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This worked well!
Christmas: candles for everyone!
Done using this tutorial that I'd posted a week or so back. The poster used a heat gun, but a commenter said a hair dryer worked just as well for her, so I dusted mine off, held my breath and hoped it wouldn't explode or burn up since it had been collecting dust since 2008, and gave it a whirl.
Took a little bit for the wax to start melting, but at the point were I was wondering if it was going to work, I saw the sheen of melted wax and the tissue paper disappeared into the candle.
I think I need a cheap candle holder of some ilk - preferably wooden as metal would get too hot and you'd think plastic for a candleholder wouldn't melt but you can never be too sure - so I can rotate the candle as it melts without getting wax all over the countertop and myself and smooshing the candle a bit out of shape with the paper towel that I was attempting to shield my hand with.
Not to check what happens if I print a color picture on there, and to poke about for interesting graphics for candles. :D
ETA: Oh, and also to burn this one to test what happens to the paper as it melts down. :)
ETA2: Poking about the intartubes reveals that people doing this technique often use wax paper to hold down the images they're melting into the candle wax -- it keeps their fingers away from the heat so much, and stops the candle deforming as you can hold it in the air away from the counter. Will have to try that!
Done using this tutorial that I'd posted a week or so back. The poster used a heat gun, but a commenter said a hair dryer worked just as well for her, so I dusted mine off, held my breath and hoped it wouldn't explode or burn up since it had been collecting dust since 2008, and gave it a whirl.
Took a little bit for the wax to start melting, but at the point were I was wondering if it was going to work, I saw the sheen of melted wax and the tissue paper disappeared into the candle.
I think I need a cheap candle holder of some ilk - preferably wooden as metal would get too hot and you'd think plastic for a candleholder wouldn't melt but you can never be too sure - so I can rotate the candle as it melts without getting wax all over the countertop and myself and smooshing the candle a bit out of shape with the paper towel that I was attempting to shield my hand with.
Not to check what happens if I print a color picture on there, and to poke about for interesting graphics for candles. :D
ETA: Oh, and also to burn this one to test what happens to the paper as it melts down. :)
ETA2: Poking about the intartubes reveals that people doing this technique often use wax paper to hold down the images they're melting into the candle wax -- it keeps their fingers away from the heat so much, and stops the candle deforming as you can hold it in the air away from the counter. Will have to try that!
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Mine has a few air bubbles under the tissue that I didn't get out. Next one, I'm going to try the wax paper thing, and will roll it on a hard surface to see if I can smooth those out before the wax dries.
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For rotating: A lazy susan kind of thing, you mean?
Form melting: The heat gun is going to make a more focused and shorter-term blast of heat, so your hand won't cook if you are holding the candle. That would be an advantage.
Very interested to know what happens to the paper when it is lit. I believe I've previously seen plasticky transfers on candles, and the transfers disintegrated or deformed unattractively.
Your result looks great! Do you think it matters what kind of wax the candle is---the Ikea candles are I think "soy wax" (whatever that means)?
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It was a Christmas-gift-related activity but shortly before you posted I realized I could make candles for wedding decorations, and am testing out one with our names & the date on one side and a plum blossom branch on the other.
Rotation: I was thinking of the sort of pillar candle holder with a spike on which to impale the candle, so I could move it about and rotate it any which way without fear of messing it up, burning my hand, or dropping it.
Some of the blogs out there say the paper works fine when burning, as its saturated in wax. I'm going to test it to make sure, although after I finish up here in my office as there's too much junk on surfaces and too many cats jumping on the junk to burn it safely in here.
No idea if the style of wax makes a difference. The blogs I've found say to use cheap candles, but I think it's more of a savings concern than a functional concern.