I love long summer nights when the sun stays up and it’s perfect weather for backyard dinners and entertaining. What I don’t love are the bugs that tend to join the outdoor party. I created this easy outdoor centerpiece that both looks pretty, but helps keep the small pests away. 

Items Needed:

• Americana "Segmented Swirls" Stencil
• 2" By 8" By 16" Concrete Block
• Citronella Candles
• Assorted Paint Brushes

Instructions:

I started with this basic concrete brick and two concrete looking citronella candles that I found at my local hardware store. The concrete brick is the perfect canvas for this outdoor craft idea, and best of all it was less than $1!

First, I wanted to add some color and design to my concrete brick, so I used a cool stencil and DecoArt Outdoor Patio Paints to turn my brick from boring to brilliant!

I wanted to give my stenciled design on the top of my concrete block the look of fire swirls, so I used a pretty raspberry red color mixed with the dark orange paint and blended them together while I stenciled the design on the top. 

Then I painted the edges of my brick solid colors, and the outside of my candles bright contrasting colors. 

After the paint was dry, it was time to enjoy my new outdoor candle centerpiece. I put the two painted candles on top of my pretty painted brick. 

This looks great both during the day and at night!

The citronella candles atop the one-of-a-kind painted brick give off the best summer ambience, and help ward away the bugs. Lovely!

Enjoy!