How to Make Charming DIY Christmas Candle for a Cozy Holiday Home

Christmas is just around the corner, and it's time to start crafting those unique, homemade decorations that bring the festive spirit into your home. Today, we're excited to feature a fantastic tutorial by Donna from Mason Creations etc. She’s one of our cherished affiliates and has put together an inspiring step-by-step guide on how to transform something as simple as an empty soup can into a fun and festive Christmas candle!

Watch the video below and follow along as Donna shares her expertise to help you decoupage this adorable project with products available right here on DecoupageNapkins.com!

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Own Christmas Candle:

Step 1: Prepping the Can
Start by cleaning and removing the label from an empty soup can. Donna uses Polyvine Multi-Surface Lacquer to prime the shiny surface, ensuring the paint and decoupage adhere perfectly. If you’re new to decoupage, this lacquer is fantastic for prepping surfaces like metal, glass, or ceramics.

Step 2: Painting the Base
Donna applies a coat of Dixie Belle paint in the color "Cotton", a soft chalk paint that acts as the perfect base. Chalk paint is wonderful for crafting as it goes on smoothly and provides great coverage, especially when prepping for decoupage.

Step 3: Decoupage with Rice Paper
Next, Donna uses a stunning rice paper design from Decoupage Creatives. Before applying the paper, she tears it around the edges using a water brush—this helps blend the edges more naturally. Donna spritzes the rice paper with water to make it pliable and ready to conform to the can's grooves. She then uses Polyvine Decorator’s Varnish, which also acts as a decoupage adhesive, to secure the paper to the can. This varnish is ideal as it dries crystal clear and will never yellow, ensuring your design stays bright and vibrant.

Step 4: Adding Texture and Embellishments
For a creative touch, Donna adds handmade embellishments using molds. She skips clay for shallow molds and instead uses texture paste for easy removal. Once the paste is dry, she paints the molded designs with Pentart paints. Donna blends shades of light and dark greens for the trees and uses light brown for the reindeer's details, all while dry brushing white on the branches to mimic snow. Pentart paints are known for their excellent coverage and ease of use—perfect for this type of detailed work.

Step 5: Creating the Snow Effect
What’s a Christmas scene without snow? Donna adds Pentart Snow Crystal Paste, a thick paste that sparkles just like fresh snow. Using a palette knife, she carefully applies it to the tree branches and other white areas for a frosty effect.

Step 6: Crafting the Candle
Finally, Donna turns the can into a candle by pouring in soy wax, scented with a fragrance of her choice. The soy wax burns longer and cleaner than traditional paraffin, making it a great eco-friendly option. With the wick secured in place, she pours the wax and lets it cool, creating the perfect Christmas candle.

A Special Thanks!
We want to give a big thank you to Donna at Mason Creations etc. for sharing her talent and expertise in this fun holiday project. We hope this inspires you to get creative and make your own festive decor!

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