DIY Unity Candle

When we left off last time, I decided that I was going to design/create my unity candle set this weekend. Well, the internet has spoken the truth and I have some pictures and a tutorial to show you.  In all honesty, this idea came from Pinterest, and specifically A Girl in Paradise's Blog.  Much thanks goes out to her and this idea because it turned out great!

Materials:

Candles
Tissue paper
Printer paper
Scotch tape
Printer
Hair dryer
Wax paper




Instructions:
1.  I made my templates using Microsoft Word.  I tried out several designs that I liked and had Adam pick his favorite. He said he didn't care, but if he did, then he would pick #2. Thus, #2 it was.

2. I printed it out a couple of times to make sure it fit my candle appropriately.  Our names were too big the first couple of times so I had to condense them down a bit.

3.  Then I took a piece of tissue paper and taped in onto a piece of printer paper.  I tried to smooth it out as much as possible, but there were still a few wrinkles.  I also made sure the edges of the tape were smooth so that I wouldn't jam my printer.

4.  I crossed my fingers, pushed print and sent the paper through the printer.  Success!

5.  I roughly cut out the shape, separated the tissue paper from the printer paper and then cut around the shape as closely as possible.

          

6.  I positioned the tissue paper onto the candle.  I was a little worried because there was such a color contrast between the candle and the paper, but it goes away after step 8.

7.  I wrapped a piece of wax paper around the candle (with the waxy side touching the candle).  I tore a big enough piece that I had some extra to hold on to at the back of the candle.

8.  Using a hair dryer, I heated up the candle.  I went over the design (back-and-forth, up-and-down) quite a bit to make sure that it was heating evenly.  It does get a little toasty on your hands!  Some people have mentioned that their candles started to drip, but mine never did that.  It might be because I was using a hair dryer rather than a heating tool or that they heated their candle longer than I did.  I probably heated it for 45 seconds and then peeled the wax paper off of the candle.

9.  Once you peel off the wax paper, your tissue paper should have melted into the candle and it should be difficult to see the lines of your design.  If it didn't melt right, you can always put the wax paper back on and heat it again to get your desired results!

To get the official look, I dug out the candle holder that I got at Goodwill for $2.50 and put it all together.  The lighting/glare in my house is terrible, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!  It is simple (which is what I wanted) and turned out better than to be expected.  The only thing that I'm thinking about doing is adding an "L" to the left tapered candle and an "A" to the right one.

Total Cost:

Candle holder:  $2.50

Pillar Candle: $5.99 (Wal-mart)

Tapered Candles: $1.50 (.75 ea at Wal-mart)

Tissue paper, printer paper, ink, and tape:  on hand

Before Tax: $9.99

Considering that you can spend $20 on a plain candle set at Hobby Lobby, I am incredibly happy with out $10 unity candle set and holder, and ours is personalized! I'm thinking that I will make a memorial candle in the same fashion to place somewhere at our reception.  My grandmother passed away 3 years ago and was a big part of my life and I think this would be a nice way to remember her.  Adam has a ton of family members that have passed and I think his parents would appreciate the gesture.

So what do you think?  Would you add something extra or leave it as it is?  Did you/are you planning on having a unity candle at your wedding?