DIY: Vintage Inspired Tiered Tray and Candy Dish

I have seen the projects posted about making tiered trays out of glass plates and candle holders. I loved that idea and I wanted to try it out. I had been traveling around for a long time, and typically when I stay at a place for a while I will use a site like AirBnB.com and sublet an apartment or condo for my stay. In this instance I was staying up in this adorably trendy part of Brooklyn in a condo that belongs to this really great lady. Throughout my stay there I became friends with this lady through correspondence and I wanted to leave something nice for her to find once she came back to her home after I left the city. From the looks of her cute little place it seemed like she was into the whole shabby chic look and I immediately thought of this project.

So I went shopping for supplies. At first I couldn't find a single glass candle holder, not even one. Then I couldn't find any good large glass plates. Now, my options were to take a train to the nearest Target or Walmart or try to be creative with what I could find in the mom-and-pop shops on the block. I decided to forgo the train and to use a bit of creativity. One store had martini glasses in various sizes, so I picked up a standard size and then one with a teeny stub as a base instead of a stem. Then I found a large glass shallow bowl and a medium sized dessert plate. Finally I picked up some loctite epoxy.

This is what I came up with. I think it turned out alright. Once I made it I realized that I could have gone one step further and added some pearls into the cavity made by the martini glass in the middle, that would have been really pretty. I also would have liked for the base plate to be flat, but alas I could find no such thing.

Now, after this piece was created and dried and set out I had a few days left in Brooklyn so I figured I'd wander around a bit more in between meetings I had there. That's when I found a glass candle holder. Just one! It was sitting on a shelf in a health food market along side votive candle holders and scented candles, it was the last one they had in stock. I grabbed it and bought it impulsively, it was only when I returned to the condo that I remembered, "oh yeah, I already made the project without this dang piece." So, not to be deflated, I decided that I was going to create something, anything with this one single glass candle holder if it was the last thing I do.

I had just finished off a jar of whole fruit preserves that came in a pretty jar. I love reusing pretty glass jars, even if it's just a jelly jar, as long as it has a nice shape or design to it. So, since there was no point in me keeping or reusing the jar myself, since I had been traveling for nearly 4 months at that point and I was going to continue for at least another 2 months, I figured I would reuse it with a secondary project. The lid of the jar was a red checkered pattern, so I took some white enamel paint (read: nail polish) and a paper towel and I distressed the jar lid. Then I attached the candle stick to the bottom of the jar.

I left Brooklyn to head to my next destination which was Chicago. Before I arrived I received a text from my Brooklyn Condo Lady Friend, she loved the gifts and asked me where I got them. I told her I made them and then she called me to express her thanks and to inform me that she uses them as jewelry organizer; bracelets on the bottom tier, earrings on the top tier, and rings in the jelly jar. Now why hadn't I thought of that!