Here it is as promised! These candles are reallyeasy and so lovely to look at. However, and this is a BIG however, they must be used with great care. Because they are wrapped with tissue paper, they are a danger for fire flare, and wax can burn in a very combustible way.
Take careful precautions!
So, here I am, warning you before you go any further, because this is a "use at your own risk" kind of thing! I absolve myself of any dangerous results of burning these candles!!!!
What you will need:
- candles ...cheap candles usually have a higher flammability factor, but I actually saw a beeswax candle catch fire once at a friend's party and believe me, it flared up fast. Use the best quality candle you can afford
- white tissue paper
- a printer!
- something to print. Go on a Pinterest or Google image search and you can find lots of great things to print: French script, music pages, recipes, small flowers or other shapes
- a hair curling iron
- scissors
- tea bags
What to do:
Prepare the tissue paper: Use a few tea bags and pour boiling water over just to cover and release the tea. Next, tint your paper irregularly by gently dabbing and brushing it with the wet tea bags. The paper is very fragile, and can tear easily when wet, so be very light handed. Allow paper to dry thoroughly. If you are as impatient as I am, you can use a hairdryer to speed this along. Cut the dried paper into 8 1/2" X 11" pieces. Tape a piece to a regular sheet of printer paper along the lead edge (the top).
Prepare the image: If you are using text or any image that has a right side view, create a mirror (or backwards) image. This can be easily done in the Paint software that is installed on most computers. Simply copy and paste your image there and use the "flip horizontal" button. Then, take your image back to Word, and paste it on your page. I set my page layout to have 1/2" margins and then dragged the image out to fit the entire printable area. The candles I used are very tall, and so I wanted to use the full length of the page. Place the paper with the tissue side down, and print your page. Sometimes this is a fiddly procedure, as printers are often finicky things and refuse to print or eat the page just to be spiteful. Keep trying! I was able to wrap three candles from one printed page, just determine how many you will need. I printed an extra one just in case.
Prepare the paper: I trimmed the top margin off the paper by cutting irregularly and close to the script. I could have torn it, but since the edge becomes invisible this is not important. Just get fairly close to the script. Also, trim the left margin away.
HOORAY!!!! Now the fun part!
Making the candle:
Heat your curling iron.
Line up the candle alongside the paper making sure the script is right side out, and not upside-down. Top of page faces the top of the candle, about an inch down from the top of the side of the candle. Roll the paper with the candle until you can line up the lines of script, creating a free flow for the image.
Holding the tissue in place, begin to slowly run the curling iron over the edge of the paper. The candle surface will start to melt and adhere the tissue to the candle. You will see that the tissue takes on a translucent look and disappears into the candle when it is properly adhered. Continue to burnish along the candle until the paper is well-adhered and you have nearly completed encircling the candle. You may occasionally have to slow down and let the iron reheat.
Use your scissors to cut the tissue, allowing for a smidgen of overlap.
Next, burnish in the edge to complete the adhering process. Inspect your candle to make sure it is evenly burnished and the tissue is translucent throughout. As a final touch, Press your curling iron into the bottom of the candle to adhere the tissue to the base and fluting the edge slightly so it will fit into a candle holder more easily.
