How to Preserve Flowers in Candles

Use a flower press to flatten and dry flowers before applying them to candles.

Preserving flowers in candles is a beautiful way to use flowers grown in the garden during the summer. The best flowers to use are dried, pressed flowers because they easily adhere to the sides of a candle. To create preserved-flower candles, use bleeding hearts, buttercups, cosmos, dogwood blossoms, larkspur, marigold, pansies, roses, violets and daisy-like flowers, as well as leaves from ferns and other plants.

Things You'll Need

• Flowers and leaves
• Flower press or large book
• Brick or other heavy object
• Newspaper
• Scissors
• White votive candle
• Old saucepan
• Stove
• Small paintbrush
• Pillar candle, 3-inch diameter or larger
• Tweezers
• Wider paintbrush

Instructions

1. Cut the heads off the flowers and spread them on pieces of newspaper cut to fit inside a flower press or a large book. Add some ferns or other attractive leaves. Do not let your specimens touch one another.

2. Cover the flowers and leaves with newspaper and lay the assemblage between the pages of a large book or in a flower press. Tighten the press, or cover the book with a heavy object such as a brick. Let the project sit for two to four weeks, depending on the size and thickness of the flowers.

3. Carefully remove the newspapers from the book or press and open them. The flowers should be dry and flat.

4. Place a white votive candle in an old saucepan and put it on the burner of a stove. Turn the burner to medium. Never use high temperatures with wax, as this can cause a fire. Melt the votive to a liquid state, then turn the heat to low.

5. Dab a small paintbrush in the liquid wax and dab it on the side of a large pillar candle where you plan to position the flower. Work quickly, because the wax will dry fast. Pick up a pressed flower or leaf with tweezers and place it on the candle, lightly pressing it into the dab of wax. Place all leaves and flowers in the same manner.

6. Seal the candle with the rest of the melted wax. Dip a wider, flat paintbrush in the wax and carefully paint over the entire pillar candle, flowers and all. Apply several coats until the candle is smooth.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use white glue instead of wax to affix flowers to the candle. Use full-strength white glue to position the flowers, then a mixture of glue thinned with water to seal the design. The resulting candle will not be as smooth as when using wax. Another alternative is using decoupage medium. Do not use the saucepan for cooking once you have used it for melting wax. It will make food taste terrible.

• Dried flowers are flammable, so use caution when burning a candle decorated with dried flowers. Use a pillar candle with a 3-inch or larger diameter because the walls rarely burn down on a candle this size. Position flowers a few inches from the top to be sure they will not burn while the candle is lit.

References

• Crafty-Moms: Preserved Flower Candles
• The Tellico Plains Mountain Press: Candle Making
• North Dakota State University Agriculture and University Extension: Methods of Preserving Flowers

Resources

• Penn State Cooperative Extension, Adams County: Make a Plant/Flower Press for Fun and Education