This gallery displays all of my votives currently in stock.

Wildflowers and sleepy cats on sunny windowsills, holidays and memorials, I’ve designed a collection of handmade votives featuring my artwork using both new and recycled glass containers.

MATERIALS AND DESIGN

The idea came to me years ago to create votives with my artwork using glass jars from sauces, condiments and pickles, some handpainted, some using other means like labels or cut vinyl.

I worked my way through materials and techniques to what I use today, and all but a few designs include a battery-operated light string that has a timer feature so you can set it to come on when you want, and it will automatically turn off six hours later.

Some designs work best on purchased glass votives or vases but they are finished in the same way as the upcycled jars.

Each one is unique and I enjoy fitting the art or image to the shape and size of the jar.

HOW I MAKE EACH VOTIVE LAMP

• I print the design on a clear frosted vinyl label and burnish the label onto the jar.  The label is colorfast if kept out of direct sunlight and regular handling will not smear or rub off the design.
• I finish the design by embellishing the curved areas with alcohol inks, glass paint or acrylic paint. Those finishes may chip or scratch of the votive rubs up against or bumps against another surface. In some cases I’ll frost the interior or exterior to better diffuse the light.
• I choose a set of string lights that fits the lamp and illuminates the design in the best way. The battery pack fits inside the jar but they all have a length of cord between the battery pack and the first light so that you can put the pack outside the jar if you prefer to access the switch more easily. Don’t screw the lid all the way down or it will damage the cord, just set the lid on top and press down so it pressure fits. Never let the battery pack get wet.

CARE AND USE

• The votive lamp can be used indoors or out in a covered outdoor setting and can take a little dampness without damage. Excessive heat or cold may cause the label to peel
• It can be gently washed with mild dish soap, just be sure to take the light string out, and make sure the interior is completely dry before you replace it. The lights themselves are waterproof, but the battery pack is not.

 Send an email if you’d like to know more.

Feline Votives

Like everything else I make I’ve worked on the design and production of my upcycled glass jar votives, and one of the things was changing from small LED votive candles to LED light strings, with timers, so they are brighter and more colorful, and you can use them as lamps that turn on and off automatically. I chose to do that because they really didn’t illuminate my designs very well except for very small votives. And the ones with timers—geez, I got so tired of turning lights off and on, with all the votives I have on display, and I used the timed strings around the house.

Purchase a votive lamp

They are $25.00 each including taxes, shipping and handling. Because of their weight used in shipping, I can’t give a discount when you purchase more than one.

If you are local and want to pick up, use the coupon LOCALPICKUP (LOCALPICKUP2, LOCALPICKUP3…) to deduct $5.00 from the cost of each votive.

Don’t forget, each one is unique, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. 

Below galleries of the designs available. Mouse over, click or tap on a photo for the name of the design which you’ll find in the alphabetical list below the gallery, and again in the drop-down for ordering.

I apologize in advance for some of the abysmal photography in the galleries. I haven’t had as much time as usual to shoot and reshoot these, but if you look up the design name you can see the original art.

Tall Votive Lamps

Tall votive lamps fall between five and seven inches tall.

Small Votive Lamps

Small votive lamps vary between three and five inches tall, think salsa and relish jars.

NOTE: If the title is crossed out, I am out of stock right now, and it will not be available in the shopping cart.

• • 22 Cats
  • Cats After van Gogh
  • Fine Art Cats
  • Impressionist Cats
  • Inscrutable Cats
  • Lucy the Most Exceptional Kitten

• Out the Front Door
• Mimi in the Formal Garden
• Mimi’s Little Visitor
• Peach Begonias
• Smiling Ginger Kitty Batik
• Stained Glass Cats 2
• Studio Morning Shift
• Studio Window Autumn
• Winter Afternoon Nap
• Winter Window

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Unique Votive Lamps

These are made with specific jars and include cut vinyl and other finishes. They’re available below.

Silhouette at the Window Votive Lamp

Silhouette at the Window Votive Lamp is a particular shape of upcycled jar, frosted outside with a black cut vinyl design and black glass paint embellishment, and offered in clear white or with blue, green or yellow transparent glass paint interior. All votive lamps come with a string of LED lights with a six-hour timer.

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I created the ink drawing that is the basis of this design way back in 1988, called Puck at the Window from a photo I’d taken in 1984. You’ve probably noticed that cats at windows and the feline silhouette are favorite themes of mine, and you can see now it started early.

Its original intent was as a sympathy card for my veterinarian to use, but that never came to fruition. I’ve considered it in my own collection of sympathy cards, but I’ve also had many another idea for items on which I could use this design, most involving light, and most originating decades ago. One of the first was as a nightlight cover, then a suncatcher, eventually, of course, a votive.

Scroll forward to today, when I’m actually planning my votives this design has been top of mind for the past three years. I could picture this design on one of the four-sided jars I use for my cat art votives. But what was the best way to present it? I love the contrast in the black and white, but the labels I print for my glass items don’t quite capture that; the black isn’t dense enough and the edges aren’t completely sharp because the label has a surface texture. No, the labels are purrfect for continuous tone artwork, not line art. I could hand paint it in the dense black paint I use for glass, but I know I wouldn’t be able to reproduce this design well enough without taking a lot of time to handpaint each one. Trying to stencil or screen print each one would be too cumbersome because of the shape of the surface.

But now…there’s vinyl to cut, with nice clean edges and permanent application, just perfect for an adaptation of line art with the interesting cat silhouette. And where I once used etching cream to etch the inside or outside of my glass jars, I searched for a substitute when it became difficult to find—it is a caustic substance and shipping even to distributors is difficult, so often I’d find no stores had it and it was backordered online. I had seen spray and brush-on paints that mimicked frosted glass and tried a few, and liked them.

I frosted the outsides of the jars so the glass exposed inside the vinyl design would have a matte finish just as the vinyl did.

I first introduced this design on a votive last December just in time for my Holiday Open House, as I’m so fond of creating a brand new item at the last minute for each open house and other events. That was also when Simba first had his urinary issue and I worked off my worry about him with working out this design while I kept an eye on him. I liked the way the original looked but wanted to make other adjustments and changes, and so I did earlier this year when I made two to have at my events. I was surprised they immediately sold and I’ve been making them since then, still making slight refinements to the design.

One of those refinements was adding color to the clear space. I liked the plain white, and the initial sketch was from a winter photo. But I could also visualize a blue sky out there, or a sunrise yellow, or even green for greenery. I will always make the plain white/clear, but I like the colors too. Up to now I’ve painted them on the inside, but I’m also working to see if the colors I use will be permanent on top of the frosting paint.

Bella! Votive Lamp

The ever-popular design of Bella’s round green eyes on an upcycled jar! The jar gets a finish of pink-hued flocked glass paint painted then baked on. I first handpainted the design but love the clarity of the cut vinyl. The final touch is lime green transparent glass paint for her eyes. All votive lamps come with a string of LED lights with a six-hour timer.

All Votives

These are all the designs I currently make, but the photos aren’t current and they may or may not be in stock. I replace the designs and come up with new ones as vendor shows come up and time permits. Please ask if you are interested in one of the designs. I can usually make one up pretty quickly if I don’t have it in stock.

 

Find other gifts with these designs

Return to Handmade Gift Gallery

Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.

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