Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Decoupage Candles


Over the holidays I made Decoupage Candles
using pretty French napkins that I found in 
one of my favorite boutiques. 

They were so easy to do, so I thought I would
share the technique with you.

Supplies needed:
Glass encased candles
printed napkins
decoupage medium or white glue
 1" wide paint brush
glitter
ribbon



I used glass encased 'storm' candles. 

I found these in the candle section of my local home-goods store. 

Any glass candle will work, 
as long as it has an area of straight sides. 
Curves are too difficult to cover. 


I fell in love with this beautiful design. 
You can use any napkin that appeals to you! 

Specialty napkins with a printed design are best. 
They are sturdier than the average table napkins.

You will want to find napkins 
sized to fit the straight sides of your glass candle, 
so keep that in mind. 


Open up the napkin and tear it in half along the fold,
as shown above. 

To do this, work very slowly. 


This will give you a lovely edge that looks like 
hand-made paper. 

This edge will be the top. 


Next, separate the ply. Most napkins are 3-ply. 

This is tricky and tedious to find the edge, but
if you don't separate the ply, the decoupage medium
will only grab the innermost ply and you will be left with 
a blank candle! 

So make sure you separate the printed ply from all others. 


Now you want to wrap your napkin piece around the candle
and cut to size. 

You will want to keep your napkin top in line with the wax
inside the candle for best results. 

Trim the bottom if need be. 



Now comes the fun part! 
You will need a glue-safe surface to work. 

I have a stiff plastic reusable mat, but a plastic garbage
bag will work, too! 

To decoupage you will need a decoupage 'medium'. 
I prefer 'Mod-Podge' in a Matt finish. 

You can also use white glue, slightly thinned with water
if too thick, but not 'drippy'. 

Pour some of it into a plastic dish and using a 1 inch wide
bristle paintbrush, brush your 'medium' onto the glass candle
where you will apply your napkin. 

Don't be afraid to go a little past the area - it will dry clear. 


This part is a little tricky. You will want to hold the napkin
perfectly straight up and down in front of the candle
and then gently tap that edge in place, holding the rest of the napkin
away from the candle. 

Gently tap (do not rub) along this edge as you gradually
adhere the napkin around the candle, working your fingers from top to bottom -
tap, tap, tap as you go around. 
Do not pull on the napkin, simply let it fall in place. 

Try to keep your fingers as dry as possible, using a folded paper towel
 as a blotter on your work surface. 

Once you get the napkin in place, gently tap around it to secure. 

The napkin will be slightly 'bumpy' and rough, but this gives it 
that hand-made paper effect. 


You may find that the napkin has stretched a bit due to the medium or glue, 
so if you come up with an extra flap at the end, you can cut this off
once the candle has dried, dabbing the edge with more decoupage medium
or glue to hold any loose edges in place. 


Once the candle is dry, you might like to apply some glitter to the rim! 

There are two methods - either use glitter glue and simply apply it to the rim, 

or fill a small plastic lid with loose glitter, apply a thin bead of glue to the rim
of the candle, and then dunk the rim in the glitter! The trick is to use a very thin line
of glue so it doesn't run. 


Here you can see it did run a bit, but I learned from my mistake! 


You can finish your candles off with a pretty ribbon tied 
around the rim for gift giving- 
but remember to remind your recipient to 
remove these when burning the candle. 



I made 4 to keep for myself, and a dozen more for gift giving. 

If you are doing multiples, it is easiest to cut and prepare your napkins
 all at once, while your fingers are dry,
before starting to decoupage. 


I hope this inspires you to give Decoupage Candles a try! 


This is a beautiful way to use up those pretty napkins
you may have left over from special occasions 
or holidays and they make lovely gifts all year round. 



