Altered candles and a gift box

Hi friends!  Its Katie here finishing up the week with you.  I hope you enjoyed all the new releases... its always such a fun time of the month.  Did you check out the other new products this month?  Such cute brads and of course new Spellbinders nestabilities.  If I could, I'd get every single set that I could.

Today, I've got a tutorial showing you how I altered some candles... votives to be exact.  I did this for the very first time with a stamp from a new release set called Holiday Nutcrackers.  You can see it in the photo with all my ingredients.

This technique has been around for a long time and I have no idea why it took me so long to do it.  If its new to you, I hope you don't put it off as long as I did because it is super easy and fun. 

I do have to say though that I started small which is always a good thing.  I have yet to have any experience doing this on a large candle or with a large image so be warned if you go big and definitely come back and share with us whatever you learned in the process.  Since I have this under my belt, I can only hope I'll try it on a bigger scale sooner than later.

But with that said, these are the PERFECT small gift to have on hand for any occasion, especially with this cute box to house them.  So let's get started.

The 3 main ingredients that you will want to have on hand is tissue paper, wax paper, and a heat gun.

But the first thing you want to do is stamp on your tissue paper.  This is a great reason to save all that tissue paper you get and a great way to use up small bits of it here and there.  It doesn't take much.

I stamped with a dye ink and used the October Stamp of the Month (Harvest Hellos) - FREE with a minimum $50 purchase.

I stamped multiple times to get the best image, but I had 4 candles so I just need 4 good imprints.  If you take a look at the photo below you'll notice that you do have to be careful when stamping on tissue paper since it will absorb the ink a bit.  That image on the bottom left is what happens when the stamp is left on the tissue paper.

Next, cut around your stamped image.  Make sure that the tissue paper will fit onto the surface of the candle.

Place on candle so its nice and even.

Then you'll want to cut an appropriate size of wax paper to cover your image.  In this case, because the candle is small you can use a piece that is long enough to wrap around the candle, thus allowing you to hold the piece tightly over the candle.

Below is a photo where you can see the difference between the heated section (with the heat gun) and the non heated section.  I need a third hand...  but you can see how the tissue just dissolves.

The next photo is to show you what the outside looked like after I heated the entire surface.  You are melting the wax right onto the candle and image, but it also melts the outside too.

Just peel the wax paper off and voila!

Here is all 4 candles done and finished in a jiffy.

Now, I also wanted to show you one that I actually colored in.  I used this method on the Holiday Nutcrackers candles.  This specific pumpkin is from another new release set called Patchpal Scarecrow. I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Copics to color in my image.

Here it is on the candle.

Now onto the gift box.  You'll need 2 pieces of cardstock measuring  9" x 5 1/2" and 7 1/8" x 3 5/8"

For the box score all sides at 1 1/2".  Cut where indicated on the picture below.

You will need to cut 4 decorative pieces for your box.  I used some designer paper from the 6x6 Marrakech from Basic Grey.

Now for the lid.

Score all sides at 1/2"

Cut decorative piece for the top of the lid that measures 6" x 2 3/8"

On inside of paper use a pencil and mark 1/2" on all 4 sides.  The scor mat is the perfect cutting mat for this type of thing because it has 1/8" marks so its so easy to measure what you need and then you can cut right on it.

Then center and attach to the top of the lid.

Next, take your ruler and exacto knife and cut evenly so that the center of lid is open.

Cut a piece of acetate to approximately 6" x 2 3/8" and tape to inside of lid.  I really like the acetate versus a clear transfer sheet.  The acetate is much sturdier.

Cut tabs and then fold in to create the lid.

I decided to stamp my own design on some tissue paper that I wanted to place inside the box.

I then just tied up the box with some matching ribbon and added a cute little tag.

Thanks so much for coming by and visiting with us!  Have a great Friday and a super weekend.

