Decorative candle. We make and decorate our hands

For a long time our houses have been lit by electric light bulbs, many-tiered candelabra and chandeliers, faded with a lot of candles, which were the only source of light in ancient times, have sunk into oblivion. However, the candles did not disappear from our everyday life. They are still present in the houses, only as a decorative element of decoration, because the living fire has truly magical and mesmerizing properties, even in the form of a small red "tongue" dancing on top of the wax figure.

Having lost its utilitarian functions and turned into an element of decorating a room or a festive table, the candles gradually turned into an object of decorative art. Above their creation and design work true artists. You can make candles with your own hands at home. This process is simple, but exciting, like any work related to improvisation and the application of creative imagination.

Candle with own hands

Before starting work, we will prepare all necessary equipment and materials. Wax or paraffin is heated in a water bath, so a deep tank is required. Another vessel will be needed to melt paraffin or wax. Still need molds for pouring candles, sticks for stirring, cotton thick threads for wicks, dyes for wax. Paraffin or wax can be taken from old candles or cinder, as children's wax crayons. Better, of course, for work to use clean quality materials, which are easy to order in specialized online stores. To a candle made with its own hands, burned well, did not smoke and did not smoke, it is important to know some of the subtleties of its manufacture. The main feature is a properly selected wick. It should not be too thin (the candle will go out) or too thick (then it will smoke). Good for these purposes is a twisted cotton thread of medium thickness for knitting. The thread is cut to the desired length, impregnated with liquid wax and fixed in the center of the mold for pouring, having previously made in its bottom a small hole. The thread is threaded into it, fixed by a knot at the bottom from the outside, stretched along the height of the mold and fixed from above with a stick, thrown through the upper hole of the mold. The wick must be well stretched.

Now melted on a water bath, the wax is poured into the mold hole. First a little, so that it stiffens on the bottom, and then to the brim, and left at room temperature, so that the candle stiffens.

As a form for casting candles use the most common items. These can be cups of yogurt, metal cans, glass cups and cups, old children's toys made of rubber, hollow inside. The main thing is that the material can withstand high temperatures.

Now we'll think about how you can turn a regular paraffin candle into a real work of applied art, because a candle made with your own hands is an excellent basis for the manifestation of creative imagination.

To make the candle happy with a bright color, special melts (or wax crayons) are added to the melted wax before pouring it into the mold. A ready candle can be painted with colored contours, which are sold in art salons.

Very beautiful look candles, decorated with the help of decoupage. For this decor, a pattern is cut out from a paper napkin, the top layer of paper with a pattern is cut off, it is placed on the side surface of the candle and smoothed with a hot spoon that will slightly melt the wax, it will wax the paper and the pattern will hold tight.

As a decor also use colored matting, lace braid, various beads, and in addition, natural natural materials: dried flowers and leaves, bark of trees, bamboo, fragrant seasonings (cinnamon sticks, cardamom grains, coffee, etc.). In the melted wax also add aromatic oils (except rose oil). Thanks to them, a candle made with their own hands will exude an easy pleasant spicy aroma.

Very beautiful and fragrant candles are obtained decorated coffee. A coffee candle with its own hands is done this way. In the prepared form (it is better, if it is a sufficiently large and high cylinder), the wick is placed, and then a layer of coffee beans is poured . After that, the grains are poured with melted wax, which solidifies and firmly binds them. When the candle begins to melt, the grains impregnated with wax will heat up and exude a delicate coffee aroma. There is another way. In the melted paraffin add a little very hard brewed coffee (soluble), mix, directly into the liquid paraffin put a little coffee beans and pour the mixture into the prepared form.