fathers day 2012 magazine: Advent Candles

It has been WAY too long since I have posted one of my crafty projects with you! Being in China has been a big adjustment for my family. It took me a while to get into the groove again, and just as I was, I took on a teaching position at the International School my children attend. As busy as we have all been, I haven't had time to share with all of you, which I do hope to do more of soon!!

But check out our latest project... Advent Candles!

I wish I had a chance to whip these up BEFORE we fell into December. I was having a hard time hunting down the candles to make them. Even so, I just had to share.

A while back my friend Laura at Come Together Kids had shared with me THIS post. I had used Laura's tutorial to create the most adorable Mother's Day candles with my Girl Scout troop. I thought that this was a perfect idea for making homemade advent candles! Beginning on December 1st, each day until Christmas you light the candle so it melts down to the "next day". You use the candle to count down your days to Christmas. Here is what I did...

Supplies

- Candle

- Tissue Paper

- Wax Paper

- Markers

- Heat Gun or Hair Dryer

- Scissors

I was thrilled to find candles in red and green!! How perfect.

But yes... we are in China. The "Blue" Apple Candle label only proves that! ha ha.

Some Notes:

1. Select a candle and tissue paper color light enough for your drawing/writing to be seen on the finished project. You should be fine, even with a dark red candle, if you use a black pen or marker.

2. For this project you will want to have a candle that melts down completely! These I selected weren't a good choice, as they melt down into the middle. I think a tall, pillar candle would have been a smarter choice!

Ok... Now for the Instructions!

Cut your tissue paper so that it wraps entirely around your candle, with little overlapping, if any. Make sure you cut it a little shorter than your candle to allow for some space above and below.

Next, I used a pen to gently number my tissue paper from 25 down to "Merry Christmas" in the center of my tissue paper. Then, I passed it onto my children so they could add their own drawings.

Yeah, this kid's a ham!

Next, wrap your tissue paper around the candle so that it is nice and smooth all around. Secure it in place by wrapping the entire candle with large piece of wax paper.

Using your heat gun (or hair dryer), heat the surface of the candle until you see the candle melting through the tissue paper. Hold onto the wax paper as you do so. You will know when it has happened, as the surface will look darker. You will likely need to rearrange the wax paper half way through to melt the other side of your candle.

When the tissue paper has been entirely melted into the candle, I remove the wax paper and do some touch ups where needed with the heat gun.

.. and VOILA!