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.
