Michelle "Lights" the way!

Good Morning!

This morning I'm sharing a great stamping tutorial from Michelle!  Michelle actually created this as her December Challenge project but asked if she could include it in a tutorial form for a December project - after seeing it, I agreed immediately!  I know that you'll all be running to the $1 Store or Ikea to grab some inexpensive candles and then stopping at Page's to pick up plenty of stamps and ink to create this fabulous project over and over again!

Title: Stamped Candle

Featured Collection: Imaginise's Snag'em Stamps
DT Member: Michelle McClure
Dedicated to: Gift Givers

Supply List for Candle:
Stamps: Ornaments - Imaginisce's Snag'em Stamps (Snowy Jo Collection),
Merry Christmas - We R Memory Keepers (Peppermint Twist Collection)
Glitter Pen: Gelly Roll
Ink: Delta (dye based ink)
Other: white or cream candle, white tissue paper, wax paper, heat embossing tool

1. Choose which stamps you'd like on your candle. You can use designs, sentiments or names. Stamp the images on a piece of tissue paper. I just dug a piece out from my gift wrapping box. You can use any color ink. I used green and red for Christmas. You can use black ink and then color in the images with markers or watercolor color pencils. I colored in my images with a silver glitter pen since it was just a small area. Tissue paper is very delicate so work carefully and stamp and color more than you need so you can choose the best image. The ink tends to bleed on the paper which is very absorbent.

2. Cut out the images that are to your liking and place them on the candle. I used a tiny bit of adhesive to place the pieces on the candle to make sure the spacing was even. Again, be careful as the tissue can easily rip when you move it around the candle.

3. Now comes the fun or painful part if not done correctly. Cover your images with a piece of wax paper. It is best if you cover the entire candle with wax paper and then hold the paper tightly in place from the opposite end on the excess wax paper. Use your heat embossing tool to heat the stamped images that are covered by the wax paper. You will see the white tissue paper disappear. That is when you know you are done. It only takes a few seconds per heated spot. The wax from the paper melts and covers up your image therefore, embedding it in wax. It gets really hot and can easily burn your fingers so that is why it is important to hold the paper 180 degrees from where you are heating it. Don't hold the paper in place with your fingers close to your image to save paper.

4. When you remove the wax paper, the image is coated in wax and looks and feels like part of the candle and is safe to burn. It is like you stamped onto the candle.

5. To make it more personalized, you can use alphabet stamps and put on the recipient's name.

6. To decorate the finished candle, I folded some origami puffy stars symbolic of friendship and granting wishes, and placed it in a ring around the candle. I also threaded two stars along with some glass beads on embroidery floss to tie around the packaging.

7. Here is the finished product gift wrapped. I made a tag copying the shape of one of the ornament stamps to tie everything together. You can see it in person at Pages.

This is a relatively easy and inexpensive gift. One year my sister and I made it for all our coworkers for Christmas and stamped on "The _____ Family" with their last names.

Thanks so much, Michelle!  What a great tutorial, and there's even enough time before Christmas for all of you to try this and give as gifts to friends and family!

We'll see you back here tomorrow!
Have a great day!
Andi