Easy Stamped Candles (with Video) • Craving Some Creativity

Want a personalized candle in five minutes? This quick candle stamping technique is my go-to for fast, custom candles - perfect for Halloween messages, milestone dates, or a small table centerpiece. It uses only a few inexpensive supplies!

Two lit candles with stamped Christmas designs.

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Have you tried stamping candles with custom designs?! It's a quick, inexpensive way to make personalized candles for holidays, gifts, weddings, or graduations.

This method is fool proof too! If you do mess up, it’s only wasting a piece of tissue paper, not a $10 candle.

If you enjoy creative DIYs, you might also like my tutorials on best method to image transfer to fabric and transferring images to wood. But today's technique is one of the fastest because it works directly on candles.

Supplies Needed

Supplies for stamping candles including stamps, tissue, and heat gun.

Tissue Paper. Kleenex type nose tissue or bathroom tissue.
Wax Paper.
Pillar or Taper Candles. Light colored candles work best, but you can use any color.
Pigment Ink. Dye based ink or solvent based is more likely to bleed.
Stamp of choice. Wood, rubber, or flexible acrylic all work great.
Craft Heat Gun.

How To Emboss Candles Step by Step

Time needed: 5 minutes

Stamp the image onto a single ply of tissue paper.
A pigment-based ink is going to work best as it won’t bleed. If a multiple layer or thick tissue, you will want to separate the layers and use only the top layer. Cut any excess tissue paper around the image.
Position onto candle.
Lay wax paper over the image and hold so that the image is flat against the candle. The wax paper will keep the tissue paper from blowing around.
Use a heat gun over the surface of the wax paper/ candle.
Starting from the center and work towards the edges – keep it moving as soon as you see the images start to melt into the candle. If you have good lighting, you can see the wax paper start to stick to the candle wax. Make sure all edges are properly sealed with the heat.
Peel off the wax paper.
Voila! The tissue paper has magically melted into the candle. If done properly, you will not be able to see a texture difference between the tissue paper and the candle.

Best Inks, Tissue & Alternatives

No-heat alternative: if you don't have a heat source, try using printable sticker vinyl or personalized adhesive decals - they won't be embedded in wax but will still look nice.

Best ink: VersaFine Inks are my favorite. They adhere cleanly to the tissue and impart very crisp images. However, other pigment inks will work well too. Solvent inks like StayzOn can work but test first. Avoid most dye or water-based inks for this technique - they tend to bleed.

Tissue choices: single-ply Kleenex tissue or the top ply of a thin napkin is ideal - thinner is easier to fuse to the candle. You can also use pre-printed tissue designs. I don’t recommend printing your own.

*Using Glitter – You can also use embossing powders or glitter for a fun effect! The trick is to use a clear embossing ink meant for glitter or embossing powder. The steps are the same, except you don’t need to wax paper. I recommend removing any out of place glitter pieces with a soft paint brush before heating.

Halloween designed mantle with grouping of white candles, Edgar Allen Poe themed accessories, and stamped candles with black and white garland.

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Video Tutorial

I also made a video of myself working with these candles if you would like to check it out.

FAQs & Troubleshooting

Can embossing powder be used in candles?

Yes. The trick is to use a clear embossing ink and an embossing powder or glitter powders. Emboss ink the stamp and stamp the tissue paper before adding the embossing powder. You don’t need to burnish (heat) the embossing powder until you melt it into the candle.

Is a heat gun hotter than a hair dryer?

A heat gun is much hotter than a hair dryer, depending on the type of heat gun. Craft heat guns can be about 200-300 degree F, while industrial heat guns meant for metal can be upwards of 700 degrees F. A typical hair dryer is about 80-120 degrees F.

What do I do if the image smudges?

The benefit of stamping candles this way is that, if you mess up, you can just stamp another piece of tissue before putting it on the candle. This way, you won’t waste any expensive candles.

The color faded…what do I do now?

Either a bad quality or incorrect type of ink was used. Use a fresh pigment ink pad in a quality brand.

Weekend DIY project. A pegboard organizer in the craft room above the desk workspace.

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PS I love seeing your creations! Be sure to take a photo and tag #cravingcreative on Instagram! You can also stay in touch with me through following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and subscribing to the newsletter!