To celebrate Christmas in the Wizarding World this year, we asked the crafty Paperboyo to give us a Hogwarts inspired tutorial to create paper floating candles, just like the ones you see in the Great Hall.
See how he got on just below!
Instructions you need to make your own are here.
And here's a template to make things super easy.
This activity involves sharp tools so adults should always supervise children.
You can also see Paperboyo's 'what you need' list right here.
What you need:
- White card
- Orange card
- Yellow card
- Black card
- Glue scissors
- Cotton thread or fishing line
Pieces you should have:
- Candle Base – white card
- Circle Top - white card
- Circle Base – white card
- Large melting wax – white card
- Small melting wax - white card
- 3 x wick – black card
- 3 x medium flame – orange card
- 3 x large flame – yellow card
Step One
Cut around all the templates on coloured card – each piece specifies what colour card it should be cut out on. Take your time with the scissors, especially when cutting around the two melting wax templates.
Step Two
Take the large Candle Base piece and roll into a tube until the two sides meet and secure with glue. Fold over the two attached flaps inwards in the base. Then take the Circle Base (without the hole) and glue this to the folds. This will form the base of your candle.
Step Three
Take the Large Melted Wax piece and glue this around the top of the candle, folding the flaps inside the top of the candle, similarly to how you did this in Step Two.
Step Four
Assemble the flame by taking one ‘Large Flame’ piece, one ‘Medium Flame’ piece and one ‘Wick’ piece. Hold all pieces together so the bases are lined up and glue together. Once secured, fold them in half lengthways so there is a curve in the card.
Repeat this three times, using up all the pieces. Once all are dry, glue all three flames together by securing the edges of the large flames, to form a 3D flame. This is a little bit fiddly so take your time.
Step Five
Take the Circle Top piece and place the bottom of the flame through the middle hole. Secure the flame by sticking the bottom of the flame to the base side of the circle so the flame doesn’t fall out of the hole. Then glue the base of the circle to the flaps you folded over in step three at the top of the candle.
Step Six
Wrap the Small Melted Wax template around the top of the candle and secure with glue to complete the design.
Step Seven
Hook some cotton thread or fishing line underneath part of the melted wax layers and hang your candle up at home. For the best effect make multiple candles that look like they are floating together. You can hang these from the ceiling, in your windows or even on your tree.
Step Eight
To personalise your candle, get creative with layering some eco-friendly glitter on the melting candle wax. Or swap out the colours of card to make candles in your House colours, to bring the magic of Hogwarts into your home.
