Christmas Tree Lights...

 

 

 The Old Fashioned Way....

For Many many years, Dear Readers, I decorated my Christmas Trees with real candles, and on at least one Night we would light the candles and admire the indescribable beauty of real candlelight on the Tree shining brightly in the darkness. And of course, I had to include this in my Christmas Card drawings from time to time. Above is a detail from one of the earliest cards. The first seventeen years of cards were all drawn in black and white, just pen and ink, because there was no inexpensive color duplication in those days. So you would need an imagination to sense the candles lighting the tree! But after color copying became inexpensive I included the Tree lit with candles in a couple of the cards.

It is difficult to get good pictures of the details on these cards.

This was only the second or third year

 that I had painted the card in color.

But you can see the candles in this one!

Here again you can see the candles on the tree lit....

This is taking liberties with real life because

 we didn't leave the candles lit while we did other things!

Usually we had dinner first and then lit the candles

 while we sang carols around the tree.

But this was all long ago...

 the house was big,

 the trees were freshly cut from my own back yard...

Many of us would gather to celebrate.

It is quite safe if you are careful where you place the candles.

I have not put real candles on my trees

 since I moved to my small house.

Everything is too crowded.

But I can remember the light....

and I have always wanted to see if I could make them in mini...

And these mini LED light strings made it so easy!

The "bulb" is just a "blip" in the wire 

and it is easy to bend the wire back on itself.

And then I wrapped the folded wire in paper to make the "candle".

This particular string had eighteen LED's.

I added a "saucer" to catch the wax drips... 

just a card-stock circle punch wrapped around

 and glued at the base of the candle.

 

 

And I painted the candles ocher to look like beeswax.

And when I turned the batteries on....

They were wonderfully realistic!

I could not wait to test them on the Tree!

 

I hastily wrapped the string around the Castle Great Hall Tree

 (I have had this tree forever... waiting to get "candles" on it!)

But the candles did need to be attached so they

 would sit upright so they can burn safely!

Which took a little longer....

and now it is fully dark outside...

But Oh!.... the light is Magnificent and so realistic!!!

It has me completely mesmerized!

 

So I have Finally lit this tree

 the Old Fashioned way

With candles!