Sea Glass Candle: How To Make An Embedded Candle

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Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle! We’ll show you how to wick the mold, melt the wax and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

Hello Kenarry readers! We’re Jennifer and Kitty from Running With Sisters, and we can’t wait to share this gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle with you! We love the look of an embedded candle, the kind you see at Pottery Barn and Pier One. We’ve seen them embedded with shells, dried flowers, and even butterflies!

These decorator candles make beautiful gifts, and they are even more wonderful when handmade by you!

Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle using a two-part candle mold! We’ll show you how to wick the inner mold, melt the wax, and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links for products or services we think you’ll like. This means if you make a purchase from one of these links, Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® will make a small commission at no additional cost to you so we can keep the great ideas for the home coming your way. All opinions expressed are derived from personal experience.

Use a two-part mold for this candle

This Sea Glass Candle requires a two-part mold. The inner mold makes a core candle. (This is the candle that will actually melt when you burn the candle.) To make the embedded part, you set the core candle inside the outer mold and add the sea glass, then add the wax. This protects the sea glass from the burning wick–important for candle safety!

It also places the sea glass on the outside of the candle where you can see it! We’ve made a video to show you every step of the process so you’re sure to have success.

We’ve made a video to show you every step of the process.


Follow along with the video as we make an Embedded Sea Glass Candle, then follow the steps below to make your own. If you have any questions or comments while you’re working on your candle, go ahead and post them, and we’ll reply. We are here to help!

How To Make A Sea Glass Candle

We have the complete tutorial at-a-glance for you right here. Then, keep reading for step-by-step photos and answers to all of your questions.

Materials

*NOTE: If you cannot find an embedding mold set, you can buy two separate molds: a 3″ mold for the inner core candle and a 4″ mold for the outer part of the candle. Make the 3″ candle a little shorter than the 4″ mold so you’ll have room to pour some wax over the inner candle in step 5.

Tools

Sea glass candle tutorial

Time needed: 30 minutes

Make a homemade DIY sea glass candle with layers of blue and green colors.

  1. Make the Core Candle

    Wick the smaller “core” mold. Feed the wicking through the hole at the bottom. Leave 3″ of wick sticking out of the bottom. Next, seal the bottom of the mold so when you fill it with melted wax, none leaks out. To do this, coil the 3″ of wick at the bottom and cover with mold sealer. Flip the mold over and tie the other end of the wick to a pencil and prop it across the top of the mold.

  2. Melt the Wax

    Cut the wax into chunks using the hammer and chisel. Weigh out enough wax for the volume of the outer mold. Add 4 ounces for good measure. Melt the wax in a saucepan to 210°F. Pay attention to the temperature of the wax. It is flammable, and you never want to let it get too hot.

  3. Stir in Candle Scent and Additive

    Stir 1 tablespoon of candle scent and 1 tablespoon of the translucent additive into the wax. Shave a few carrot curls of color off the aqua dye block and add them to the melted wax. Stir, then test to see if you like the color by dripping a few drops of wax onto an index card. Add more color if you like.
    Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle using a two-part candle mold! We’ll show you how to wick the inner mold, melt the wax, and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

  4. Pour Wax Into The Mold

    Pour the wax into the mold leaving about 3/4-inch at the top. Let the candle cool for 1 hour. The candle will most likely sink in the center as it cools. (This is normal so don’t panic!) Use the skewer to poke 4 or 5 holes in the candle all the way to the bottom of the mold near the wick. Reheat the wax (don’t forget to keep an eye on the temperature!) and refill the candle up to (but not over) the original fill line. Let cool and repeat if another sinkhole forms.
    Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle using a two-part candle mold! We’ll show you how to wick the inner mold, melt the wax, and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

  5. Let the Candle Cool and Slide Out of the Mold

    Let the candle cool completely for about 12 hours. Remove any masking tape from the mold edge. Untie the wick from the pencil. Turn the mold over and remove the mold sealer. Let the candle slide out of the mold. (If it doesn’t slide out, place it in the refrigerator for ten minutes and try again.) Trim the wick that had been tied to the pencil flush with the candle. Turn the candle over––the smooth bottom is now the top! Tada! You have a core candle! Well done! Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle using a two-part candle mold! We’ll show you how to wick the inner mold, melt the wax, and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

  6. Put Sea Glass Into the Outer Mold

    Seal the hole in the bottom of the outer 4″ mold with mold sealer. Center the core candle in the outer mold. Tie the end of the wick to a pencil and prop it across the top of the mold. Slide pieces of sea glass into the gap between the core candle and the outer mold. Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle using a two-part candle mold! We’ll show you how to wick the inner mold, melt the wax, and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

  7. Pour Melted Wax Into the Mold

    Re-melt the wax to 210°F. Pour the wax into the mold until it covers all the sea glass, fills the outer mold, and has a layer over the top of the inner core candle. As it cools, the wax may sink in again over the sea glass. If it does, reheat the remaining wax and pour it over the sea glass. Repeat if needed as the candle cools.

  8. Use A Heat Gun To Reveal The Sea Glass

    When the candle has cooled, use the heat gun to melt the top half-inch of wax in the mold. Let cool completely overnight.

