Make A Personalized Candle For Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day Candle Gift 

Don’t you love it when your kids make up the names for their grandparents. Big Brother started calling my mom “Lola” (her name is Loretta) when he was about 18 months old and it has stuck. Our candle above says “I (heart) Lola”, though you can’t see all the letters wrapped around the candle. He calls his other grandma “Bumba”…a name he created all on his own as well. :)

We had so much fun making these candles for both grandmothers! The best thing about this craft is that it grows with your child. If you have a young child, you can make the design and your child can paint. If he/she is older, your child can do the design AND paint!

DIY Personalized Candle

Here’s what you’ll need:  a pillar candle, some toothpicks, paint, and paper towels.

How To Make A Personalized Candle 

etch a design in the wax

STEP 1. Use a toothpick to “etch” the design in the candle (or allow your child to do this if  he/she is old enough). I did the majority of the design and let Big Brother write his name on the back with a pen (and deepened it afterwards with the toothpick).

UPDATE:  With our second candle, I had issues with the toothpicks breaking. I used our “corn on the cob” holder and it worked great! I, of course, would not allow a child to use one of these since they are very sharp!

brush away the excess wax

Step 2. Brush away the excess wax.

supplies for painting your candle

Step 3. Choose your paint colors and get your paint brushes ready.

painting the candle

Step 4. Get your child to paint on top of the etched design in the personalized candle.

painting the candle

personalized candle gift for Grandma

Step 5. Use a paper towel and wipe off the paint on the surface of your personalized candle. If necessary, use a damp cloth to remove paint from around the lettering/design.

personalized candle gift

Step 6. If necessary, use a toothpick dipped in paint and fill in the “gaps” in the design.

repeat for the back of the candle

Step 7. Repeat the painting process for the back of your candle gift.

candle for Grandma

The yellow didn’t show up very well, but Big Brother insisted since it is his favorite color.

our DIY personalized candle for Grandma

personalized candle for mother's day

I made the letters too big on our personalized candle gift and couldn’t get them on a single picture, so here is two pictures combined to show the entire front. :)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Check Out More Great Mother’s Day Gift Ideas 

5 Mother’s Day Crafts Preschoolers Can Make

Magic Mother’s Day Card

Personalized Pot Holder

Personalized Mother’s Day Tea Towel

Mother’s Day Coupon Bouquet

Handprint Tulip Towels

DIY Fridge Magnets

Easy Mother’s Day Vase

First published 2011. Updated 2019.

3 Comments

  1. Totally loving your blog. Did you know that you can heat stamp candles, You could have the kiddos draw what they wanted on plain whit tissue paper, then cut it out, place on the candles then slowly with the lower heat setting on a heat gun melt the tissue paper into the candle. Works great.

  2. Hi there! I stumbled upon your site while browsing the web for Mother’s Day craft ideas. I loved this project and have included it in my 25 Kid Friendly Mother’s Day Crafts post. I’ve pinned this to my pinterest boards and am a new follower. I would love for you to stop by and check out your post… Thanks so much for sharing your creativity with the world. Happy Mother’s Day! http://www.artistic31mama.com/2013/05/25-kid-friendly-mothers-day-crafts.html

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *