Faux-tive Candles

I originally debuted this idea for a room makeover on USA Network’s Before and After’noon Movie. It’s a fun (and fire-safe) way to have candlelight in a room using a photograph (or is that a faux-tograph?) of a votive candle, lit behind by a battery-operated tap light. Just press onto the photo, and it lights up. Brilliant, in more ways than one.

1. Take a photograph of a lit votive candle, or download the one I’ve already taken* (see below for instructions)

2. Slip the photograph into a clear acrylic frame.

3. Place a tap light on the wall in the location that the framed photograph will be sitting. Tap lights are also called “touch lights.” They come in two sizes, but you should get the smaller ones so they fit behind the frame. GE makes them, and I found mine at Target.

4. Set the photograph on the shelf in front of the tap light. Whenever you want to turn it on, press on the photo, and it will press onto the light. These lights do tend to eat up batteries, so try to use rechargeables.

*To download the votive candle picture:

• Click on the picture to the right. A new picture will appear in a pop up window. This picture has higher resolution (to print better), so it will appear huge in your browser.
• Position your cursor on the picture and right-click (Windows) or Option + click (Mac) and select "download"