How to decorate votive candles

Votive candles add a warm holiday glow to your home. Here are some simple ideas to decorate your own holiday votive candles.

• A small clear votive glass works fine, but for something different use a clear cocktail-sized glass.
• Secure a sheer-colored ribbon around the glass with a small piece of clear tape.
• Next, tie a piece of twine (or even another ribbon of a different color) around the glass over the first ribbon. Secure it with a knot.
• Find a piece of greenery from your yard, like a spruce of holly with berries, and insert a small piece into the knot.
• Light your holiday votive candle and you're all finished.

LISA: I'm Lisa Birnbach for howdini.com. Votive candles are a beautiful way to light up your home for the holidays. Interior designer Libby Langdon has some wonderful ways to dress up your votive candles.

LIBBY: These are very simple. Um, just a plain drinking glass, a little rocks glass-

LISA: Uh-huh.

LIBBY: There are different ways you can do it. I love the sheer ribbon. By using a sheer ribbon it still let's that light go through. And what you're going to do is just secure the ribbon with a little piece of tape-

LISA: You know what's nice also, when you do this, although it's not that much work (certainly not for you) it does show more effort and your guests know-

LIBBY: Right.

LISA: That extra step.

LIBBY: Absolutely and the little things really do make a huge difference.

LISA: They do.

LIBBY: And your guests appreciate it. They really do. Okay. So what you're doing is you're using the tape to secure it...

LISA: Right.

LIBBY: and then you're going to take a little piece of twine or it could be a little piece of ribbon, and you're going to tie it around...

LISA: Do you need my help?

LIBBY: Uh, sure.

LISA: Okay.

LIBBY: Yeah you can hold that. Great. And you're going to tie it around-and this is a great thing too: kids can do this. Just go into the backyard, see what's laying around, a little bit of greenery-and you're just going to put a little sprig of holly in there.

LISA: Careful.

LIBBY: Very easy. Exactly.

LISA: And tada!

LIBBY: And then you put your candle in.

LISA: It really is nice. So you could do it with any old thing.

LIBBY: Exactly and you could just use a piece of greenery like this, plop it in there. Super easy.

LISA: And the good news is you don't need a lot of anything.

LIBBY: No! Just a little bit. But these little touches really, really do make a big difference.

LISA: Nice.

LIBBY: Easy.

LISA: Do you want to light one?

LIBBY: Yes, let's do. Okay. And like we say we want everybody to light their candles.

LIBBY: Right. Exactly.

LISA: Be careful. And suddenly with very little effort you have something very pretty.

LIBBY: Right.

LISA: And different.

LIBBY: Yes.

LISA: Thanks Libby.

LIBBY: My pleasure.

LISA: For howdini.com I'm Lisa Birnbach.