on that! Can you even buy ashtrays like this anymore?

Using E6000 glue, glue the bases of two ashtrays together. I used a popsicle stick to thinly spread the glue. This is strong stuff, so try not to get it on your fingers. Also, I put glue on each of the pieces that I was putting together to help them bond. I worked on a piece of wax paper, as you can see in some of the pictures.

I let this cure overnight. E6000 has a strong smell to it, but I had tried to put this together using super glue and it just didn't hold. The next day I glued another ashtray on, such that the right sides were together, putting glue on the edges of the top of each. The ashtrays don't fit perfectly, but using a strong glue helps. I forgot to take a picture of this step, but you will see how it is assembled in the final picture. You will have a tower, so to speak, such that the base is upside down, the next is right side up and the final is upside down.

The next step is to use the last four ashtrays to form a box. I originally tried gluing one ashtray at a time to the base but there was no way to hold them in place while the glue cured. So, I glued the sides of the ashtrays together first, right sides out, creating a box. I held this in place with a couple of big elastics. You could also just tie a string around this, but will need someone to hold the ashtrays in place while this is done. Again, they don't fit together perfectly. I allowed this to cure for a couple of days.

Finally, I glued the box to the base. Since the box was cured it was very sturdy and I was able to just sit it down on top of the tower on the top ashtray that is upside down.

In this picture you can see that the sides don't meet perfectly, but it is very sturdy.

BTW, I believe that my Mom still uses hers and it is over 30 years old! One word of caution. You need to use a votive holder inside the box. Otherwise you will be cleaning up melted wax. I did not have a votive holder small enough to fit inside so I used a tea light. I love the glow that it gives off and these retro colors are starting to grow on me...

I am so happy to have finally finished this after how many years?? As I said, I don't know if these ashtrays are available any longer. If they aren't I'm sure that one of you will have a great idea on how to improvise! Please share if you do.

Happy Crafting!

Kathy