these are all but done now. drilled all of the holes for the tea lights, rough cut the curved edges, sanded the edges to the line, and did a quick test setup with the feet. now all that is left is the finish sanding, adding the feet, and finishing.
now that the stain has finished drying, time to break out the shellac. gave the bottoms and legs one coat, and the tops and sides two coats. another project finished.
found that they were a bit rough to the touch on the sides. gave the sides a quick wipe down with 150 grit, and a fresh coat of shellac. nice and smooth now.