Easy To Make Pearl Studded Unity Candle
August 5, 2009
After the wedding, most unity candles are placed on a shelf
and never lit again, or carefully wrapped in tissue, tucked
away and forgotten. Unity candles are expensive but luckily,
they are also easy to make. The trick to making a great
unity candle for just a fraction of the retail cost is to
keep it simple. A candle with too much on it will end up
looking like a third grade craft project.
Pearl studded candles add a touch of elegance to any event
and require very little artistic talent to make. All you
need to create a unity candle is a pillar candle at least
ten inches tall, a pair of good wire cutters and a box of
corsage or boutonniere pins. Pearl headed pins are available
in various colors and sizes and usually sold by the box.
An average box will hold 144 pins.
You can create any pattern but for those who are not crafty,
it is best to stick with a simple design such as a diamond
pattern. The diamond pattern is easy to make and has an
elegant and timeless look.
Pillar candles come in so many different sizes it is hard
to say exactly how many pins you will need. The best way
to determine the number of pins needed is to measure the
circumference, which is the distance around the candle and
the height. A pillar candle that is three inches in diameter
will have a circumference of ten and a half inches. Placing
the pins ¾ of an inch apart, the first row will take
fourteen pins and to create a diamond pattern the second
row will take 13 pins. You will need approximately 122 pins
to cover a candle 10 inches tall and 3 inches wide leaving
one inch from the top and bottom and between rows.
To keep rows straight use a template. A template can be
made by taking a piece of tape ten and a half inches long;
using a felt pen put a dot every ¾ inch along the
edge of the tape. Wrap the template around the candle just
below where you want your first row to begin and insert
the pins just above the dots on the edge of the template.
Once the first row has been completed, remove the template
and repeat the process with the second row placing the template
so the dots are between the pins of the first row. Continue
alternating pin placement with each row to create a diamond
pattern.
Cut the pins up to ¼ an inch long. If soak the cut
tins in hot water for a minute they will go into the wax
with little effort. Do not try to insert a pin that is two-inches
long into a candle, it will damage the candle and bend the
pin.
Tapers, the candles used to light the unity candle can
usually handle four small pins in the first row and three
in the second row. Repeating the three four placement in
the following rows will create a diamond pattern. A taper
that is ¾ of an inch in diameter will measure 2 ¾
around. A standard 15 inch taper leaving 1 inch at the top
and bottom will need 92 pins following the four - three
pattern with one inch between rows. The number of pins used
is up to you but if the spacing is too close will damage
the integrity of the candle causing the wax to shatter or
crack.
Unique unity candle designs are limited only by your imagination.
Look around you and you will see a never-ending resource
of supplies. Fingernail art including nail jewels, jewelry,
and beading, upholstery nail head trim and even transparent
decals that cling from an office supply store can be used
to make a beautiful candle.
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