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Items that can be found at Clear Dollar Stamps:

• October Stamp of the Month Stamp Set
• Patchpal Scarecrow Stamp Set
• Acrylic Blocks
• Scor-Pal Products
• Inks
• ATG tape
• Acetate
• Ribbon
• Basic Grey Paper
• Cardstock

Other items used: CTMH cardstock and ink, oval punch, oval scallop punch, twine, candles, tissue paper, exacto knife, ruler, wax paper, heat gun

Comments

[nor]

Thank for sharing the idea ;)

[artificial silk flowers ideas]

What a fantastic gift idea, so creative. I love how you add some designs to the candles, it's just perfect. Easy to follow step by step tutorial. I'm just glad to have your blog. Thanks a lot.

~Cindy

[gift to Philippines]

Hmm.. seems interesting doing that. I will also try to make something like that this weekend. Thanks for sharing.

-pia-

[Lissa]

These are so cool...thanks for posting! One question - can you burn the candles with the tissue paper on there?

[kelly]

Katie, this tutorial is AWESOME!!! I bought some votives today to make up some gifts.
I have also put photos on candles. I don't print them on tissue paper. I print the photo right on copy paper. Use the wax paper over it. After melting the photo to the candle, you can roll the candle on your work table to get out any imperfections before the candle cools.

[Tammy Mendiola]

Very cool! What a great tutorial! I did candles last year, but I guess I'll have to do them again because I just have to make this box! TFS!

[Sue C]

Fabulous! I saw this tutorial referenced in a thread on Splitcoast Stampers and decided to hop over here and check it out - glad I did! This will be the perfect "little something" to add into the mix of gifts this Christmas! Thanks so much for doing the hard work (measuring, making a prototype, etc.) for us, and for sharing!

[Rachel B]

Thanks so much for this tutorial. I am working on making these cute boxes with candles for my Christmas gifts for my mother, mother-in-law and all the grandmothers. It is such a inexpensive yet personal gift!

[Martha]

wow awesome tutorial!

[wanda in NC/USA]

Thank you for sharing this tutorial on making the candles, and the little box. Love it!

[Lori McCroskey]

Wow! Those are adorable! I love them! I love how you always bring your projects together in packaging!

[Stacy SCS Twinshappy]

You are AWESOME!!!! I am making one of these today or this week! A perfect gift idea for the boys teacher.... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

[Vicki]

Very cute gift set! Katie, did you know you can put photographs on candles using this method? Here's how I did it a few years ago for Christmas gifts for grandmas - tape tissue paper to a piece of printer paper. You have to tape most of the top edge, if not all of it. That way it runs through the printer without getting caught up. The tissue paper will need to be the side that gets printed on. Print the photo (I did black and white) and then trim around it and proceed with the wax paper method. Of course you'll need to print the photo the proper size for your candle. And print it down far enough on the paper so you don't print on the tape and can trim around the photo. Try it, it's cool!

[Shawna]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this tutorial. I was told how to do this a couple of years ago but it was in just general conversation and I couldn't for the life of me remember all the details when I got home to write it all down. And a demo with pictures is just so much better!!! LOVE that little box to hold them in, too! Thanks Katie, you're the best!

[Ryann Salamon]

Another awesome tutorial Katie! I don't know how you never run out, lol!

[Kerry nH]

This tutorial rocks!! What a great teacher or hostess gift. Thanks for all you do.

[Tobi]

I love this technique, but I never thought of votive candles! What a great project! Thank you!!

[Peggy Russell]

Fantastic tutorial Katie! I love this project!

[Jenny Lavender]

Thanks for the great idea! I tried it with printed napkins and it worked great. Separate the napkin plys and you will also have a blank surface (the white ply) to stamp your own images on. Thanks for sharing!

Jenny L.

[Candyf]

Great tutorial -- I love the look of the finished product all boxed up. One tip for you to share -- If you want to smooth down your candle/image after you have melted the image, take an old stocking and rub lightly. It will remove all the imperfections in the candle and on the image.

[Jeannie]

That is just so awesome!! Thank you for sharing!

[Tricia T]

Katie, you never cease to amaze me! Great tutorial!!