Almost every wedding I have ever been to has the bride and groom light a unity candle after they have completed their wedding vows. If you are a bride or groom you can easily make your own unity candle that you can keep for a lifetime. This simple wedding keepsake also makes a very thoughtful gift if you know anyone who has a wedding date fast approaching.
You can buy super affordable pillar candles at almost any arts and craft store. I find vanilla and unscented pillar candles for as little as $1 and as much as $4 at Michaels Arts and Crafts store all the time. You can buy the pillar candles in vanilla, unscented, gardenia, and even a garden smell. All of these pillar candle scents would be perfect for this simple and easy homemade wedding unity candle.
I love this simple homemade wedding unity candle, because most likely you have all of the materials, including the pillar candle! This will save you a little money and give you something to cherish forever that will remind you of your wedding day.
To Make a Hand Decorated wedding unity Candle You will need:
Toothpicks or pencil
Permanent maker
Your pillar candles
Small Artist paintbrushes
Acrylic paints
Rubbing Alcohol
Cue Tips
Newspaper
Go ahead and cover your work surface with newspaper. This will make clean up easier and less time consuming.
Now, the first step is to trace a design, pattern, or even initials into the side of their pillar candle with the tooth pick or pencil point. You can take the bride and grooms initials and carve them into the side in a scroll pattern that interlocks. Try printing out monogram letters off from your computer. You can easily trace these onto the wedding unity candle.
They can use heart shaped cookie cutter to draw out simple shapes on paper, then cut them out a hold them to the wedding unity pillar candle. Make sure the two hearts overlap. Now all they have to do it trace the shape onto the pillar candle.
Tip: You are trying to create a groove for paint to rest in on the wedding unity pillar candle. They can slowly work over the wedding design a few times to create a good etching. If they press to hard with toothpick, then they may slip a put a separate scratch on the wedding unity pillar candle.
Now, use the paintbrush to add some acrylic paint to the wedding unity pillar candle. You need to brush paint into the wedding designs or monogram design grooves you traced into the side of the candle.
If you find your paint is too think you can use water to thin down pastel colored acrylic paint.
Now, you need to let the paint set for about 4 – 6 minutes on the wedding unity pillar candle. Use the cotton balls or cue tips to clean a way the excess paint form around the holiday designs. Avoid wiping paint out of the etched designs.
For tough blotches of pant you can dip the cotton swab into the rubbing alcohol and drub it on the paint.
Tip:
If you accidentally remove too much paint, you can always start over a re add some more paint.
Now, you can tie a ribbon around the pillar candle that matches the colors of the wedding if you want to give these as a gift. You could also load the pillar candles into a basket or even a clear plastic bag tied with a pastel ribbon.
