Make a Rusted Pumpkin Candle
A small foam pumpkin is carefully carved to hold a candle. I'll show you exactly how to make the pumpkin candle, as well as how to add wax drips.
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The Fall season is upon us! The BER months are my favorite time of the year to
get crafty, and fill my home with all the autumn vibes. A flickering candle
adds ambience and when it's a DIY rusted pumpkin candle, well, it doesn't get
any cozier!
How to make a rusted pumpkin candle
I have had these small foam pumpkins for years. You can find small pumpkins
like these at
Walmart,
Amazon
and dollar stores. Find the cheapest ones you can, and don't worry about the
color! These
pumpkins from Michaels
look just like mine, and may in fact be the ones I used...
like I said, it's been years. At just over $1 each, you can make a
bunch of pumpkin candles to give as gifts, or create a gorgeous centerpiece!
Several years ago I painted several small pumpkins like this a creamy white,
so I am recycling a pumpkin I already had for this fall DIY. Here is a look at
the before and after of my rusted pumpkin candle.
P.S. if you're interested, here's a link to the
grubby clothespin ghosts
I made last year, and if you're wanting to buy a set, I just added them to
DIY Beautify Mercantile!
The first step to creating these rusted pumpkin candles is to paint the
pumpkins with a rusted finish. I shared how to do that last week, but here is
the link
DIY rusted paint technique for Fall.
The rest of this tutorial will focus on turning the rusted pumpkin into a
candle...or rather, a receptacle for a tea light candle.
The beauty of this project is once the candle burns down, you can easily
replace the burned candle with a new tea light!
Supplies to make pumpkin candles:
- rusted pumpkins, or any foam pumpkins
- utility knife
- tea light candles (mine are the unscented ones from Dollar Tree, but these pumpkin souffle tea lights are in my cart!)
- hot glue
- acrylic craft paints (the same ones used to paint the rusted pumpkins - refer to THIS post)
- pencil
The first step to making these rusted pumpkin candles is to pull the wax
from a tea light metal or plastic holder. This is easy to do by pulling on
the cotton wick, and it's easiest to do if the wick has never been burned.
Steps to make candle
Trace Votive
Flip the votive holder upside down, center it on the pumpkin and trace the
edge with a pencil.
Cut hole
Using the utility knife, cut around the pencil mark.
Insider Tip: For the best results, start small, just scoring the
edge. Continue carving around the circle, making deeper cuts until you feel
the cut out loosen and you're able to easily pull it free.
I didn't touch my paint up at this point, and wish I had because it will get
more difficult if you wait! The styrofoam is a bright white, which contrasts
sharply with the rusted paint technique, so don't skip this step if you want
your finished pumpkin candle to have the best appearance.
Glue votive holder
Again, learn from my mistakes 😟
Insert your candle back into the votive holder before you glue it into
the pumpkin! If you don't, it's very easy to bend the flimsy metal, which will
make reinserting the candle more difficult!
Add a generous dollop of hot glue to the bottom of the hole, stick the votive
into the hole, and hold for a few seconds while the glue sets up.
Insider Tip: if you do this correctly, once the candle is spent,
you'll be able to remove it and reinsert a new candle, while leaving the
metal votive holder in place!
Be sure to read my tips for removing spent wax from a vessel a little
further down!
Add wax drips
The wax drips I added were intended to disguise my rough edges, but I ended up
really liking the look! Use your hot glue to create the look of drippy wax
around the candle, but be careful not to glue over the edge of the candle
itself or you will have difficult removing it.
You might be interested in this tutorial for my
DIY chunky drippy candles using melted wax.
Paint drips
Finally, using the paints from the rusted pumpkin tutorial, paint the faux
wax drips so it matches your candle. Start with a black base, and add
additional brown and orange colors until you're satisfied. I kept mine
mostly black because I like the contrast.
How to easily remove wax from a candle
I thought I'd include a simple tip that I've been doing for years. This applies to any candle that has burned down. The easiest way to remove melted wax from the holder is to place the entire thing in the freezer. The cold will cause the candle to shrink slightly and it will easily pop out with a little pressure! I would use this tip to remove the spent wax from these pumpkin candles.
Now the DIY pumpkin candles are ready to be gifted or displayed in your home.
Hot tip: When Fall is over and you're packing your decorations away, I recommend
removing the wax candles from the pumpkins! Hot attics + candles = a hot mess!
Happy Fall friend, do let me know if you try this seasonal craft! 🍂🍂
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