How Are Carved Candles Made?

Pillar Candle

A carved candle starts with a standard candle that has already been made. The best shape for the starter candle is a cylindrical pillar candle. These are made by first heating wax in a metal pan or wax-pouring pot and then pouring it into a pillar candle mold that has a wick affixed inside the mold. The candle is then left to cool and harden for a few hours. Once it is completely cooled, it can be slid out of the candle mold. For those with candle-making experience, a different shape might be used for the starter candle.

Dipping

The original candle is dipped into a vat of melted, clear wax for one minute to soften the surface wax. Then the candle is dipped several times into other colors of wax. About 20 layers of wax are needed to provide enough new wax for carving. Making these layers a variety of colors means that the resulting carved candle will have different colors peeking through.

Carving

After the dipping process, the the outer layer of the original candle (as well as the new layers) are warm and pliable. This pliability gives the carver about 10 minutes to carve the candle. A paring knife or other small knife is used to cut through the outer layers of the wax and pull it down or to the side, exposing the colors underneath. Many cuts are usually made. The wax is then pulled into loops or any other shape that the carver has in mind. Some candle carvers place figurines or silk flowers into the spaces they have cut away to create scenes or a candle theme. Once the carving is finished, an acrylic glaze is applied to the candle. This can be done by dipping the carved candle into a pot of glaze and sitting the candle out to dry for about two hours.