Stacked Hearts Candle
Let's say you have a particular shape
for a candle in mind ... like a heart
for instance, that you have found
appealing in the form of a mold,
or even a little porcelain jewelry dish,
such as I have and you would like to
make a candle out of it, but it's too
shallow to be a candle mold in itself ...
can a candle be made from this?
Quite possibly ... but in the form
of a stacked candle, since it's not
a tall enough mold to be a candle.
First, you must determine that the
dish will allow you to pour wax into
it that can easily be removed.
Once you know that you can do this,
you may proceed. For my candle, a
little bit of mineral oil was applied
to the inside of my dish before
pouring the wax.
Here are the three layers for my
candle ... each one in a different
shade of pink ...
Note that I was experimenting
with polka dots on the sides of
these, with some on top of one
of them ... the design on top
ended up being covered up in
the long run, but the dots on
the sides, which were "tap marks"
made with a piece of metal,
seem to have served well in
the end, creating a rough surface,
which you will see later.
Once these are made, you need
to pierce a hole in the center of
each one ... making sure you
have it in the same spot for each
piece. Pierce a hole into one
of them (with a heated metal rod),
then, before going onto the
second one, set the first layer
on top of the second and thread
the rod into the hole on the
top piece to make a mark in
the center of the second one.
This gives you the position of
your wick so all of the layers
will line up correctly when the
candle has been put together.
Repeat this process for the third
layer, using one or both of the
other pieces (layers) for
placement guidance.
Your wicking needs to be cut
longer than your candle height
so you have room to work ...
about three inches should be
enough. After you have cut
your wicking, dip it in wax to
prime it and then secure a
wick tab onto one end.
Here is the type of wick tab
I used for this candle ...
Now, stack the three pieces,
threading the wick through the
three layers, making sure you
have a nice fit and that all
of the layers line up.
Heat some wax ... sorry,
I did not record my temperature
this time around, but it's well-melted,
as it needs to be on the "hot side"
to serve as glue for the layers.
Place the candle on a ceramic or
metal plate and when the wax
has melted, pick up the top
two pieces (together) and pour
some wax between the bottom
layer and the middle, quickly
pressing the middle layer to
the bottom, doing the same
with the top layer and the
middle. Note that there is
going to be a pool of wax
on the plate from this,
which will need to be peeled
off of the bottom of the
candle when cool enough
to handle. Now the candle is
one piece.
If you wish to do a bit of decorating,
there are lots of different things
you can do at this point ... I went
with slightly grubby for this one,
as it seemed to bring it all together.
The flakes for the top were taken
from the candle itself in the form
of a little shaving off the sides to
even up the layers ... they were
applied to a bit of whipped wax,
with just a little wax poured over
them and lightly pressed into
the top of the candle. Flakes can
also be made from some of the
wax that dripped off into the tray
when the layers were being
"glued" together.
This example was the first candle
I made with this design, so I'm
curious as to some of the color
varieties I can try for in the future.
Heart candles are certainly not
only for Valentine's Day, so all
sorts of fun things can be done
with this design. This example
simply shows that you do not
necessarily need a traditional
candle mold to make a candle ...
shapes can also be cut out of
wax that has been poured into
a tray, making this a great project
for using up remnant wax ...
no need to throw old wax away
when there is opportunity to
make a candle!
