Floral Votives

It’s a floral arrangement. It’s a votive. It’s two treats in one. You’ll light up your dinner parties with these charming votives, in which soft candlelight filters through the flower petals. Be the first on your block to make these because soon, everyone will be doing them.

What you’ll need:

A small glass votive
An old-fashion glass (as opposed to a high-ball, not old-fashioned as in pre-WWII.)
Pom-pom flowers
A tea light

1. Line the bottom of the glass with pom-poms. The main reason to do this is your glass votive will probably be shorter than your glass. The pom-poms will act as a “booster chair” so the votive will sit inside the glass with the top level with the top of the glass.

2. Set the votive inside the glass and start sliding pom-poms between the votive and the glass. I use pom-poms because they’re small and fit well in between the two glasses. I tried larger flowers like gerber daisies, but they got squashed and distorted. Besides pom-poms, you can also use slices of limes and lemons. Notice I’m positioning the pom-pom with chopsticks. It’s much easier than trying to squeeze your fingers in there. Also, I use both chopsticks because Chinese superstition says you should never separate the two.

3. Once you get to the top, you can push the final flowers down with your fingertip. Put a tea light inside the votive and light it. The great thing about the pom-poms is that they last out of water for a long time, so these votives will remain fresh for days. See, I’m always thinking of you.