30 comments:

  1. These are really pretty, Karen. I like the napkins you chose. Thanks for sharing the tutorial.

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  2. Hi Karen, I love the way the candles look all dressed up! Thanks for sharing the tutorial. Enjoy the rest of the week.
    Julie

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  3. hello, karen, wow, they are very creative !!! The candles are beautiful and their other decoration too !!! love everything in the new year of angie from Germany

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  4. really cute. i follow a blogger in greece who makes amazing decoupage creations! i haven't tried it since i was a kid. :)

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  5. Karen, this are so pretty and I love the Paris napkins! These really would be great gifts that could be personalized easily! I'm going to pin this!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  6. They are beautiful!! Thank you for explaining how you made them. I am sure that the recipients all loved and appreciated them. xx

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  7. A grandeza dos amigos são como as flores raras: sua magnitude fica para sempre.
    (Cristina Beloni)
    Obrigada por compartilhar comigo este 2º aniversário do blog Algodão Tão Doce !!!!
    Um doce abraço, Marie.

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  8. Josephine wants to try this immediately. Personally, I have bad decoupage karma.

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  9. I think my mouth fell open when I read you used napkins for this project :) I never would have guessed that, my friend. I fell in love with these candles the second I saw them - they are romantic and beautiful. Plus, the glitter is the perfect finishing touch!

    I am so glad you shared this tutorial at Roses of Inspiration - this is going on my "To Make" list. Have a blessed evening! Hugs!

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  10. Theses are just fantastic Karen! And you know what I love about them....they feel really vintage!! How creative of you to take those napkins and use them to create these stunning candles!!! Just beautiful! Wishing you a glorious week!!! Nicole xoxo

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  11. Oh they are beautiful Karen hard to believe all that beauty from a napkin. Great job. Hug B

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  12. Dear Karen,
    those Candles are beautiful. Thank you for sharing this great idea!
    Have a wonderful week,
    love and hugs and blessings,
    Claudia xo

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  13. Hello Karen
    Thank you for sharing the tutorial of these wonderful decoupage candles!
    Your blog is really beautiful and elegant!
    Happy New Year 2015!

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  14. Very pretty, I love the napkins and the finished product.. Thank you for sharing the instructions. Happy New Year, have a happy day!

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  15. These are so pretty. I've wrapped candles in pretty paper but not tried to do this. Looks like fun and gives them such a finished look. Enjoy your day my friend!

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  16. So pretty Karen! So nice to meet you! I'm a new follower.
    Sherry

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  17. Great idea, love the idea of the glitter around the edge and the torn edges!!

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  18. I love my Mod Podge, Karen! My mom and I used to do this waaaay back in the day and I still use it. I have used napkins but not on candles. I'll have to give that a try. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  19. Hi Bestrice querida !! Me encanta el decopage en esas velas .. Un lindo y delicado trabajo ..
    Cariños

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  20. Dearest Karen,
    What a clever idea for creating some lovely gifts for your own or for gifting!
    Sending you hugs,
    Mariette

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  21. My word Karen! These are beautiful and I can think of so many ways to personalise them for gifts. You are such an inspiration my friend xx

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  22. Just love these!!
    Those napkins you found were just perfect for that vintage, shabby chic, French look I love! And wonderful step by step instructions my Dear. You have wonderful ideas and I you're a gal after my own heart, wanting to use those ideas to gift to others.

    Beautiful job and thanks so much for sharing!! xoxo

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  23. You continue to have amazing ideas for us. The candles are beautiful and looks like lots of fun to make. These would be wonderful to have on hand for gifts throughout the year. Thank you....

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  24. I think your napkin choice really makes these candles look great.

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  25. I think I will do this -- now the hard part finding a cool napkin to use - yours is so neat and loving the colors as well as the design.. Thanks for the idea..
    Hugs

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  26. Karen, you are endlessly creative! "Making something stunning out of nearly nothing" describes you. I've never seen glass-encased candles like that, I should keep an eye out in case they are sold here in Scotland. I like the idea of being able to use a napkin from a special occasion like this.

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  27. It sounds really tricky but looking at the end-result seems easy to do. Love your left over napkins, we don't see something like that here. Thank you for sharing Karen. Happy new year to you and looking forward to a more exciting 2015.

    Hugs,
    Aida

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  28. These are beautiful! I decoupaged candles years ago and have never gotten back to doing it but they make wonderful gifts or favors. I think I will grab some of these candles the next time I see some Yours look lovely on your table! Found you at Stephanie's link up at Roses of Inspiration.
    Linda
    mysewwhatblog

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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