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Ideas for the Home

You are here: Home / Gift Ideas / How To Make Personalized Photo Candles

By Suzy Myers on December 10, 2018 2 Comments

How To Make Personalized Photo Candles

Craft Ideas· Gift Ideas· Home Decor Ideas

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Looking for a great personalized gift idea? Follow this tutorial and learn how to make personalized photo candles.

This is Suzy from Suzy’s Sitcom!  As a crafter, this is the time of year that I am always on the look out for great handmade gift ideas.  I especially love to make personalized gifts and this week I came across an idea to make personalized photo candles.  

Easy to Make Personalized Photo Candles

We are currently taking a break from traveling and spending some quality time with our family in Georgia.  Of course, that involves taking tons of photos of my granddaughter.  It has been six months since we have seen her and she is growing so fast!

Sharing them on Facebook is always an option, but how about something that will become a cherished keepsake?  I decided to take some of my favorite photos of my daughter and her family and create beautiful photo candles to remind me of how beautiful they are!

How to Make Personalized Photo Candles

This project is surprisingly easy, takes very few supplies, and results in some amazing gifts!  Personalized Photo Candles are a unique idea and sure to be a hit. 

Easy to make personalized photo candles.  A great gift idea and a cherished memento!

What you need: 

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.

  • Candles
  • Tissue Paper
  • Wax Paper

Tools: 

  • Printer (inkjet or laser jet)
  • Hair Dryer
  • Scissors

Instructions

Here’s how to make personalized photo candles at home and save money.

1. Edit & REsize Your Photos

Choose some photos that you love.  In this project, I used a photo editor called Picmonkey to convert my photos to black and white.  (Color photos are fine too)!

I used Microsoft Powerpoint to arrange my photos in the sizes that I wanted.  Since my candles were different sizes, I needed different-sized photos. 

You can also do this step in PicMonkey too. Measure the space on your candle and make the photo the size it needs to be to fit.

Easy to make personalized photo candles.  A great gift idea and a cherished memento!

2. Print your photos

Tape a piece of tissue paper to a sheet of copy paper.  (Be sure to tape on all four sides, otherwise, you might end up with a paper jam).  Place the sheet of paper so that the printer will print on the tissue paper side.  Print out your photos.

A photo printed on a piece of tissue wrapping paper

3. Prepare the candle

Cut out the photos to the sizes that you would like, separating the tissue paper from the copy paper.  Place a tissue paper photo on the side of the candle with the ink side out.  

Cover with a sheet of wax paper. 

Blow-drying a piece of tissue paper with a photo on it so the photo transfers to a candle.

4. Melt the photo into the candle

Holding the photo in place with the wax paper, aim a hairdryer at the photo. The heat from the hairdryer will cause the wax to soften and melt into the photo tissue paper.  

This process does not take long.  Be careful not to overheat the candle because the wax will start to melt.  The process is complete when you can easily remove the wax paper and the photo stays in place. 

Easy to make personalized photo candles.  A great gift idea and a cherished memento!

I started with the smallest candle just in case the process did not work well.  It turned out that all three candles were a great success!

Easy to make personalized photo candles.  A great gift idea and a cherished memento!

Create something amazing with just a candle and a printer!  It takes only a few minutes to make this beautiful gift.  These pretty candles will be cherished for years to come!

Easy to make personalized photo candles.  A great gift idea and a cherished memento!

Don’t want to burn these unique candles?  Use a hole saw to cut a hole in the top of each candle.  Place a small tea light candle in each.  Just burn the tea light candle and the larger candle will remain intact!

Can you transfer color photos to candles?

I used black and white photos, but you can use color photos too. This works for all types of pictures.

What types of candles are best for personalizing?

This tutorial works for all types of candles. I prefer to use white pillar candles because they look the best when you transfer the photos from the paper.

How do you put a photo on a glass candle?

If you want to personalize a glass candle, I suggest gluing the image onto the glass with Mod Podge. It dries clear and you can use any image you want.

How do you know what size of picture to print out?

Measure your candle area and then resize the picture to fit. There are lots of computer programs that allow you to resize your photo in inches. PicMonkey has this option. You can also convert inches to pixles and set your print size in pixels.

More Gift Ideas from the Sitcom! 

How to make Ice Candles!

How to make ice candles!  Beautiful holiday decor.

Make Beautiful Photo Plate Wall Art!

Photo plate wall art.  Create a beautiful gift!

DIY Miniature Vintage Suitcase Ornament

Create a miniature suitcase ornament with photo memories!

You may also enjoy these personalized gift ideas on Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® –

  • Festive Frosted Candles
  • Sea Glass Candle: How to Make an Embedded Candle
  • How to Make a DIY Photo Keychain

Published December 10, 2018. Updated October 2020.

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Craft Ideas· Gift Ideas· Home Decor Ideas

About Suzy Myers

Suzy has a background in fine art, graphic design and photography, and created Suzy's Sitcom in 2010 as a way to document new and original art and craft ideas. Her website features arts, crafts and humor, with a specialty in vintage and recycled crafts, quilting and sewing.

Suzy and her husband live and work on a farm in New York. Many of her ideas are inspired by the animals and wildlife that can be found there.

Suzy has been sharing her great ideas on Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® since October 2018. Follow Suzy on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Grambo says

    December 14, 2018 at 1:25 pm

    Suzi, glad you are enjoying your Grandbaby and family, you deserve it. I love this project, it’s easy and just in time for those special Christmas gifts. Thanks so much for sharing again. Everyone, if you haven’t done it already, cruise on over to Suzy’s website, she has amazing projects and most are for free. Thanks again Suzy, Merry Christmas. xxXX Grambo

    Reply
    • Suzy says

      December 15, 2018 at 8:07 am

      Thank you! Hope that you are your family are having a wonderful holiday also! Take care, Grambo, and thank you so much for your support over the years! It means a lot. Suzy

      Reply

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