Q&A for How to Decorate Candles

You can also design and decorate candles by gently carving designs into the surface with a tool like a toothpick or a pointed object. Additionally, you can mark the candles with strips of colored tape to create patterns or shapes before applying some paint and other decorative elements. 

You can melt some similar-colored crayon on the sides, or you can use hot glue to create a dripping effect and color it with acrylics.

An interesting idea would be to use recycled wax from other used candles. You could melt a certain color of that candle wax into a pot and use a thin object such as a bobby pin to dip in the melted wax and draw on your candle. You could also take some household item and carve designs onto your candle.

I recently began crafting with seashells, making wreaths, centerpieces, candles, and candle holders. The prettiest ones incorporate twine or raffia wrapped a couple of times around the top, middle, or bottom of the candle (covering the bottom with glue and rolling it in sand is another alternative). Then I glue (hot gun or craft glue) a shell (starfish or small sand dollars) to the twine or above it and voila! I have also glued really tiny shells to cover the entire candle or to make patterns. After a couple of failures I realized that the key is to stick to one or two shell types to avoid it looking homemade. Amazon sells super tiny starfish (100 pieces for $9.99) that I love to use.