In Wintercake, Thomas and Lucy and Tobin become friends while telling stories around a merry fire. What could be better on a winter’s night?
“There’s wintercake,” says Thomas, “There’s light, there’s you and there’s us. What more do we need?”
They are, of course, in a bare hollow, during a snowstorm. It’s not a good idea, in most cases, to build a bonfire in your home. And never, without the assistance and supervision of a grownup.
A grownup might also be helpful in making this little craft, which I find to be almost as cheery as a bonfire.
It’s not hard at all, except for waiting for glue and paint to dry between steps. All you need is a small glass or votive holder, some tissue scraps, matte medium/decoupage stuff/or glue, glue, a little bit of acrylic paint, sand, pebbles, twigs and a votive candle, real or battery-operated. Here’s how:
You will need a small glass candleholder, or just a small glass. Mine is just a small glass, so I used a battery-operated votive candle. I thought a real votive might make the glass explode, which would not be good. 
Cut up some pieces of red, orange,yellow, maybe even pink tissue paper into shapes like this. Flame shapes. 
Put them on your glass/votive holder. I brushed matte medium onto my glass, then more matte medium on top of the tissue. Matte medium is available at craft or art supply stores. I think you could also use decoupage stuff, maybe even clear all-purpose glue. 
Now find an old CD or DVD. MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE LIKES IT OR WANTS IT!!!!!! Because you are going to: 
paint it brown or gray. While it’s drying, collect some little stones. I found mine in our driveway, which is gravel. But little stones are practically anywhere. 
It’s important to make sure that your votive will fit inside your circle of stones. My first batch, left, was too big, so I had to start over. Once you have the right size, glue them to the outside edge of your painted CD. After the glue dries, 
paint the painted CD with more glue, and sprinkle sand onto it. THIS STEP IS OPTIONAL, but I think it looks nice. 
Set your votive, with its tissue flames, in the middle of the CD. And for an authentic touch, gather some twigs: 
and place them around the votive, like so: 
Ta-da! There you have it, a lovely little bonfire of your own.
