Decorating Citronella Candles

You can easily transform your standard citronella candles into lovely little bug repellents. All you need is a few bucket candles, a little patience, glue, glitter and twine!

Like most people, I have an extreme aversion to mosquitoes. Aside from swelling up like a balloon at the bite site, the mere sound of buzzing in my ear can send me running for the hills. Most bugs are granted a pardon in my home, but not mosquitoes. I always have a giant mason jar and piece of cardboard handy for catching and releasing creepy crawlers. But, when it comes to mosquitoes, I take the opposite approach: get them before they get me.

When I am sitting outside on a warm summer night, the last thing I want to be doing is swatting and smacking mosquitoes away. Ironically, I do tend to feel bad, especially if I accidentally squish one. Each spring, I start stock piling citronella candles and bug spray in preparation of the upcoming warmer weather. I figure my passive aggressive approach will let them know I mean business, and I’m not on the menu tonight.

My local hardware store was having a great sale on citronella candles and I decided to pick up quite a few. When I brought them home, my daughter commented on how ~~ugly,~~ plain they were. Maybe my passion for bug repellent caused me to make a small lapse in judgement. They really weren’t very attractive, not in the least.

As I stared at my ugly bucket candles, I wondered if I could jazz them up a bit? I knew they weren’t going to last long at the rate that I burn them, but maybe my daughter was right. Maybe they could use a little sparkle. I quickly and easily decorated these run of the mill citronella candles with sharpie, clear craft glue, glitter and jute twine. In a just few minutes, they were dry and ready to keep the mosquitoes at bay.