Some candles quietly blend into your Christmas décor. This one has already appointed itself the centrepiece.
With a creamy EcoLux wax base, a ruby-red gel wax layer and poinsettia decals decorating the glass, this DIY Christmas candle brings together classic holiday colours with a beautiful glowing finish. Scented with Smells Like Christmas fragrance oil, it has a name that fits the assignment perfectly.
The finishing touch? Red, gold and green poinsettias that dress up the vessel without requiring a single flower mold.
What You’ll Need
- A clear glass vessel designed for candle making
- EcoLux wax for the bottom layer
- Gel wax for the red upper layer
- Red candle dye confirmed suitable for your gel wax
- Smells Like Christmas fragrance oil
- An HTP wick, sized through testing for your vessel and layered wax combination
- Poinsettia decals suitable for the intended glass application
- Wick adhesive and a wick-centering tool
- Digital scale and thermometer
- Suitable wax-melting equipment and pouring containers
- A stirring utensil
The amounts will depend on your vessel and the depth of each layer. Weigh your ingredients and record your formula so you can reproduce your results.
Before you begin: Confirm fragrance compatibility and permitted fragrance loads for each wax. Gel wax has specific fragrance requirements, so suitability for EcoLux does not automatically mean suitability for gel. Only add Smells Like Christmas fragrance oil to the gel if its supplier confirms compatibility with your particular gel grade.
Step 1: Prepare Your Vessel
Start with a clean, dry candle vessel. Secure your HTP wick in the centre using an appropriate wick adhesive, then hold it upright with a centering tool.
Keep the glass free of dust, moisture and fingerprints. Clear gel has a talent for showing off everything, including the things you hoped nobody would notice.
Step 2: Pour the EcoLux Base
Melt your EcoLux wax according to its product instructions. Add your measured fragrance oil at the recommended temperature and stir thoroughly, keeping within the permitted fragrance load.
Pour the EcoLux into the bottom of the vessel. For a look similar to the candle pictured, make the creamy white base deeper than the red gel layer above it, leaving appropriate headspace at the top.
Let the base set fully before adding the gel. A firm, level surface helps keep the two colours visually distinct.
Step 3: Prepare the Red Gel Wax
Heat your gel wax using equipment and temperatures recommended by its manufacturer. Monitor the temperature throughout the process.
Add a small amount of gel-compatible red dye and stir gently until evenly distributed. Build the colour gradually: you want a rich Christmas red that still lets light pass through.
If you are scenting this layer, use only a confirmed gel-compatible fragrance at the load approved for your gel grade.
Step 4: Pour the Gel Layer
Allow the coloured gel to reach its recommended pouring temperature, then pour slowly over the fully set EcoLux base.
Pour gently to limit disturbance at the layer boundary, keeping your wick centred as you work. Leave the vessel’s recommended headspace.
The goal is a clean contrast between creamy white wax and translucent red gel. A few small bubbles can be part of the handmade charm.
Let the candle cool completely on a level, heat-resistant surface.
Step 5: Add the Poinsettia Decals
Once the vessel has cooled, decorate the outside of the glass with your poinsettia decals.
Alternate red, gold and green flowers around the vessel, positioning them near the meeting point of the two wax layers. This makes the flowers stand out against the white base while tying them into the red above.
Lay out your arrangement before applying the decals. A little spacing gives each poinsettia room to shine.
Keep decals away from the rim and flame, and follow their manufacturer’s application and heat-use guidance. Decorative craft decals should not be assumed suitable for a burning candle vessel. If their suitability is unknown, remove them before lighting.
Step 6: Cure and Test
Allow the candle to rest according to the wax suppliers’ guidance before testing.
An HTP wick is the wick family used for this design, but the correct size depends on your vessel diameter, waxes, colour and fragrance. Test the complete candle through its usable life, including the transition between the gel and EcoLux layers.
A beautiful first burn is only the beginning. The candle needs to perform properly as the wax level drops, too.
Tips for Getting the Look
Keep the base creamy.
The pale EcoLux layer provides a clean backdrop for the poinsettia details.
Choose a translucent red.
Adding too much dye can take away the jewel-like appearance that makes gel wax so striking.
Let the decals do the decorating.
There’s plenty of Christmas charm on the outside of the glass. Keep loose glitter, dried flowers and other decorative craft materials out of the wax.
Keep notes as you pour.
Record wax weights, fragrance amounts, dye quantities, temperatures and wick size. Your next batch will thank you.
A Christmas Candle Worth Keeping
The combination of white EcoLux, glowing red gel and festive poinsettias makes this a lovely project for holiday decorating or handmade gifting, once your finished design has been tested.
Of course, making it as a gift and actually giving it away are two very different skills.
Ready to start your next festive pour? Explore waxes, wicks, fragrance oils and candle-making supplies in Canada at Candlehaven.ca.