The floating candles that light the enchanted ceiling of the Hogwarts dining hall just might be the single thing in this wretched muggle world that everyone can agree on. They’re awesome. So, after a time, it became absolutely necessary to procure some DIY floating candles for my own less-enchanted-but-still-pretty-cool hall. I hung them for Halloween, but I think they’d be great for Christmas or any time of year. After all, Hogwarts has them all year long!
This is a project that I want to share with you more as an experience, rather than a tutorial, because the approach used is— full disclosure— pretty finicky!
You may not choose to craft your own floating candles exactly this way, but maybe this post will give you some ideas. This approach, which uses a hand drill to pierce through the candle’s “flame”, requires focus and patience, and was created and executed by my husband, Chris. I did ONE candle myself, and my patience had run out after that. So, you may decide to try a different technique. I think possibly heating the hand drill tip, or using a hot nail, could be an effective way to pierce through the plastic more quickly.
The best part about creating floating candles by hanging LED candles by their “flame”, is that the candles hang perfectly straight! The other particulars of the project may be be helpful for you as well, such as adding additional wax to the candles for realism, and using rechargeable batteries so you don’t have to feel stress over ‘burning’ your candles every night.
Good luck! Lumos!
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Supplies
- Led taper candles, operated by a remote, that can be hung by their flame
- These are the candles I used. They are listed as “floating”, but they are just candles.
- Rechargeable batteries
- Wax melted in a double boiler
- I used pelleted beeswax that I had on hand, but you could use an old candle!
- Spoon and chopstick for applying wax
- Hand drill
- Monofilament
- Leather gloves to protect hands
- Work surface
- Small clear command hooks
How I made my DIY Floating Candles
The first thing Chris and I did was coat the candles in additional wax for a more real and magical look.
To do this, we melted pelleted beeswax (leftover from my beeswax bday candles project) in a double boiler. Then we used a spoon to pour the wax all over the candle, and used a chopstick to create individual drips.
We were careful not to cover the seam where the “flame” unscrews to open the battery chamber.
The coolest part about this additional wax is that the drips that formed on the bottom of the candle helped create the illusion that the candles melted while floating.
On the right you can see the candle in its original state, with one measly faux wax drip.
Okay, now to add the hole in the “flame” from which the candle will hang.
We used the second to smallest bit in the hand drill set. (Not the smallest bit, which is pictured here.)
I wore a leather glove and put my finger under the flame and pressed and screwed the drill into the plastic. Pressing too hard will break the bit, so this was a looong time of pressing and twirling.
For the record, we did try using an electric drill, (without my finger behind it), but the plastic was too slick and hard to cooperate.
When the hole was finally made through both sides of the plastic, I threaded the monofilament through and knotted it.
Not shown, but on the other end of the monofilament, I tied a little loop, which was later used to hang the candle from.
After loading up the candles with rechargeable batteries, The next and final step was to hang them from the ceiling.
I used these baby command hooks. I was skeptical that they would hold, but tested one over a cushion and it worked!
I loaded up all the hooks with their adhesive…
… then stuck them in random spots on the ceiling, pressing each one onto the ceiling for 10 seconds.
I then let the hooks set for a half hour before hanging the DIY floating candles on them. This is important for ensuring the hooks don’t fall.
Last, slide the little monofilament loops onto the hooks to hang. Enjoy the magic!
How would you make a candle appear to be floating from the bottom? Say from above a dresser or nightstand? From the bottom not hanging from the top?