Candle Holder

Materials needed:

27 bottle caps

Approximately 6 ft. of wire (1.5mm electrical wire)

Hammer

Nail (your nail should be twice the diameter of your wire, some wire will have to be threaded through holes made by nail twice)

Broom handle

Clear tape

Wire strippers (for taking plastic coating off electrical wire)

Pliers, with wire cutters

Dish soap

Water

Bleach

Knife

Small piece of wood

Soda can

Olive oil can

Tin cutters, or very strong scissors

Step one, creating pieces:

Clean the bottle caps by soaking them in water with dish soap and bleach, then let them dry. After you have taken the bottle caps out of the water use it to clean the olive oil can (if you clean the olive oil can first your bottle caps will be oily). To clean the can, open both ends with a knife and then cut along the side seam, then wash it in the water.

Using the rounded end of the broom pole (or the edge of a piece of wood) place the bottle cap on top and secure it with your index finger along the rim.  Place the nail in the crook of your index finger to secure it while creating hole.  Hammer the nail on the edge of the cap, not on the face of the cap and not too close to the edge (this will be tricky and can be frustrating getting it right, but with practice you will come up with a good method).  Each bottle cap should have four holes at 90 degree angles from the next hole (forming a cross).

Strip plastic casing off of your electrical wire and cut into 3 pieces the length of 5 bottle caps plus one inch, 3 pieces the length of 7 bottle caps plus one inch, 2 pieces the length of 9 bottle caps plus one inch.

Cut a piece of metal from the olive oil can the length of 3 bottle caps and the width of 2 bottle caps.
Using your small piece of paper, design the art you want to have on the face of the candle holder.  Place this design on the tin and adhere it with the tape.  Put the metal piece on the small piece of wood and using a nail and hammer (you can use different size nails for your design) punch out the design you made on the paper.  After you have punched out your design, round the sharp edges by cutting with scissors.

Open can the same way as the olive oil can with a knife.  Take the bottom of the can and make the edges smooth by cutting again with the scissors.

Put two holes less than ¼ inch apart on each end

Step two, assembly of pieces:

Using the 3 wires for 5 bottle caps thread three bottle caps onto each, then using the three wires for 7 bottle caps thread  through at a 90 degree angle connecting the previous three rows of three caps each.  Before bending your wires make sure that the face of the bottle caps is facing down.  The three wires for 5 bottle caps should be bent at 1/4inch (at a 90 degree angle) on one end and the remaining wire should be bent at a 90 degree angle at the other end.  The three wires for 7 bottle caps should be centered and folded at 90 degree angles on both ends.  This will be the base of your candle holder.

Thread 9 bottle caps each onto the remaining 2 wires.  Bend a 90 degree angle after every third cap, and bend a 90 degree angle on both ends so your caps do not fall off.
This part can be tricky and may require two people for the first time assembling.  Take the U formation and thread the 9 wires facing up from the base through the bottom of each bottle cap, then through the top hole of each bottle cap, then slide down to the base.  Repeat with the second row of 9 caps.

The face of the candle holder should still have loose wires, so do not cut these yet.  Take the metal face you have previously designed and match it up with the open face, make a mark on the front where the loose wires will connect to the metal plate, then place the metal plate on the wood and make a hole with the nail and create a hole to thread the wires through.

Place the metal plate back up to the open face and thread the wires through the front of the metal plate.  Fold the wires on the inside to secure the plate to the box.

On the top row of each of the 9 bottle caps cut the wire down to about ¼ inch and the fold it tightly to the inside of the cap with the pliers.

Take the bottom of the soda can and place it in the candle holder where the convex part can hold the candle.  Cut two more pieces of wire at 1 inch each and bend them into a u shape.

Connect the bottom of can by sliding the wire through the bottom of base and then through the bottom of can and connect at the top by bending the wire neatly.

Now that you understand the concept of the candle box, you can alter the width, length, or height by changing the amount of bottle caps in each row or column.
For smaller candle holders you will have to be creative to find a replacement for the soda can bottom to hold the candle in your finished product.