I think it's fair to say that I have a "thing" for candles. I like em. I like lighting them, looking at them, smelling them. I like em. You know those people who hoard candles and stick them in every possible cupboard and drawer? I'm not one of those people. I burn my candles. Even the ones you apparently aren't supposed to burn because they're in the shape of something and once you burn them, they turn into a blobby mess that doesn't look like whatever it was it was supposed to look like anymore. Understand? Doesn't matter. The point is, I like candles.
A few months ago, many months ago now that I think about it, I showed you how to make your own floating candles. Floating candles are incredibly expensive. Apparently the only thing rarer than a floating candle are superpowers.
At the time I was doing the tutorial on floating tea lights, I started working on another kind of floating light. I thought, how brilliant and beautiful and unexpected would it be to have floating taper candles? Very. Very brilliant and beautiful indeed.
When you drop a taper candle into a vase of water it (being made of wax) tries to float and because it's bum end has more wax (which wants to float), the bum end tries to float up to the top. So that's no good. To remedy this you have to weigh the bottom of the taper candle down. And this ... is how you do it.
You need candles, washers, and thumbtacks.
Just scrape the bottom of your candle so it's perfectly flat on the bottom of it isn't already. Then place your washer on it and secure it with the thumbtack. You only get one shot at getting it centred so be precise. Fill your vase with water and drop the candle in. Inevitably it will still be wonky. Lift it out of the water and slide the washer a bit to change the balance. Stick the candle in the water again. This may take as many as 10 tries to get the candle perfectly balanced. But ... it's worth it because look how beautiful!
Cough. Ahem. Cough. So ... this is the point where I tell you the candles got too close to the edge of my glass vase and cracked it. It was that unmistakable sound of C-r-A-C-kkk! I knew what had happened even though I was in the other room. So ... this experiment is kind of a bust. Don't ever try to do this in fact.
Why post it then? So you know not everything I do works out perfectly. And not everything you do will work out perfectly.
However, I should add that to remedy this, all you would have to do is buy washers that are bigger than the base of the candle. That way they'd act like a bumper, stopping the candle from floating right up to the edge of the vase. I will, in the future, buy larger washers and confirm that my theory of bumper candles is true. I believe it is.
But I also believe in superpowers.
Janelle
How about: get a piece of plexiglass cut to slightly smaller than the inside of your vase. Drill a hole in the middle, to about an inch from the edges of the plexiglass. Do the tack/washer thingy, stick the plastic in the vase, then stick the candles through the hole in the plastic. The outer edge of the plexiglass will contact the sides of the vase but the candles will not and at least in theory you won't be able to see the plastic.
Judy
PS You cover the magnet with the glass beads or river rocks.
Judy
What if you put a magnet on the bottom of the vase?
The candles wouldn't float but you might get a neat effect of the candles surrounded by water!
KiwiKat
If it's about the temperature change, what if you warmed the glass and filled it with warm water, rather than cold? Maybe that would lessen the shock to the glass?
Tanya
Water that is too warm would soften/deform the candles.
Jan
What if you tethered the floating candles to a weight in the bottom of the vase(like a pretty pebble or glass bead), so they don't move around so much? If you tethered them with fishing line you might not see it in the water, and they would still look like they were floating free?
Karen
Yup! Not a bad idea Jan. My whole goal was to make them float without seeing anything other than the candle. I'm gonna keep working on it. I may try to work in some fishing line. :) ~ karen
Nathalie
I'm liking the tethering part. The fishing line would be invisible in the pebbles. They would have to be tethered separately to have the floating free look I imagine.
I would probably place the candles in the centre with wine corks all around them to act as bumpers and decoration.
I am curious how the candles will melt though. With tethering the candles would not be able to remain on the surface while the wax melts away the top of the candle.
magali
A similar thing happened to me. I use to have a gold fish and when it died and I realized I hated cleaning aquariums and having a gold fish in general I kept the bowl on my desk with floating candles in it. One night I heard the CRACK and my nice round bowl was broken. I always felt so stupid about that. I couldn't believe that I hadn't realized this would happen. But now I feel much better thanks to you!
Becca
I just had a brilliant idea! Yes, brilliant. I have the solution that will protect your lovely vase the next time you float your candles... are you ready for it? Bobeches. I have no idea if that is spelled correctly. Martha, I am not. If you haven't a clue what a bobeche is, it's one of those itty bitty little wreath thingies that are put at the base of candles to protect the candle holder from wax drips. Make them out of tiny snips of fresh cedar and they'll float beautifully around the top of the candle and prevent that flame from coming anywhere the glass. And it'll be pretty, too. If you wanted, you could lightly weight them with a few glass beads and they'd sink a bit below the surface. See? Brilliant.
Pam
I think this is the best solution so far.
Kay
Looooooooooooove your attitude..........
& I'll just let you do the experiment w/ the bigger washer.........please let us know how it turns out.
I, too, burn everything that's burnable....love to see those flames!
Andrea
The most brilliant and beautiful thing I have ever seen done with a candle! You. Are. A. Genius.
Annie
The first thing I thougtht when I saw the beaitufil photo was...how does she keep the glass from cracking. Really glad you talked about that aspect of your experiment...and I hope everyone that says "Oh, I can't wait to try this" makes sure they read your entire post. Otherwise...ouch! Love your creative ideas...even when they don't quite pan out.
Erin
http://www.goscoutcreative.com/calendarofthemonth/
Karen -check out the link above for a chicken coop calendar -it seemed like stuff you might do ;)
found this via http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-calendar-in-form-of-chicken.html
Carole McGinnis
This looks so cool - I can't wait to try it. It amazes me how you continue to come up with new ideas. Love it.
Lonelle
Well dang it, I want to follow you on Pinterest!! How do I find you!! lol
Nancy
I hope you can work this out Karen..They look so pretty on your table..I know you will keep trying..
Karen @ feralturtle.com
What a great idea! I did this with my I-Phone last night in my teacup.....not so pretty.
AmieM
Washers, eh?
Clever!
For solving the Crack problem, if you fit a piece of plastic loosely around the top of the candle, so that is moves as the candle gets shorter, it would act as a bumper too.
Gloria Westerman
How cool is that....thanks for the washer tip...
Terri-Lynn
I love these candles!!!!!
Do you really love candles that much? Even the ones shaped as decorative objects? I recall a few years back giving you a beautiful angle candle for your Birthday and you regifted it back to me about 6times!!!! Ha well I still have it. I'll get it to you asap ;)
Karen
Who are you and what are you talking about? Cough, cough. Ahem. ~ karen
joanne
As the candles burn (no, you cannot dissuade me from trying this), will we need to change out the washers? Won't the weight be too much and make the candles sink?
Tandy
While they wouldn't float freely, why not put a bed of pebbles in the bottom of the vase to stick the tapers in? You'd still get the pretty effect of the flickering light playing on the surface of the water. Just an idea.