DIY Heart Candle Gift

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Today I welcome Varya and her lovely Heart Candle DIY – not only do these candles look pretty, but they smell gorgeous too. What a lovely gift idea for kids to make! Ideal for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day gifts!

As a mom of a 6 year old who goes to kindergarten, I have to often think of simple but meaningful gifts for teachers. And I always feel like they need to be more personal and useful. I am not a huge fan of giving flowers, but I do give them on occasion.

DIY Candles for Valentines Day

In China where we are residing, people love all sorts of holidays. We just celebrated Christmas and New Year! And the next one is Valentine’s Day which is quite big here. Actually, there are 3 days in a year that people in love celebrate: February 14th, July 7th (also known as QiXi, and November 11th (also known as Single’s Day).

We don’t really have any Valentine’s Day traditions at home as neither myself nor my husband grew up with this holiday, however it is a good time to think about the virtues of love  and appreciation.

This year my 6 year old and I decided to make something unusual to celebrate love. Over 2 years ago I got into aromatherapy, soap and candle making and I am always on lookout for some children-friendly activities. So I decided to introduce this simple re-melting candle activity.

Note on safety: this is best to be done with older children, in my opinion, not younger than 4. And under strict supervision.

DIY Heart Candle Gifts – What do we need:

  • Regular unscented candles (we used tea candles) (Or upcycle some old candles?)
  • A metal bowl
  • A pair of chopsticks or a spoon
  • Heart-shaped cookie cutters (such as these – affiliate)
  • A small gift box (ours is shaped as heart, but any kind will do)
  • Pink and green crepe paper
  • Favorite essential oil (optional)

DIY Heart Candles Gifts – Tutorial:

1. Remove the wicks from the candles and cut them/break in pieces. Keep the wicks.

2. Put a bowl on very low fire and put the candle pieces in. Let your child do it!

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3. Stir the pieces until completely melted. You can also let your child do it – they love this important part! This is also the step where you add just one drop of your favorite essential oil.

4. Turn off the stove and let the bowl cool down for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile arrange the cookie cutters on small paper plates and put the wicks in the middle.

5. This is an important step!So, please read carefully:

– now, pour the melted wax into the forms. VERY IMPORTANT: you MUST press the cutter very firmly into the plate. If you don’t – the wax will flow out from under it.

– You can immediately blow on the wax or let your child blow so it starts hardening faster.

– You need to hold it down for at least 3-4 minutes. We actually had to add more wax as it kept coming out since I didn’t hold the cutter tight enough! Once we figured it out, it worked perfectly fine.

– Having a bit of wax outside the cutter is actually even better.

6. Once the wax starts hardening and doesn’t flow from under the cutter (you can check by letting it go a bit), put it somewhere to cool completely and harden (fridge, outside – wherever).

7. Take the crepe paper and tear it into thinnish stripes. Set them near the box you are going to use.

8. Carefully separate the now hardened heart candle from the cutter with butter knife. Polish the edges. Your candle is ready!

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9. Crumble the pieces of crepe paper and settle them into the box. Place the heart in the middle. Your gift is ready!

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This activity take a bit of concentration and effort when you make the very first candle. But after that you will notice it goes much faster!

I hope you enjoy making heart shaped candles this way. It can be a great gift on any holiday or personal celebration (birthday, anniversary etc)

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img-20121009-wa00022Varya is a mom of 3, residing in China and raising a multicultural family. She blogs over at Creative World of Varya formerly known as LittleArtists.Blog.Com. Varya writes about crafts, education, baby care, multilingualism, moral and spiritual education.

Here are three posts you may enjoy:

Curly Hearts

Love Collages

10 Simple Toddler Activities

 What a lovely gift! Thank you Varya for sharing it today! We have LOTS more Valentine’s Day Gift that you or the kids can make – from the 31 Days of Love series!

Valentines Gift - Bath salts (3) Valentines Gift ideas for kids (2) Valentines Gifts for Kids To Mak - bracelets Recycled Crayons Valentines GiftValentines gifts for kidsValentines Gift Ideas - Heart CookiesValentines Gif - heart mugs valentines day ideas Valentines Day Decorations Lanterns Valentines Day Craft 

Check out the full 31 Days of Love series here! And have a good browse!