Celebrate Beauty Autumn Candle Anything But A Card Challenge 40

Over at Anything But a Card Blog our new challenge is to create artwork that represents the change of seasons.  Come check the challenge out at ABAC Challenge 40.

Celebrate Beauty front

Autumn and spring are seasons that have incredible scents wafting through the air.  Our sense of smell is one that can calm us and bring back memories.  I enjoy the smells of autumn and wanted to create a decorative candle that can be art and provide a wonderful fragrance in my home.

Supplies:  Jarred Candle of preferred fragrance (18-oz); Plaid: painting stencil, Mod Podge; craft and cream card stock; Prima pearl card stock; DCWV green cork sheet; Imagine Crafts:  Fireworks Lady Bug, Tangelo, Dandelion, Walnut Ink; Martha Stewart Leaf punch; Spellbinders: Grateful Lattice, Radiant Rectangles, foliage; Fancy Pants Designs Pollen Dust Beauty stamp; Dream Ink Celebrate stamp; Tsukineko: Versa Magic Gingerbread, Mango, Jumbo Java and StazOn Forest Green, Saddle Brown, Memento Luxe Love Letter;  Quickutz leaf dies; Joann Autumn Floral Leaves.  Misc:  foam brush, acrylic blocks, sea sponge section, dimensional foam squares & circles, glue dots, ribbon.

 

1.     Trim craft card stock to 3 ½ x 12.  Place leaf stencil over cardstock and mask areas you do not wish to ink with scrap paper.  Spritz with Fireworks inks.  Pat with paper towel before moving stencil to another area.  Set aside to dry.  Ink the edge with Jumbo Java ink.

2.     Ink the jar of the candle using make-up sponges with StazOn inks to achieve the desired look.  Set aside to dry.

3.     Use a foam brush to paint the back of the stenciled craft card stock with Mod Podge.  Place on jar and smooth carefully.  The card stock will stretch a little and met the gap on the standard 18 ounce candle.   Keep smoothing with your fingers to prevent air bubbles.  Set aside to dry.  When dry apply a layer of Mod Podge to the outside of the paper to seal.  Set aside to to dry.

4.     Use the Spellbinder and Quickutz leaf dies to die cut smaller leaf shapes.  Line dies up with veins when possible.  I cut about 4 of each of the smaller dies alternating between the red leaves and veined orange leaves.

5.     Trim Prima pearl card stock to 3 x 12 and a smaller section 3 x3. Die cut Prima pearl card stock with the Spellbinders Grateful Lattice die.  This die will allow you to do a continuous cut by carefully lining up the sections. 

6.      Trim the top edge to the rounded section.  Trim the bottom edge to points.

7.     Spritz with Walnut ink and set aside to dry.

8.     Trim a section of green cork to 1 ¼ x 12.  Punch leaf border.  Spritz with walnut ink and set aside to dry.  The Before and After photo shows how a simple application of ink can change the tone just a bit.

9.     Trim the remaining side of the border to make a left on the opposite side.  Cork is very forgiving and easy to cut and shape.

 

10.     Place the Spellbinders oval from the Radiant Rectangles die set on cream card stock.  Stamp the sentiment in the center in Memento Luxe Love Letter ink.  Die cut sentiment.

11.     Ink the edge of the die cut with Love Letter.  Use a dry sea sponge to gently add ink to the remaining sections of the oval in Gingerbread and Mango.

 

 

12.     Trim sections of dimensional foam squares to fit the sections of the Grateful Lattice.  The gap section has glue dots on the outside edges.  Apply to the candle.  The green leaf border was applied using wet adhesive.  The cork will stretch a little and reach all the way around the candle. 

13.     Tie ribbon in a bow.  The dimensional foam dots are thicker and will allow the sentiment to be slightly higher on the candle.  Apply the ribbon with a dimensional foam dot.

 

14.     Apply leaves around the sentiment and in various spots around the candle using glue dots.  I tried to camouflage the sections where the dimensional foam was visible.

Side Views

 

This project took a little longer because I spent some time experimenting with different techniques for the background paper.  I am really pleased with the final outcome and the dimensionality of the candle.  The fabric leaves seemed logical, but the size was out of proportion to the rest of the piece so I pulled out my leaf dies to see which ones would fit and die cut away!  The pre-made leaves already had texture and color and were very flexible for application.  This was a really fun project to create and I look forward to using it in my home.  

Please leave a comment below and let me know how this project has inspired you!  Thank you!