At Great Lakes Creations we take pride in our unique, hand crafted items and are always thinking of new designs and items to create! In Late 2023, we started working on candle holders using larger pieces of uniquely shaped driftwood from the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Each piece is hand crafted, while keeping the natural shape and look of the driftwood, using our various woodworking tools. Once the driftwood is shaped, or cut to size, we use a drill press to drill the appropriate hole to insert the candle holder. Our designs feature chime candles, taper candles and tealight candles. The next step after drilling is to sand the driftwood to obtain reasonable smoothness and make sure it will safely sit level when a candle is inserted. The most fun step comes next, determining which stones will be set into the driftwood and if there will be a wood burning design done on the driftwood. The stone we use is mainly the stone we tumble in our workshop with our rock tumblers or is stone chip sourced from local, small businesses. Once the wood is carved to securely place the stone, and the wood burning is done, another fine sanding is complete and a thin layer of sealant is added. After this dries, the final step is to fit the candle liners and stones in place one last time to insure proper fit. Once complete, we then epoxy these items into the wood. It’s a long process, but well worth the final results. Below I’ve shared a video of these beautiful Driftwood & Stone candle holders!