If you love candles, here’s a way to personalize them with photographs, drawings or quotations of your choice. After printing an image onto tissue paper, the image is then bonded to the surface of the candle with heat. It’s a simple technique that transforms even the plainest candle into a thoughtful gift, personalized décor or even a meaningful memorial candle for Yom HaShoah.
What you’ll need:
Tissue paper
Plain copier paper
Glue stick or tape
Printer
Pillar candle
Wax paper
Oven mitt
Hair dryer
1. Cut a piece of white tissue paper so it is about 1 inch wider on all sides than a piece of plain copier paper. You will be printing onto the tissue paper, which first will be adhered to the copier paper so it will go through the machine.
2. Fold over the edges of the white tissue paper to the back of the copier paper, and adhere these edges in place with a glue stick or tape. Try not to have any of the tissue paper loose, to prevent it from jamming in the printer.
3. Select artwork for your candle. Size it to fit with photo-editing software. Place the tissue-wrapped copier paper in the printer, being aware whether the paper should be positioned right-side up or upside down. Print your artwork.
4. Cut out the artwork with scissors. Keeping the copier- paper backing on as you cut helps because it’s easier to work the scissors through the heavier weight of the paper. You might need to trim the image to fit onto the candle surface.
5. Position the tissue with the printed artwork onto the candle, and wrap it with a piece of wax paper that completely covers the tissue. Wearing an oven mitt to protect your fingers, hold the wax paper tightly in place as you heat the image with a hair dryer.
6. As you apply the heat, the tissue paper bonds with the candle, and the wax from the wax paper coats the artwork. You’ll know the process is done when the wax paper becomes clear. If the image has not transferred to the candle when you lift the wax paper, heat it for a few more seconds.
Jonathan Fong is the author of “Flowers That Wow” and “Parties That Wow,” and host of “Style With a Smile” on YouTube. You can see more of his do-it-yourself projects at jonathanfongstyle.com.
