DIY decorative candles

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

How to make a candle with your own hands? There is nothing easier - you need to take a wick, material for a candle and a dish into which the wax will be poured. All these materials are inexpensive, so everyone should try it! A hand-made candle will always come in handy - at a children's party, a romantic dinner, a birthday. Or you can make a candle as a gift - everyone will be happy to receive such an unusual gift. And on rainy days, you can light a candle and enjoy the romantic atmosphere.

Collecting materials

Requires very few materials to make.

1. The form where the wax will be poured - a plastic mug, glass, glass, egg or ice mold - whatever is at hand will do.
2. Pot and water for a water bath. Wax is best to drown in it, as it melts it gradually, without sudden heating.
3. Wick.
4. Material for the candle itself: paraffin, gel, honeycomb or cinders of past candles - you will need everything.
5. Essential oils - if you wish, you should choose those that you like. You should choose carefully - they evaporate quickly, and the candle may not smell at all.
6. Dyes - regular colored wax crayons or speci alty dyesplus paints for wax (needed for complex drawings on the candle itself).
7. Materials for decoration - beads, small stones, glass, coffee beans, dried flowers. Here you can show your imagination. There are practically no restrictions (the only thing is not to take small sparkles and thin pieces of paper - they can catch fire or melt).
8. A sharp knife - for cutting patterns on a candle or trimming its bottom (the wick must be cut with scissors to make it even).

The right wick is half the battle

As there is no smoke without fire, so there is no candle without a wick. You can make it yourself or buy it in the store.

For a good wick, you need cotton thread, some wax, a weight and two sticks. First, the thread must either be twisted or braided. Do not make it too thick - the candle will smoke, and if you make it too thin, it will constantly go out. It is best to find a balance between these two extremes, then the flame will be even, the middle of the candle will melt faster than the edges. To the finished wick you need to attach a small weight - a nut, a pebble, a bead. The load must be heavy enough to pull on the wick. Then wax the wick - dip it two or three times so that it burns better and keeps its shape inside the candle itself. The already prepared wick must be placed in the candle mold, and its upper end should be clamped between two thin sticks (or simply wound around one).

Choose the material for the candle

Now let's start choosingmaterials for the candle itself.

1. Cinders of old candles. The easiest option is to just melt them in a water bath and pull out the remnants of the wicks.
2. Wax crayons - they can be melted in the microwave and immediately poured. The candle will turn out just the color of the crayons.
3. Special gel for candles - it can be dyed with dyes. The only "but" - the gel does not hold its shape, so it will not be possible to get it out of the mug.
4. Wax. These will be the simplest candles. The material is sold in sheets. The plates can be cut with a regular knife. Of the minuses - candles will be similar to each other (you can not paint and decorate from the inside).

Decoration materials

It is better to collect in advance everything that the candle will be decorated with, so as not to look for anything at the very last moment. Dried flowers will look good - the main thing is that they are not too fragile, otherwise it will not be possible to work with them.

Coffee beans also look good - you can either put them inside the candle or glue it over the finished one (you need special glue that will not melt).

And how to forget about the threads and ropes for winding, which are always at hand? They can be completed with beads and other interesting details.

From simple to complex - first steps

Let's start with the very basics - making a simple DIY candle. We heat the wax in a water bath, slowly pour it into the mold (it is better to pre-lubricate it with oil or soap so that the candle can be easily removed). When the wax hardens, carefully remove it from the mold bywick - if you don't get it, you can slightly heat the mold in warm water.

Candles in the form of a cone: cut out a blank for the cone from cardboard (the size of the sector depends on the desired thickness of the candle). We securely seal the place of the cut with adhesive tape (before that, you need to pass the wick through the top). Pour wax, let cool.

And a small master class on candles made from wax with your own hands. We put the wick on the wax, we begin to gently twist the plate around it. The foundation is fusible (it sticks together from the simple heat of the hands), so the room should not be hot.

And the most meditative option is to slowly dip the wick into the melted wax. After each "entry" you need to wait until the wax hardens. You can’t keep it in the mixture for a long time - the previous layers may melt. The candle will look like a carrot. When the length suits you, cut off the bottom of the candle with a knife or heat it and place it in a candle holder. You can add essential oils to the melted wax for smell, but this is optional.

Go up a level

Simple candles no longer interesting? We complicate the design!

Create coffee candles with your own hands at home. We fuse coffee beans into the candle - put the beans into the mold, pour the first part of the wax, wait until it hardens a little, lower them with a stick to the bottom, pour the second part of the wax.

Make an openwork candle - put ice in a container, pour wax on top. The ice will melt inside the hot wax. The result is a very unusual pattern (from the container tothis will need to be drained)

Colored candles - melt wax crayons (or add dye to wax). We fill in the form. And if you pour it at an angle and wait for everything to harden, you can get "angular" multi-colored layers (you need to alternate colors).

Decorate the candle

At this stage of fantasy there is room to roam:

1. The flower is carefully applied to the candle, we drive along the contour with a warm spoon, we wait until it sticks tightly to the wax. You can do this with all other pictures - print them on a printer or draw, then stick them.
2. Add beads, threads on top of the flower and process with glue.
3. You can also create "geometric" candles - cut out a shape with numerous edges from cardboard, go through the folds with a needle and fix the whole structure with tape, insert a wick and pour wax.

And these are just the most popular options - there are no limits to creativity!

We do wax carving

Wax is a fertile material for the manifestation of one's creative abilities.

You can cut different patterns on it:

1. The first way is to apply a pattern to the finished candle with a pencil, heat the knife and start slowly cutting out the desired pieces. The method is long, but this way you can achieve an interesting effect - for example, make a small log out of a candle (cut out patterns with a knife, paint with acrylic paint in several layers).
2. Create suchdo-it-yourself candle (master class) - we heat the knife, cut out patterns on the wax that look like tree bark, draw growth rings on top. We paint in several layers, shade the edges with white. Paint with ocher on top, you can walk around the edges with yellow or brown paint - voila, the log is ready!
3. Second option - to cut on the still hot material. To do this, you will need to build a "hanger" for the candle, since you will have to cut it by weight. With a sharp knife, layers of wax are cut from top to bottom and bent up (or down).
4. And one more option - put baking paper on the bottom of the baking sheet, pour wax on top, cut out with cookie cutters. Remove excess wax and melt it.

What does nature have to offer?

But organic candles look best. They are the most interesting, because they can be placed anywhere, such candles will elegantly complement the atmosphere.

We create original candles with our own hands at home using improvised materials:

1. The peel of an orange or tangerine. Carefully cut off half of the fruit with a knife, clean the remaining contents with a spoon. In the resulting form, you need to insert a wick and pour wax.
2. Peel nuts - similarly. We split, clean from the remnants of the shell, pour wax.
3. Egg - break the very tip of the egg, drain the protein and yolk. You need to pour wax inside, then gently break it (a great idea for Easter), the same can be done with coconuts - they look very original, the main thing is to be able to split them evenly enough (and clean them frompulp).
4. Large stones - you can cut a hole in them for a candle, but this requires a large number of tools and is quite laborious. It is better to just put the candle on a flat stone, and it will be difficult to replace candles with your own hands in such material - you will have to get the wax with a knife or fork (it sticks to the edges of the mold).

What's next?

Then it remains only to practice. It is difficult to immediately make candles with your own hands - either the wick does not burn, or the wax solidifies with voids. The main thing is not to give up, everything will come with experience. Do not abandon such an interesting activity over time.