Decorate Candles with St. Nicholas Rubber Stamps

This project is suitable for adults or teenagers, not children, as the wax and embossing tool are very hot.

Materials

• White pillar candles
• White tissue paper
  if using colored candles, tissue paper should be the same color as candles
• Pigment ink pads
  pigment ink stays wet longer than regular stamping ink, though the regular ones may be used
• Embossing powder
  suggest using the same color as ink

Equipment

• Embossing heat tool
• Scissors
• Paper to protect work surface from wax
• Sheet of paper to use when sprinkling embossing powder, making it easy to pour excess back into bottle

Directions

1. Stamp design on tissue paper
2. Pour embossing powder over wet ink, completely covering design
3. Shake off excess powder
4. Use embossing tool to create raised design
5. Cut out embossed image as close as possible to design
6. Put embossed image on candle
   if it doesn't stick, wet the edges a bit
7. Hold embossing tool 4–6 inches from candle surface, directly over design. Carefully warm area until the wax melts and absorbs the tissue paper. The design will look as if it is blended into the candle.
8. If the candle has some drips and bumps, you may smooth the whole candle by holding the tool about six inches from the candle. This is risky and tricky—don't reheat the image area and be careful to keep fingers away from hot wax and the end of the hot embossing tool.