DIY TEA LIGHT CAKE

I know I’ve probably mentioned this before (or at least I think I have), but I can’t help it I absolutely love scrolling through the craft section at thrift stores.

You never really know what you’re going to find, right?

I mean, I shop at regular arts and craft stores too, obviously, but I often go in with a list or some idea of what I need, unless I'm hitting up that clearance aisle, you know you do too!

Anyways, at the thrift stores, I go in with zero expectations, and sometimes I find the coolest stuff!

Like the other day, I came across some adorable mini clay flowers for just 50 cents.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of purple (sorry to all the purple lovers out there!), but I figured, hey, I could always paint them later, so I grabbed them, and guess what?

They’re going to be the perfect touch for the DIY cake candle I’m making in this post!

And don’t worry if you want to try making this candle yourself, you can find mini flowers at most arts and crafts stores.

You could even use something else, like sprinkles!

I'm decorating mine with a “Celebrate Every Day” banner because, honestly, I think we all should be trying to do this every day!

But you could totally customize a banner of your own.

You could make a banner that says, “Happy Birthday,” “Happy Anniversary,” or even “I Love You,” or you could skip the banner altogether.

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SUPPLIES

Battery-operated tea light candle.

Sandpaper (any grit) to rough up your candle

Plaster or molding paste – I used DryDex spackling on this one.

Clay flowers, or cake decor of your choice. (Amazon has cute sprinkle ideas.)

Craft Paint and small craft paintbrush.

Hot glue gun & glue.

Optional - Toothpick, paper, and pen for banner.

LET'S MAKE A DIY CAKE CANDLE

First, use a piece of sandpaper to lightly sand all around the base of the tea light’s plastic.

This sanding process helps the spackling stick to the candle.

Once you’re done sanding, you can use your finger to frost the candle with the spackling, just like you would a regular cake.

What I like about the DryDex spackling (besides the fact that we use it around the house for minor projects, like filling nail holes before repainting) is that it goes on pink but dries white.

Once the spackling is dry, you can paint it with craft paint.

I used a pink slightly darker than the spackle.

And just like that, it already looks like a frosted cake!

Now, it’s time to decorate the cake!

I decided to use some thrifted roses, and the white ones were the perfect size for this little cake.

I attached them with hot glue, but I had to make sure the craft paint was completely dry first.

I tried to put them on too soon once, and they fell off, so make sure the paint is 100% dry before gluing the flowers.

Once the cake was looking cute, I grabbed a small piece of paper, wrote “Celebrate Every Day” on it, and glued it to a toothpick, which I then attached to the cake.

Finally, I turned on the candle's light and got cake approval from my kitty, Mama May May, who now celebrates every day indoors as a pampered little house cat.

Sometimes, I wonder what Mama May May’s life was really like before she ended up in our barn, dropping off all the babies.