Pressed Flowers on Candles

I’ve seen candles with pressed flowers, and have always wondered how I could cheat making them. By that, I mean, not having to dip candles and make them from scratch myself. Yes, I know I could (and I should actually try to DIY right?), but I wanted an easy way out. Here’s the quick “cheat” method!

Here I got my mom to show us how to do it, the easy “cheat” way. Apart from buying a candle, there’s something else you need to do. You’ll need to have a stash of pressed flowers beforehand! (Get the digital download of our Pressed Flowers mini zine from iBooks, Etsy and the I TRY DIY Shop.) If that’s all squared away, then the real first step is to lay out your flowers.

Next, light a candle. I know, I know. The irony! If you don’t have an extra candle, a lighter will work just as well.

Heat an old spoon over the candle. You’ll need it to get warm enough to melt the wax of the candle.

Working with thin pieces like this fern is easy. Place the foliage on the candle, and smoothly glide the wrong side of the spoon over it.

The wax will melt over and coat the piece. Keep adding your pressed pieces.

If your spoon starts getting ashy, make sure to wipe it clean with a paper towel so the ash doesn’t transfer to your candle.

For bigger pieces like leaves, you will need to melt the wax under the pressed piece. It’s like gluing it down before doing a wax coat over it.

Smoothen any and all loose ends over to keep the flowers and foliage in place.

Here’s a quick video we made documenting the whole process. Enjoy!

Happy Crafting!