Carving Letters into a Candle and Adding Gold
Posted by Lyschel Bersch on
I had a special request at the store for a wedding candle. Usually the wedding candles we do are all white. This time the lovely bride and groom wanted something a little more special and I was happy to help them with their choice! They wanted their initials carved in the candle. I haven't done that before so I was a little worried but the results turned out beautiful on my first attempt! I thought this may be something that you may like to try out.
First I made a plain candle for them. I then figured out the font and size of the initials that would look good on the candle and printed it out. I didn't want anything too fancy because I know that I would have messed that up.
I taped the initial template on the candle so that it wouldn't move around and used the X-Acto knife to "trace" the outline by repeatably inserting the tip of the blade into the outline of the paper and wax. Make sure that the tape does not touch the candle. ***The tape should only touch the paper. This way you won't have to worry about sticky yucky goo from the tape on your beautiful candle.
I then removed the paper and cleaned up the letters with the X-Acto knife.
The bride and groom also wanted gold. I really like how it made the letters "pop". I used a little gold Rub-n-Buff and applied with a soft towel and a soft touch. I love Rub-n-Buff! You can always add more or you can rub off extra. It is a pigment so you have to be careful not to get it all over the wick because pigments clog wicks. A little won't hurt but too much will make the candle unusable.
First I made a plain candle for them. I then figured out the font and size of the initials that would look good on the candle and printed it out. I didn't want anything too fancy because I know that I would have messed that up.
I taped the initial template on the candle so that it wouldn't move around and used the X-Acto knife to "trace" the outline by repeatably inserting the tip of the blade into the outline of the paper and wax. Make sure that the tape does not touch the candle. ***The tape should only touch the paper. This way you won't have to worry about sticky yucky goo from the tape on your beautiful candle.
I then removed the paper and cleaned up the letters with the X-Acto knife.
The bride and groom also wanted gold. I really like how it made the letters "pop". I used a little gold Rub-n-Buff and applied with a soft towel and a soft touch. I love Rub-n-Buff! You can always add more or you can rub off extra. It is a pigment so you have to be careful not to get it all over the wick because pigments clog wicks. A little won't hurt but too much will make the candle unusable.
I finished up by using a heat gun to gently melt the walls of the letters. Honestly, I don't really think it was needed. A few more scrapes of the knife would have done the same thing.
All done! And a very happy bride and groom! Thank you for letting us be a part of your wedding! And now they have a beautiful keepsake!
