The festive period is always busy, and sometimes there’s little time to make a Christmas wreath or garland. This beautiful foraged candle bowl is very simple and quick to make, and can be customised with whatever bits you might find in your garden, local park, or on a frosty winter walk. 

You will need:

A shallow bowl 

Decorative ones are ideal, but a normal cereal bowl will work just as well!

An LED candle 

I used a real wax LED candle for a more realistic effect.

Foraged material from the outdoors 

I collected string of sausages lichen, pine cones, rosehips, holly sprigs, dried toothpick-weed seed heads and dried bracken fronds. Be sure to only take a small amount of plant material and leave plenty behind, as wildlife use many of these materials over winter for shelter and food.

Optional dried orange slices

I sliced an orange into 0.5cm thick rounds and arranged them onto baking paper on a wire rack in the bottom of the Aga overnight. They can also be dried in the oven at 140C / 120C fan for 45 mins- 1 hour, turning half way through. Any leftover slices can be strung on the Christmas tree for a delightful natural orange glow!

To Arrange:

I started by placing the candle in the centre of the bowl, and then used string-of-sausages lichen to form a soft nest for the other foraged items to sit in. Then I arranged the other items in a wreath-like pattern, going in the same direction around the candle. I placed the larger items first, and then added the smaller bits like the rosehips last. Using tweezers helps if you have included any spiky material such as holly. Ensure that the candle is easy to take out to turn on and off. And that’s it!

Other ideas for foraged materials:

Hawthorn berries

Evergreen coniferous shrub sprigs such as pine, cypress or juniper

Colourful dogwood twigs

Dried hydrangea flowers

Honesty seedheads

Ivy

Woody evergreen herbs such as rosemary and thyme

Feathers

I hope that you enjoy making your own candle bowl, and find the creative process as fun as I did!