Harry Potter Candles How To

I remember very vividly the first time I read my first Harry Potter book. I was blown away at the amount of detail with which JK wrote. I could imagine every single building that she described. I could SEE in my head the characters she was describing, the classrooms of the castle, the corridors, the paintings, the grounds, EVERYthing!!!! The first and second movie for me did NOT disappoint as everything I saw in my head came to life. It was pure magic! I knew right then and there that these stories would be around for a VERY long time and that many a party would be had using decor from them.

Today we are going to talk about making the PERFECT floating candles that magically hovered over students and teachers a like in the great hall. I've seen tons of tutorials for this and my won't be super dissimilar but there are a few tips and tricks that I have learned along the way as an artist that can take this craft to the next level.

I have been saving toilet paper and paper towel rolls for about a year in preparation for this craft. I didn't just want to have a few...I wanted an abundance!!!!!

As soon as I had all the rolls I wanted and had taken every ounce of leftover TP off, I called in the troops to help me. I asked friends to borrow their hot glue guns (I liked the bigger guns but smaller work too), and asked my family to help with the gluing process. Watch this video below to see how to get those amazing globs of glue all around the edges of the rolls to mimic wax.

After you are happy with your globs of glue/wax line your rolls up to be spray painted. If you are not doing a ton, then some chalk paint or regular acrylic can be used but if you have a ton, spraying is the way to go! I had so many TP rolls that i grabbed every weeding bucket we had and attached clothespins all the way around. I then put the TP roll over the clothespin. That way I could get every angle of the candle coated AND I could be spraying multiple rolls at a time. Not too shabby eh? =)

I use a cream or ivory for my first coat so they aren't a brilliant white. That doesn't look as realistic to me. As soon as they are completely coated so that you don't see the clear hot glue or the original color of the roll, then you are ready for your second coat. 

The second coat WILL be done with white but only slightly to give some highlight. 

Then if you want your craft to be taken to NEXT level then you can use a glaze to deepen all the crevices around the roll. I like to take a deep brown acrylic paint and add enough water to make it a runny glaze. It's up to you in regard to the consistency so play around with it. You can put it on and immediately wipe it off with a rag or take a small brush and paint it on. Let them dry completely and then they are ready for the next step.

I decided how long I want my candles to hang and then cut ONE strand of fishing line accordingly. I use a sewing needle or a dremel to attach them THROUGH the flame (if they have that rubber top) or AROUND the flame so they will hang straight.

 

See how straight that hangs??? Love it!!!

Because these will be high up in the air and attached to something not easily gotten to I decided to buy these tea lights that were on a timer. 6 hours on and 18 hours off for these particular ones. Ladies and gentlemen these are not CHEAP if you are getting a ton LOL!!! I decided how many I would need and then bought a certain amount every paycheck to be able to get them by Halloween. These particular candles fit perfectly into the rolls I had and looked SO amazing that I got giddy just turning them on =D.

I attached mine to some Halloween swags that were hung in the living room (tutorial coming soon for those) at varying lengths and looked SO magical as they hung above my guests! You can also attach the fishing line to flat white thumbtacks and stick them right into the ceiling. Just make sure to get the tacks that are long enough to stay secure. I hope you try this magical craft and add it to your next Halloween party. Be sure to tag me on IG (classycozmetics) or FB (classycosmetics) so I can see. drop a comment if you love Halloween as much as I do and if you've done this craft. Happy haunting!!!