Wanganderry
Diy Candy Cane Christmas Decorations
Bunnings is a store of inspiration and this year has been no different. I saw huge Christmas candy canes out the front of the store made from PVC and tape. They looked great. To replicate these on the cheap I used 20mm conduit with 2 x 20mm 90 degree standard bends and then wrapped electrical tape around them in a spiral.
There were three pieces of conduit needed per candy cane. One long piece was the main body, a short 30mm section to join the two 90 degree bends together and a longer 60-100mm piece to finish off the hook shape. To cut the conduit a hacksaw was used and the pieces were all press-fit with the bends to create the ‘cane’ shape. These could be glued for added strength, however, I found the press-fit to hold, even when hanging the canes from the hook.
The most efficient method of wrapping the tape I found was to put the rolls on my thumb, start the tape off at and angle and roll the conduit with my free hand, slowly adjusting the angle of the tape to maintain consistent spacing between the tape. This method proved to work extremely quickly for the main upright of the candy cane using both one or two rolls of tape at a time. The curved top was substantially more challenging to get clean, consistent results, however, with a little patience it turned out great.
I made 14 of these in very little time ranging from 1 to 2m in height, half of them wrapped in red, and the other half wrapped in green and red tape. To have them free-standing, bamboo stakes were driven into the ground using a hammer and the candy canes slid over the top.
I am very pleased with the end result and as a quick, cheap and fun DIY Christmas decoration idea I would highly recommend you try it.
In the future, wrapping these in Christmas lights could add another element to the look.
