Stamping on Candles

Well hello all - it's been awhile!

I promised I would post the instructions for stamping on candles and I'm FINALLY getting to it. So maybe you can't do this for Christmas this year, but Mother's Day is coming up ;p

So, first a couple of examples. Here is a set I made using Dasher. A really simple gift, but the ones I gave this year were very well-received. I like them a lot!! This is a single, unscented pillar candle from Wmart, a tumbled marble tile from Hdepot, a cello bag from Mike's and a coordinating card. Simple, easy to make and under $5.


Here's one I made using the Medallion Background stamp.

The tile catches drips from the candle, and gives it a sturdy, stable place to sit. It's just nice to have something that matches, you know? When you're done burning the candle you can always use the tile as a coaster, a trivet or even put it out into the garden. I love having interesting things in my garden paths!

To make the tile, simply get yourself a plain, tumbled marble tile from your local hardware store. They come in boxes of 10 for $4-5.
Wipe it down with a damp cloth and dry it.
Then stamp on it using the StazOn colour of your choice. I used Timber Brown for Dasher and Black for the Medallion.
Last, add four felt circles as feet (not shown) - you can get them in any hardware store.

that's it...

You're done!

Materials

To make the candle you will need:
1) A candle - light colours work best, white is quite striking. A harder candle will melt most smoothly. Some scented candles are a little soft. You'll see pits and bubbles near the surface and they feel oily, buttery. They won't keep AS smooth a surface as the harder ones do.

I used non-scented ones at my workshops in case anyone was bothered by perfumes. Beware about scented candles - they are often double or triple wrapped at the store, and you don't realize HOW scented they are till you get them home. My advice is to stick to MILDly scented candles.

Our local Loblaws Superstore has a nice selection of lightly-scented pillar candles. Ikea is good too - lots of choices. Wmart and Zellers have lots of unscented ones to choose from. The ones from the $ store and Mike's were mostly too dark, too scented, too small or too soft for my taste. Theoretically, you can stamp on any candle. We even did tapers at one workshop!

Candles range in price from $not much to $silly. You'll have to shop around.

ok, on to the rest of the materials. You'll also need:
2) A stamp or stamp set. Anything you like!
3) Ink - Classic Ink works best.
4) Plain white tissue paper. If it looks like construction paper (you can see the bits of wood, it's really porous and it's not really, really white) it will work - but not as well as the fine, white, a little shiny kind you'll get at a Hallmark or Mike's. That stuff they wrap glassware in at department stores - perfect!
5) Heat Tool. Hair dryer - not hot enough! You should use a crafter's heat tool!
6) Waxed paper. Plain, old, ordinary waxed paper.

Instructions for Stamping on Candles

Stamp your image onto the tissue paper. Shiny side up, if you can figure out which is which! (not really important!!)

Stamps and ink - you can see the image I've already stamped and trimmed - above.
This is what it looks like before you trim it.

Trim your image - not TOO close, just so it's tidy.
Grab some waxed paper...
...position your image onto your candle...
...and wrap it with the waxed paper - shiny side down (against the candle). Make sure everything is smooth, and tight against the candle.
And heat it with your heat tool. Keep the tool moving so you don't melt one spot too quickly. You're looking for the image to just float down into the candle a little. The wax from the paper will melt and be left on the image. The image will appear uniformly darker and the waxed paper will seem a little shinier. Beads of melted wax may also be visible.


Slowly peel the waxed paper off the image. If necessary, you can re-heat the image a little - if you see a paper edge or a non-waxy part on the image.
Buff the image lightly with the waxed paper, especially around the edges, to burnish it and minimize the difference in sheen between the image and the rest of the candle.
Add your own touch - if desired! ;o)....and GIVE!

Look at this cool set made by a stamper at one of my workshops! For a dog lover, n'est pas?

Notice the way she personalized it - by writing her name using a Stampin' Write marker.

LOVE IT!!
And here is a CAT people's gift set. LOVE the little foot prints around the top. And listen, this cat set was made by one of my favourite stampers who also happens to be a 10 year old boy. So if you don't think you can do this... think again!My DD decided that stamping simply wasn't fancy enough, so she drew pictures, wrote captions and pressed some rhinestones into hers!
FAQ: What happens to the tissue paper? As the candles burn, particularly pillar candles, it's the inside that melts. The outside melts way last. The tissue, if the wax does manage to get that melted, just slips down into the puddle of wax, but I've never seen it burn. The ink turns brown, but that's it.

That being said, as with ANY open flame, you must keep it in a fire-safe container, and never leave it unattended. Also, don't use aluminum foil or gold/silver paint. These can be extremely flammable.

If you have any questions, leave a comment or drop me a line. I'd be happy to clarify anything you need to know.

You can see more stamped candles here, here and here.

Cheers!