    Remove any masking tape from the mold edge. Untie the pencil, and turn the mold over. Remove the mold sealer. Let the candle slide out of the mold. (If it doesn’t slide out, place it in the refrigerator for ten minutes and try again.) Use the heat gun to melt some wax away from the sides of the candle to reveal the sea glass. Trim the wick to 1/4-inch.
    Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle using a two-part candle mold! We’ll show you how to wick the inner mold, melt the wax, and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

DIY Candle-making tips

As you make this candle, we want to remind you of a few tips that we learned along the way.

Using two molds makes amazing candles

First, if you want to make a candle with anything inside it – like herbs, dried petals, or sea glass, you will need two molds. You need a small one for the core candle and a larger one to make the outer layer.

Use Mold sealer

When you are trying to seal the bottom of the mold, you are preventing melted wax from leaking out.

We like to do this by rolling the mold sealer into a ball and pressing it over the coil of the wick.

Wax is flammable

Every time you melt wax on the stove, be careful. Remember, it is flammable. This is a step where you need to watch it closely.

Chill the candle until it slides out of the mold

If your candle isn’t sliding out of the mold very easily, just put it back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then try again.

Where to buy sea glass

You’ll find bags of different colors of sea glass at any craft store. Check out either Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. We have even seen it at Dollar Tree a few times.

We love candle making and love how pretty this Sea Glass Candle turned out! Have you ever made candles? What do you think would look nice in an embedded candle? Leave us a comment and let us know. We’d love to hear from you!
Jennifer & Kitty

Make a gorgeous DIY Sea Glass Candle using a two-part candle mold! We’ll show you how to wick the inner mold, melt the wax, and add the sea glass to make a beautiful embedded candle!

Want to see more crafts from the O’Neil Sisters? You might like…

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13 Comments

  1. I got all the stuff to make the sea shell candles. I’m not sure where I’m going wrong but no matter how much I deal the 3″ with wick the hot wax breaks through and goes all over the foil. Please tell me what I’m doing wrong. I have watched the video so much, I know it by heart.

    1. Charlyene, you’re not doing anything wrong! We’ve had that same problem — and the issue was with the mold sealer. It turns out some mold sealers are better than others! The one we bought at our craft store failed on us the same way yours did. What a mess! We had much better luck when we used the mold sealer made by Yaley (which you can buy online at Amazon or on their website Yaley.com). We also had success with yellow sticky putty (the kind you’d use to hang a poster on a wall). The brand we used was HandiTak. We hope one of those works better for you! Please write in and let us know. Best of luck!

      1. I’ll try what you suggested. After a lot patience and cleaning up mess after mess I finally got 4 done. Wanted to give them for Xmas. Thank you for getting back to me so quick. Love your blog. Merry Christmas to you both!!?

  2. Hello, I have a quick question.

    Once the Candle is ready and I light it. Will the sea glass heat up to much, will it fall off in chucks or with it jump/break of because of the heat?

    I am very curious to know as I have never seen a candle like that burn to the bottom.

    Thank you for your time.

    1. Great question Marj! The way we constructed the candle, the sea glass pieces are only around the outside of the candle. The center is just wax. That’s why you need the two different molds. The size of the wick creates a flame that only heats and melts the center wax part of the candle. The outside part with the sea glass retains it’s shape. Hope that helps! Cheers, Jennifer & Kitty

  3. Hello,
    I love your video and really want to try this but I am having a hard time finding an embed mold. Do you have any suggestions?

    Thank you!

  4. Hi Peggy,
    We just noticed that it is getting hard to find the embedded candle mold set. But no worries! You can buy two separate molds, a 3″ mold for the inner core candle and a 4″ mold for the outer part of the candle. Make the 3″ candle a little shorter than the 4″ mold so you’ll have room to pour some wax over the inner candle in step 5.
    Cheers!
    Jennifer & Kitty

  5. Hello I love the seaglass candles but I cannot find the translucent crystal additive anywhere could you give me direction please

    1. Hi Jodi,
      So sorry you are having trouble finding the translucent crystal additive. We found two options for sale online.

      This one looks similar to the powdery type we used: https://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Translucent-Crystals
      We also found this type that comes in pellets: https://www.createforless.com/CountryLaneCandleTranslucentCrystals4oz/pid50213.aspx

      We have not tried either of these brands, but they both sound like the right stuff. Good luck and let us know which one you tried and how out worked out!
      Cheers,
      Jennifer & Kitty

  6. Hi – Can you let me know what height you used for the molds? Also is the 3″ and 4″ the measurement across the top, so one can fit in another?

    1. Hi Jennifer,
      Yes, the 3″ and 4″ are the diameter measurement across the top of the mold. Any height molds can work to make an embedded candle like this.

      Best wishes,
      Carrie
      Ideas for the Home by Kenarry

    1. Hi Kathy,

      Great question! Our blog post doesn’t highlight a particular brand of mold to use, but we also suggest the following:
      If you cannot find an embedding mold set, you can buy two separate molds: a 3″ mold for the inner core candle and a 4″ mold for the outer part of the candle. Make the 3″ candle a little shorter than the 4″ mold so you’ll have room to pour some wax over the inner candle in step 5.

      For more details, feel free to take a look at the DIY card on this blog post for the full instructions, and please do not hesitate to reach out for more questions! We’re always happy to help! Happy crafting!

      Lisa, Ideas for the Home by Kenarry Customer Care

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