Fairy House Candle

Combine candle making and ceramic painting to make an enchanted fairy house. The roof can be replaced with a new one once the first candle has been used.

Fairy House Candle

Skill Level

Beginner

Time to Make

1.5 hours + drying time for paint, air-drying clay, candle pens.

Adult Supervision Needed

Yes

How to Make

  1. Paint the mini porcelain flowerpot all over with a base colour and leave to dry. Paint decorative details such as the roof edge, door and flowers, leave to dry. Paint the wooden coaster for the base and leave to dry.
  2. Fill the middle of the pot with air-drying clay. Press the surface, adding more clay if you need to, so it fills the pot almost up to the rim at the top. Press the surface again making it as flat as possible then leave to dry.
  3. To make the pointed candle, start by shaping 12 wax squares into a ball then press the sides to form a cone shape. This part of the candle won’t be seen so you can use any colour and the shape doesn’t need to be accurate. Press the base of the cone onto your work surface to flatten it.
  4. Break off 3 wax colour strips (36 squares in total). Break up the strips into smaller sections with 2 or 3 squares per piece. Shapes the wax into flattened circles then start pressing them over the middle part of the candle. Firmly press each piece of wax so the colours overlap, building up the cone for the roof. Turn the cone to see the whole shape, adding more wax pieces to fill it out if necessary. Check the cone will fit inside the top of the ceramic pot on the clay and press the wax around the base if it needs to be smaller.
  5. Use a wax pen to draw green lines for leaves and vines around the top of the candle, or add another pattern if you prefer. Leave to dry.
  6. To make the flowers for the roof, break ½ a wax square into 5 small pieces. Shape each piece into a flattened circle then press together so they overlap. Roll a small ball for the middle of the flower using another colour. Make more flowers in the same way. When the wax pen lines have dried press the flowers onto the roof.
  7. Cut a piece of wick 12-15cm in length. Use a thin knitting needle or wooden skewer to make a hole through the middle of the candle. Straighten the wick, push it inside the hole then carefully press the wax around the top. Trim the wick if it looks too long.
  8. Squeeze glue over the middle of the painted coaster then stick the ceramic pot on top.
  9. Finally, create mini toadstools using air dry clay. Leave to dry. Paint decoration and leave to dry. When dry, glue around the edge of the house. Place the candle roof inside the pot. After the first candle has melted, carefully lift it up from the clay base then replace with a new one.
Fairy House Candle Fairy House Candle Fairy House Candle

Top Tip

To make the wax easier to knead and shape, leave it in a warm place for 10-15 minutes to soften, or gently warm the wax on both sides for 15-20 seconds with a hairdryer. To apply more pressure when kneading, hold the wax between your thumb and forefinger with the other hand over the top so the thumbs and fingers are crossing each other. Squeeze the thumb and fingers on top so they press the fingers underneath holding the wax. It’s easier to paint the ceramic house all over with a base colour, leave it to dry then paint the other colours and details for the door and flowers over the top. Shape wax on a piece of greaseproof paper to stop it sticking to your work surface.

Tagged with:

,