2/02/2010

Stamping on a candle - the promised tutorial!

Happy Tuesday! First a big THANK YOU to the wonderful Aimes and wonderful Kate from "A Passion For Papertrey" who made me their featured stamper this month! I am so thrilled and honoured! These ladies rock, be sure to visit them!
Ok, the tutorial. Thanks to everybody who asked for it and for your patience with me :)! I won`t torture you with a video (only if you need a good laugh) so I tried to take photos of every step. The photos are not the best, it is 10 pm here already and I had to work with artificial light. Here is what you`ll need, the explanation for every photo is written underneath it:


You need a simple, but thick candle (I bought mine in a drugstore, it was very cheap), stamps (this is the gorgeous Life set from Papertrey Ink), scissors, ink (I chose Fired Brick and Black Soot Distress Ink), Heat Embossing Tool, Tissue Paper (I use simple Tempo Tissues - love the structure, but you`ll see what I mean later) and plain baking parchment.


Stamp your image onto the tissue paper


I wanted a dramatic red/black combo


Then cut your image out - don`t bother too much about it, just cut roughly around the image, you won`t see the tissue paper later! Take the top layer of the tissue paper and position it onto your candle.


Cut a piece of the baking parchment to fit generously around your candle, lay it over your image and hold it together firmly on the back of your candle. Try to avoid any creases (the wax will melt underneath the baking parchment and any creases will be melted into your candle). Take your heat embossing tool and carefully heat your image - don`t stay on one spot for too long, as soon as the tissue paper "vanishes" it is enough and you can move on. It happens really fast! (Sorry I don`t have a photo showing that - I didn`t have enough hands!)


Here you can see that the tissue paper is gone - it is covered with wax and so is your image. Gently take off your baking parchment and...


... voilà! Your image is on the candle! By looking closely at this photo you can see the structure I mentioned before on the image. I like it.

And here is the finished candle. Just add some ribbon or whatever you like and you have a great unique gift! I hope this tutorial was ok. Do not hesitate to make any improvement suggestions or to ask if there are any questions!

Ok, off to bed! Have a wonderful day and thanks for visiting!

Hugs,
Vanessa

29 comments:

Pajalu said...

Vanessa your tutorial is wonderful :). You make it look really easy & simple enough that even I could do this xoxoxoxo

Anita Rex said...

Oh Vanessa what a wonderful tutorial! I love that you did it with another set too! I so can do this! And shall! Thank you!

Laura.K said...

Thanks for this nice and very useful tutorial.

Kathy said...

Wow Vanessa!!!!!!! This candle pack a punch..love the dramatic and bold colors. Your bow is perfection and I'm not surprised...love the step by step process...now I can see how easy it really in. Thanks for sharing your featured stamper news...congrats! Love the new photo of YOU TOO!!! Hugs,Kathy

Amy Heller said...

Holy cow, Vanessa! What a great idea and so easy!! What a great idea for the holidays, even Valentine's day, I LOVE it!

Tiffany Ervin said...

Isn't this beautiful!! Amazing tutorial, thanks for the tips, I will have to give this a go someday - they make such lovely gifts and a BEAUTIFUL new photo of you! So pretty your are!

Nancy said...

I really love this technique, the result is so beautiful. Thanks for the tutorial. I've done this before but the addition of the parchment paper is new to me and I'm sure it will solve the lumpy wax problem I had.
Blessings to you,
Nancy

Tracey said...

Vanessa...how wonderful!!! Thanks so much for the pictorial...goood job!!

Unknown said...

This is lovely, Vanessa!!! Very simple and elegant :)

Jessica said...

I think this is lovely!!! TFS

Suzanne C said...

Beautiful finished candle and great tutorial! Thanks for sharing.

Rebekah said...

That is sooo cool! I have to try this.. such a dramatic effect..great for a last minute gift.. wow
Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog.. It made my day.. I've been following your blog for awhile now, and your comment has motivated me even more:)

Kryssi said...

awesome tutorial!! you made it look easy peasy!

Patricia said...

Awesome tutorial . Thanks for sharing =)

Dawn T said...

Great work on your tutorial Vanessa. Love your new photo as well.

Alice said...

congrats on being featured and congrats on your HM at the PTI blog, too!!! you just ROCK, girl!! LOVE this tutorial!! so easy and fun to make a one of a kind candle!! I'll have to try it some time! =)

NinaB said...

First of all, I LOVE your new profile pic. You are one beautiful friend, inside and out :-). And I love your candle. Thanks for the tutorial.

Jacqueline said...

Very pretty and so nicely decorated! Thanks for the tutorial, it is much easier than I thought!
I always wondered whether your blog header was you... now I am wondering even more...

CinnamonSally said...

Hi Vanessa, thanks for the great tutorial, I have given it a go with a candle I had lying in a drawer and it looks Fabulous, didn't realize it was so simple to do, there will be no stopping me now!!!
Hugs
Sally

Ann said...

Awesome tutorial, and the candle turned out beautifully!

Stamping Cafe said...

This is gorgeous, Vanessa! Awesome tutorial, love it!! Thank you for sharing!

BTW... I love your new profile photo, you look amazing!!

Karen said...

Thanks for the great tutorial! And using my fav Lisa set, Life! I've heard (okay, Read) that proccess several times, but it makes such a difference seeing it in pictures. :>

Jane said...

Beautiful!!

Courtney Baker said...

Very cool. I so need to do that. And congrats on being their guest. Love the new pic too girl!

Sanne said...

Thanks for sharing Vanessa - that is such a beautiful candle - great gift idea!
By the way.....love your new picture - you look so beautiful ;0)

Diana said...

Love the tutorial to create the candle. Thanks for sharing!

Kelley Eubanks said...

Wow... this is great Vanessa! I might actually have to make one of these! Thanks for taking the time to do that! I love your new picture by the way! I think it is new anyway! I just can't seem to stay with it lately!?!?!

{PurpleD} said...

L.O.V.E it!

What an awesome gift, a matching candle to a card!

Deirdre said...

Great tutorial - very clear step by step photos. Thanks so much.