Christmas Tree Luminary

I can't believe I waited this long to discover luminaries as decorations. I saw a design similar to this one in a holiday decorating magazine (Better Homes and Gardens, I think) and decided to try it out (you know, since we were having a party!)

I used red lunch bags that I found at a discount store. The half-tree was freehand cut with an X-acto knife on the left and folded the over to the right. We filled the bottom of the bag with 1 cup of table salt (for sturdiness and safety) and placed a glass votive holder with a candle inside.

We lined the sidewalk with the luminaries and I was utterly shocked when the tiny little votives were still burning four hours later! No flaming mishaps, either, for those of you who might be a little paranoid like I was!