DIY Winter Wonderland Floating Candles

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You can make a DIY winter wonderland floating candle.
Image Credit: Jonathan Fong

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What a beautiful sight, so happy tonight, floating like a winter wonderland. Those words sum up these beautiful floating candles with silver, blue and white accents that capture the crisp colors of the season. And even though the colors are wintry, the candlelight reflecting off the glittering elements still glows with warmth.

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DIY Floating Candle Holder

Things You'll Need

Step 1: Gather Candleholders

For this candle arrangement, you'll need three cylindrical clear glass vases, three heights — the varying heights are more pleasing to the eye. The ones I used are 7.5 inches, 8.5 inches and 10 inches. The opening should be just larger than the diameter of a floating candle, which is typically 3 inches.

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Step 2: Add Flowers

The key to making this candle arrangement work is for the candles to stay afloat while the individual elements stay submerged. The way to do this is to weight down the elements. For artificial flowers, start by cutting the stem and winding the end into a loop.

Tie a steel hex nut to the loop with fishing line. This will act like an anchor for the flower.

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Place some glass beads in the bottom of the vase and hide the nut under the beads.

When you add water, the flowers will stay in place, thanks to the nut.

Step 3: Add Tinsel

Silver tinsel garland looks stunning under water, as the water magnifies the individual filaments. Cut a piece of garland that is about the height of your candleholder.

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As you did with the flower, tie a nut to the end of the garland with some fishing line.

Place the garland in the candleholder, fill the container with water and you'll see that the garland stays submerged. The end that was anchored with a nut stays on the bottom while the other end rises.

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Step 4: Add Silver Bead Garland

Silver beads add drama and bling to this floating candle arrangement, and best of all, they don't float. When you place them in water, they stay put. Put a strand of silver bead garland in the bottom of a candleholder, and drape one end out the top, resting on the rim. There should still be plenty of room for the candle up there.

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Step 5: Add Bulb Ornaments

Sparkly bulb ornaments are perfect in this candle arrangement, but they will float above the water line because they are hollow. They're like a buoy — not even a nut anchor will submerge them. What's the trick? Start by removing the ornament cap to reveal the hole at the top. You can usually just twist it off.

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Go to the sink, and fill the ornament with water. By filling it with water, the ornament will have the same density as the water in the candleholder. (Is this taking you back to elementary school science class?)

The ornaments will now sink to the bottom of the candleholder and behave themselves. They look great with the tinsel garland.

And bulb ornaments reflect the shine of the silver bead garland.

Step 6: Add Candle

Once each candleholder has the elements you desire, place a floating candle on top of the water. Be sure to purchase candles specifically designated for floating. The candle will displace some of the water, so don't let the water line get closer to a half inch from the rim. Pour out some of the water if necessary.

These floating candles are beautiful as a set, but you can also separate them and place them around your home to make the entire space a winter wonderland.

Tip

If you search "how to make floating candles," you may see a tutorial like this one or you may see one on how to shape and size the candles themselves so they'll float. If it's decorative ideas you're really looking for, something along the lines of "DIY floating candle holder" or "floating candle holder ideas" is a better choice. Floating candles are also sometimes called water candles, so "how to make water candles" is another good option.

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