Looking to add flair to your advent table or bring a truly unique gift to a holiday gathering? These fabulous candles may be exactly what you're looking for. Young children can decorate candles with a rainbow of color and older children can experiment with patterning, symmetry and other math concepts in this hands-on learning experience. 
The delightful thing about this craft is that you can make it as easy or as detailed as you’d like & still end up with lovely painted candles at the end!
Materials needed:
- Beeswax candles
- Fine detail brushes (the candles were painted with a size 3/0 round brush but finer details could be made with smaller brushes)
- Non-toxic, water based opaque acrylic paint
- A paint palette or plate
- A cup of water
- A paper towel or cloth you don't mind getting paint on
- Pencil and paper
Instructions
Before you begin, sketch out a few designs on paper before committing to paint. This can be particularly useful if you're trying to fit a specific number of designs on your candle or creating a complex pattern. For this tutorial, we decided to stick with repeating patterns/simple designs. Each candle has a different design, but all sharing a color palette to tie them together.
Once you have a design in mind, now it’s time to paint! I find it easiest to start at the top & work my way down on one side, before moving to another “column” of designs, so to speak. By doing this, you won't accidentally smudge your design when you set the candle down to dry.
Depending on how opaque your paint is, you may need to paint more than one coat. Let the design dry completely before applying an additional coat.
If you are painting with young children, you could hold the candle for them while they paint, rotating it so they can easily reach each side of the candle.
Should you have a smudged paint spot (definitely keep an eye on how you hold your candle!) or even a paint stroke you’d like to try again, you can easily blot your paper towel in clean water & wipe it away.
Let dry completely before laying down or displaying.
Thank you so much to our guest contributor, Kat! Kat is an artist & mom of two whose current interests are in watercolor, letterpress & wooden toy art. You can follow along on her curious & creative pursuits on Instagram.
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