Washi Tape Altar Candles



I love Dollar Tree's white glass altar candles. They are the largest and cheapest jar candles you can get just about anywhere...and I have shown them my love in several different projects over the years (altar candle projects). I have accumulated a nice sized stash of washi tape (decorative paper tape--it's masking tape with designs on it) that I have picked up at various sales and discount stores, and it occurred to me that washi tape and my favorite dollar store candles were a match made in heaven.


I went through my stash and decided that I had plenty of black and white tape and that it would look cute stacked with all of the various patterns. So I dug out all of the black and white tape rolls--eliminated a couple because didn't look sticky enough or had a little bit too much off-white in them and then started sticking it to the candle jars. The great part about washi tape (on glass at least) is that if you don't like it, you can just peel it off.


So I lined up a tape along the bottom edge of the jar as straight as I could and wrapped it around the jar. When I wrapped back to the tape edge, I cut it off with a scissors and smoothed it down. Then I repeated the process with the same tape on a matching candle so I could have a pair.


I kept wrapping tape in different patterns up the jar. I tried to contrast the patterns a bit. If it was a very angular pattern, I'd use something round next. If it was very white, I'd use something dark, etc...


When I got back up to the tape that I started with, I contemplated quitting there for a moment. It looked pretty good with the white candle, but I decided to keep going. After all, I could always peel it off if I didn't like it.


So I kept wrapping tape until it got to the point where there wasn't room to put another row of tape on. It ended with a little lip of glass, but it was above the wax line, so it looked finished.


The black and white tape looks really graphic and cool. It was occasionally hard to keep the tape straight, but it was pretty forgiving--even if a sliver of the candle appeared between tape, it was pretty hard to see it unless you looked really closely. They were fun and easy to make and turned out great!


Candle warning: As with all candle craft projects, do not burn these unattended. I haven't burned these candles yet, but there is potential for the tape peeling up as the candle warms. There is also a chance that the tape could get hot enough to burn or scorch. 

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