Tutorial: Stamping on Candles

For Christmas this year, I stamped candles for my kids’ teachers.  The candles make fun and inexpensive gifts.  I used peppermint-scented candles and the smell is heavenly when heated.  Here’s a tutorial so you can try it for yourself.

1) Start with a piece of white tissue paper.  Stamp randomly on the paper with classic ink.

2) Cut your tissue paper into strips measuring just shy of the height of your candle.

3) Wrap the tissue paper strip around the side of your candle.

4) Now tear off a piece of waxed paper.  Wrap it around your tissue-wrapped candle.  Pinch the ends together tightly.  You want to ensure that the waxed paper lays as flat against the candle as possible.

5) Apply heat to the waxed paper using your Heat Tool (aka heat gun).  This causes the wax from the waxed paper to melt the tissue paper into the candle.  Continue applying heat until the tissue paper becomes translucent.  Now continue around the candle until the entire tissue paper strip has been heat set.  You will likely need to move your waxed paper in order to heat set the back side of the candle.  If so, use a fresh piece of waxed paper as the used pieces tend to get wax buildup.

Here’s a close-up showing the bottom side of the candle, which has been heat set and is translucent.  The top side of the candle has not been heat set and you can see the white of the tissue paper. 

6) Once your entire candle is heat set, you can decorate as desired. 

Experiment with different colors of candles and tissue paper for new looks.

Note: you can also stamp your images on tissue paper and then cut them out and heat set them with wax paper individually on the candle.

Stamp sets: berry christmas, christmas punch (hostess set); Inks: night of navy, brocade blue; Cardstock: night of navy, brocade blue, whisper white; Embellishments: silver cord, tissue paper/candle/waxed paper (non-Stampin’ Up!); Tools: heat tool, tag punch, jumbo snowflake punch