Air-Dry Clay Heart Candle Holder Tutorial

Originally posted 25 January 2019

Hello lovelies

This post is sponsored by cosy nights in and curling up with a good book or box-set on the telly! Last week I wrote about ‘Finding the Joy in Winter’ and one of the joys for me is settling down of a dark evening, shutting out the world and the cold temperatures, relaxing, getting cosy and lighting some candles. Strange as it may sound, I have been unable to find single candle holders in the shops recently (well, any that I liked), so you know that well known saying? “If you can’t find it in the shops, make it yourself!” Well possibly not so well known but surely this should be a crafter’s motto!

These are heart shaped because I love hearts, but of course there is a month coming up in the not so distant future where the world celebrates love. I don’t buy into the commercial nature of Valentine’s Day but I am a huge fan of love throughout the year!

Materials:

Air-dry clay – for one candle holder, you need

Heart shaped cookie cutter

Craft rolling pin

Tray

Long dinner candle

Drying rack

Nail file

Protective dust mask

Spray paint – optional

Method:

Weigh out approximately 200g air-dry clay.

Warm it up a little in your hands and roll it into a ball.

Place on a clean, dry tray and roll ever so slightly using the rolling pin to flatten the top and the bottom, making sure it is wide enough for the cookie cutter to fit on top. The depth should be between 3 and 4 cm.

Place the cookie cutter on the top and slowly and carefully press down, slicing through the clay.

Peel away the spare clay as you go, pushing all the way down until you have cut through all of the clay.

Pick it up and carefully remove the cookie cutter.

Reshape if necessary and smooth marks and bumps out by gently rubbing with a finger dipped in water.

To make the candle hole, place the candle upright in the middle top of the clay and press down, stopping before the bottom is reached, being careful not to reshape the clay too much.

Twist to remove and reshape again.

Leave on a wire rack to dry – this will take a few days. I left mine for 5 days.

If you fancy, with the leftover clay, roll out to about 2mm thick, cut out more heart shapes and pop holes in them with a skewer to make tags. You could also press words into them (you can buy the letter stamp set here) and use them as props in your pics. These will take 24 to 48 hours to dry.

Once the candle holder is dry, pop a protective dust mask on and smooth out any bumps, dents and uneven edges using a nail file.

Wipe any excess clay dust off the candle holder using a clean, dry cloth.

Leave as is or spray a layer of paint on (do the latter outside). Leave to dry.

Once dry, pop a candle into the hole, ensuring it is secure before you light it. As with any candle, please be careful and do not leave it lit and unattended.