Ghost Candles
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My house is officially decorated for fall but I wanted to add some cute DIY elements to my decor this year and figured I would share them with all of you! If you want to shop any of my fall home decor, you can find a bunch of it here.
For this DIY we're making ghost candles! You can get creative with how many twists and waves you add to the candlesticks. If you really want to twist them, then I suggest getting 12 inch candlesticks. The ones I used are 10 inches.
I know I say super easy and you're going to yell at me when you snap a candle and then the DIY turns...not so easy. I snapped a few candles in this process so be sure to see some of my tips in the instructions. Keeping the water warm is what keeps the candles soft. Make sure to bend them while they are under water and use paraffin wax candles.
Okay, let's get started on some cute ghost taper candles! If you're a visual learner then please see my IG video here. You will see I did six candles at once but in my directions I recommend doing just 3-4 at a time or adding more hot water after forming three candles.
Supplies
- Paraffin wax taper candles
- Baking dish for water (pyrex, cake pan, casserole dish, etc)
- Black sharpie
- Taper candle holders
- Optional: Candle Wax Adhesive (this is how you keep taper candles upright and not fall over)
Directions:
- Warm water in microwave, tea kettle, or stove to between 120-130F and then add to your dish. Do not use boiling water. Candles will melt and you can burn yourself.
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I recommend doing 3-4 candles at a time (I did more and the water cooled down too much by the time I got to my fifth candle). Drop candlesticks in to the water and let them sit in the hot water for ten minutes. If your water seems to cool down really fast then add more hot water after the 5 minute mark. I flipped my candles around a bit because they do float at the top but I don't know if that's actually necessary.
- After ten minutes check to see if your candles are ready. Keeping the candlestick under the water, start to slowly bend at the top and continue moving down the candle. Instead of bending by taking both hands and doing a "breaking in half" motion, I used my thumb and finger to rub along the candlestick into a wavy shape. If your candle snaps then add more hot water and let them sit a bit longer.
- Work carefully and slowly. If water cools down too much, just add more hot water to keep candles soft. If candles are soft enough you can even bend them into a full twist, which looks great for a ghost!
- After bending taper candle to how you like, place on flat surface to dry and solidify.
- Once dry, draw on eyes and mouth with sharpie. You can also use acrylic paint if your sharpie isn't as saturated as you want.
- If you have candle wax adhesive then apply it to the bottom of your taper candles and put them in taper candle holders.
- You're all done! Use them as display or light them for a spooky candlelight display. Just redraw on faces after you burn them if there's still candle left.
I hope this was a fun DIY to get you into the spooky season mood! If you snapped some candles, don't feel bad, I did too, because crafting is a learning process. The process is what's important for our brain. We want ourselves to be able to learn, adapt and fix problems when crafting or working on a hobby.
More fall/halloween crafts are coming your way!
xoxo
shelby
