I was just asked how I stamped on the candles.
Goodness, I wish I had enough ambition to tape a tutorial, or take a lot of photos, but it is late...so I'll just try to sum it up in a few paragraphs.
I will basically just sum up what is already said on this site:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/stamping_on_candles/Step 1
Stamp on white tissue paper. Use images that can be colored-in or solid images, in the ink color of your choice. For my candle, I dipped my stamp in black Staz-On Ink and then stamped on the tissue paper. This is the outline.
Tip: Stamp extra images on the tissue in case of a mistake.
Step 2
Color in stamped images using some form of coloring medium, but be careful and test the medium used. With Twinkling H2O™s™, you will want to make sure your Aquabrush™ is not very wet but has a fair amount of watercolor on it. If you would prefer not to color just use a solid stamp with your choice of ink.
For my candle - I colored in the image with Stampin-Write Markers (Stampin Up) and they worked very well.
Step 3
Cut out your stamped images fairly close to the edges.
Step 4
Take a piece of wax paper and cut it so that it is not any taller than the candle being used and long enough so that it wraps completely around the candle and then some.
Step 5
Take your first stamped image and place it on the candle. Then place the wax paper on top and wrap the wax paper around the candle. Wing out the extra wax paper and pinch close with your fingers making sure the wax paper is tight against the candle.
(kind of like a tight sleeve)
Step 6
Heat up your embossing gun for 30-40 seconds until it is nice and hot. Moving quickly,
(AND NOT TOO CLOSE to the candle or the candle will MELT)
wave it over the area where the stamped image is; be sure to keep the wax paper nice and tight. Every candle will have a different wax melting point, but you should see a change begin to take place within a few seconds. As the candle heats up, the pressure from the wax paper should push the image into the melting wax of the candle, embedding the image and leaving your image intact.Slowly peel the wax paper off the candle. Remember: every brand is different so if you are switching between brands you may need to adjust your heating times a bit.
Step 7
Finish your candle.You can do numerous images on one candle; just place another image and move the wax paper. It is best to try and not use the same spot on the wax paper for each image, but you can use 1 piece of wax paper numerous times.
TIP: Just to be safe - I just threw away the wax paper, and used new wax paper if I was melting another image into the candle.
TIP: I also heard a great tip from someone else. She said if there is a scratch on a wax candle you can "buff" it out with a pair of panty hose.
TIP: Maybe buy a couple very cheap candles (on clearance at Michaels or Hobby Lobby) to practice. After all - I really messed up my first 2 very badly and had to just use them up for my own home (too ugly to give as gifts). But once I got the hang of it...the 3rd time was a charm!
LAST TIP, I PROMISE :-) You can use any embellishment to decorate your candle when you are finished. I especially like the self-adhesive rhinestones and pearls!
Have fun making your own candle and good luck!
Here is my Valentine's Card. I cased this. But, I don't know the lady's name who designed this card...I either saw it on a blog or the SU list serve, and I failed to write her name down. So sorry! The only things I changed: I changed the ribbon, the background paper, and I embossed the ink. Her flower was straighter than mine! I had a very hard time getting the petals to stay still...so I finally just glued them down as is. Hope you have better luck if you decide to make this card. It was really fun to make. And I am still happy with my heart flower. :-)
