Stamping on Candles Tutorial

Stamping on Candles
By Michelle Hoffman

Supplies:
Candle- any size- for this tutorial: 6” x 2.8”
Tissue paper- 1 strip 9” long by 2 1/4” wide & 2nd strip 9” long by 1 1/4” wide
Wax paper (not shown)
Stampin’ Around jumbo wheel- So Swirly
Stamp set containing greeting- Peaceful Wishes
Stampin’ Around jumbo cartridge- Bravo Burgundy
Classic ink pad- Always Artichoke
Cellophane clear wrap- 24” x 20”
Ribbon- Satin Purely Pomegranate- 24”
String- 12”
Heating tool

Step By Step

Step 1
Remove candle from packaging. Wheel stamp across first strip of tissue paper (9” x 2 1/4”). Set aside.

Step 2
There are two ways to do step 2:

A: Using the smaller strip of tissue paper, 9” x 1 1/4”, stamp greeting at the left edge of the strip of tissue paper. Stamp the greeting again, this time 3/4” to 1/2” away from the right edge of the strip. This will allow you to place your greeting both on the front and back of the candle. By allowing a 3/4” to 1/2” space at the right edge of the strip, you will have an appropriate space between the front and back greeting when you attach the strip to the candle. Set aside.

B: Cut the 9” x 1 1/4” strip of tissue paper in half. Stamp the greeting on the two halves. Set aside.

Step 3
Look the candle over for imperfections, choosing the least marked side for the front of your candle. Wrap the strip of tissue paper with your wheeled image around the candle, placing it where you want it. The seam of the tissue paper should be on the back of your candle.

Step 4
Cut a piece of wax paper the height of your candle. Wrap the wax paper around your candle, being careful not to move the strip of tissue paper on the candle. Smooth the wax paper over the candle, gathering the ends at the back of the candle. This will be your “handle” to hold to avoid burning your hand when using the heat tool.

Step 5
Turn your heat tool on and allow it to warm up before you aim the heat at the candle. Once you feel it is sufficiently heated, aim the heat at the candle, keeping the tool straight and level. The tip of the tool should be about a 1 1/2” to 2” away from the candle. Heat the candle with a slow and even stream of heat, being sure not to concentrate the heat for too long in one place. You will be able to see your progress beneath the wax paper. The melted image will be shiny and the ink will spread out a tiny bit. If you miss any spots, you will be able to see the dull tissue paper through the wax paper. Simply go back over that spot with your heat tool, being careful not to aim the heat at the other areas already completed.

Step 6
When you need to reposition the wax paper, carefully peel it off the candle. If you have an unfinished area, such as seen above on the right side, it is best to peel the paper off starting at the melted part and working your way to the end of the tissue paper that has not yet been melted into the candle. When you reposition the wax paper, be careful not to use the part of the wax paper that has melted wax on it. Find the unused portion of the wax paper and apply that to your candle. Otherwise, the candle wax on the wax paper will get melted back on to the candle and you will get unsightly wax puddles on your image.

Step 7
When you have sufficiently melted your image on to the candle, peel the wax paper off. Repeat steps 4 to 7 to melt the greeting on to the candle. Your candle will then be completed and should look like the above picture.

Step 8
Cut the cellophane clear wrap to 24” x 20”. Lay it on your work table and stand the candle in the center of the wrap, with the front of the candle facing you. Pick up the upper left corner of the cellophane wrap and gather the diagonal corner (lower right corner) to it. Repeat with the remaining two corners.

Step 9
Tie the string tightly around the cellophane just above the top of your candle. Tie your ribbon around the string, gathering the ribbon into bunny ears to make your bow. Trim the ends of the ribbon with a “blue ribbon” edge or a diagonal cut.

*Tip:
Since the ribbon used here is wide, fold it in half and then tie it around the candle. Return the ribbon to its original width to make the bow.

Step 10
Your project is now complete!

Variations
-Place another wheeled image in place of the greeting.
-Instead of wheeling your pattern, stamp images onto the tissue paper, cut the images out and melt them into the wax.
-Use colored cellophane in place of the clear, keeping in mind the stamped images will not be visible through the colored cellophane.
-Hang beads, a charm, tag, or other embellishments from the ribbon.