A New - And Better! - Way To Make Floating Candles

Two years ago my DIY floating candles for our Harry Potter tree got a lot of attention online, so you might recognize these:

Those are battery-operated candles, though, so if you need to make LOTS of them - say, more than 10 or 20 - then the battery cost alone starts to add up. (They each take 2 AAs)

The only other floating candle method I've seen uses toilet paper rolls and LED tealights. The tealights are too small for the rolls, though, so you have to use hot glue to make a "shelf" inside the roll, then hang the candle from the roll itself with a V of fishing line, making it hard to hang straight.

I don't like the look of the fishing line V or the TP roll seams, and I'm too lazy to collect and paint dozens of TP rolls, so I set out to find a better, easier way.

And here it is:

My method requires no painting (unless you count the "wax" drips), no fiddly hot glue shelves for the lights, and no fishing line Vs. These hang directly from the flame tips - so they hang straight - they only cost a few cents more than the TP method, and best of all, you can make them any length you want!

 Here are a few hanging:

Instead of toilet paper rolls, my candles use cream-colored card stock.

Want to see how I did it?

Then let's make some candles!

You Will Need:

- cream colored card stock, cut in sheets 5.5 inches wide by however long you'd like your candles to be. (I did a variety of lengths)

- paper glue (optional, but handy, since it dries faster than Elmer's)

- Elmer's/white craft glue

- hot glue & hot glue gun

- battery operated tealights (I ordered these 100 from Amazon for $36)

- clear thread or fishing line (quilter's thread is great)

- white craft paint

- Dremel (not pictured) *or* a heavy duty needle 

 Step 1: Roll a tealight into the top edge of your card stock:

Step 2: Now add a second tealight into the bottom edge:

Tighten the card stock around the two tealights, making sure the edges are straight. Give the tealights a tug to make sure the roll is tight enough to hold them, but not too tight. This will take a few seconds of fiddling, but you'll get the hang of it, promise.

Step 3: When the roll is snug and straight, open your hand to allow just the very edge to open, like this:

Keep pressure with your thumb to prevent it from unrolling more.

Add a thin line of paper glue to the edge:

Then spread the glue outward with your opposite finger. This part's important; you want the glue spread all the way to the paper edge, and not too thick, or it will make the paper buckle.

Immediately close the roll up again, and hold the flap down with both hands, like this:

I had to take the picture, but imagine my other hand in the same position on the other side.

If you're using paper glue, this will dry in about 5 or 6 seconds. White glue may take a little longer.

Ta daa, a paper tube!

[Quick note for longer length candles: for anything over, say, 6 inches, it helps to pre-roll your card stock around a thin piece of PVC pipe or a broom handle to curl it. This makes it easier to glue, and helps avoid creases/dings in the paper.]

Step 4: Now let's add a bottom. This is optional, but I think it looks nicer when the candles are hanging.

Cut a small square of the same color card stock, and remove one of the tealights from your tube.

Use Elmer's (or white craft glue) to make a heavy bead around the bottom edge of the tube.

Squish it down to the square of paper, then immediately smooth the glue bumps with a scrap of paper or your finger. Ever caulked a baseboard before? Same idea.

When you're done, there should be no visible cracks.

Step 5: Once the glue is dry (make sure it's dry!) trim off the excess square with scissors:

Your candle has a bottom! Mazel tov.

Step 6: Now the fun part: HOT GLUE WAX DRIPS.

Start with a heavy, extra-long bead of glue over your paper seam, to help hide & reinforce it. As with my last candle tutorial, start your drips at the bottom, then work your way up.

More drips = more drama, but if you're doing a ton of these, feel free to be more sparing, like this. 

Step 7: You could almost leave the hot glue drips as-is, since they look kind of waxy, but let's go the extra mile and paint them.  Luckily this is fast, easy, and you don't even need a paint brush:

Just squirt some paint on a plate (or the lid to your hot glue sticks), then use your finger to lightly rub the paint on the very tops of the wax drips. Be generous, so the paint covers well.

Here's the difference the white paint makes:

 

This is also why I recommend cream colored card stock; it helps the white "wax" show up better. Feel free to experiment with different color combinations, though!

Step 8: Ready to string 'em up?

Most LED tealights have a rubbery plastic "flame" which extends far enough past the inner LED to let you to do this:

(I couldn't do this one-handed, so thanks to John for stepping up. ;))

Not gonna lie: a Dremel will make this job infinitely easier, but you can pierce the plastic flame tips with a thick needle as well. Just thread your clear line through the needle and go to work.

With a Dremel, however, you can zip through all the candles at once, then poke the clear thread through the hole later and tie a knot, no needle required.

It helps to brace the flame tip on a flat surface, like this.

Step 9: Use flat white thumbtacks to hang your candles. Stick the tack into the ceiling partway, wrap the end of the clear line around it 6 or 8 times, then push the thumbtack the rest of the way into the ceiling.

Step 10: To turn your candles on (oh yeah, nearly forgot this part! Ha!) simply pop the tealight out of the tube, switch it on, then re-insert. This is why your tube tension is important: too tight, and you'll have a hard time putting the light back in! Fortunately even my "too loose" tubes still hold fine, though, since the paper weighs so little.

In a dark room the ceiling tacks are barely visible, but even with the room lights on, I'm betting your guests will be too wowed by the candles to notice them all that much.

That's what I'm banking on for ours, anyway!

Here are about half of my finished candles:

 

I'm not sure we'll be hanging all hundred, but we plan to blanket one room with at least 60 or 70 floating candles. Rest assured I will be taking plenty of pictures when we do. [CANNOT. WAIT.]

This is all for a Harry Potter Christmas party John and I are hosting next month, btw. Here's a peek at another, mercifully faster craft we put together last week:

 

The sign is foam board, and the letters are craft foam. I'm aging it here; still not quite done!

Hope you guys enjoyed! And if you decide to make your own floating candles, please share pics over on the Epbot FB page, so I can see!





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New here? Looking for more Harry Potter crafts? Then  I *highly* recommend checking out my Craft Page for everything from light-up wands to mandrake bouquets to flying snitch ornaments!