DIY Dried Flower Candle

I made this dried flower candle for my wife, and she loves it! This is a quick and easy DIY that’s perfect for spring!

The Shrimp is not a flower girl. Never has been, never will be (unless, of course, they’re shrimp flowers). During those formative years when girls develop an affinity for flowers and the like, my babes was going gaga for excavators, loaders, dumpers and all the other large and noisy machines found on the typical large-scale commercial construction site.

This led her to a successful career as a civil engineer. It did not lead to fresh florals around the house swapped out to mark seasons, holidays and current trends.

Not having a flower girl wife also led to a lot less Grateful Dead drifting through the house than I’d like, but hey, at least I don’t have to worry about delivering the obligatory soulless bouquet at the prescribed moments throughout the year. Still, if she would take an interest, I’d consider tossing her some begonias on May 8th (iykyk 😉).

But what she lacks in flower enthusiasm, she more than makes up for with a deep and abiding love for candles.

So here I was recently, sitting at our kitchen island and thinking of some way to mark the imminent arrival of spring – a time of flowers, mind you – without stooping so low as to actually (*gulp*) buy them.

And then it hit me.

Who needs fresh flowers when dead ones will do?

I retrieved a dough bowl that I’d previously used for a Christmas candle, chiseled out the remaining wax and grabbed some dried flowers that Shrimp had bought a year ago.

As with any DIY candle, this one can be made with any sort of candle wax you prefer. Soy wax and beeswax seem to be all the rage with the social media set. Earwax is favored by Shrek and the Ogre Clans of the North. And for the Grubby McSlobbingtons like me, there’s good old Dollar Tree Jesus candles. I’ve heard enough blather directed towards me on social media about their toxicity to last 37 lifetimes, so spare me if you’re warming up your comment fingers – I’ve heard it all before. DT wax is cheap, accessible, and if I don’t burn it, someone else will. Besides, I’m Gen X – my body runs on toxicity, sarcasm and DGAF.

DIY Dried Flower Candle VIDEO Tutorial

Watch our short and fun video below for an overview of our dried flower candle before you read the tutorial.

So let’s get cracking before spring turns to summer here in Florida and I’m forced to spend the next 4 months cursing the infernal Day Star.

Dried Flower Candle Tutorial

Step 1 – Melt the wax

I’m sure the soy and bee factions have their preferred method of wax liquefaction, but I like a pot of boiling water for my Jesus candles (note that these are not true Jesus candles but cheap imposters inhabiting the same glass).

It takes some time to melt the wax in the jars – maybe 20-30 minutes. But really, what else was I going to do? Build something? Renovate a room? 😂

Step 2 – Add scent (or “smellies” as my babes would say)

When the wax had fully melted, I added some essential oil to each jar. Use whatever smell tickles your fancy.

Step 3 – Ready the candle bowl

While the wax cooled a bit (slightly cooler wax is less likely to crater when it solidifies), I prepared the bowl by sticking three wicks onto the bottom.

Step 4 – Pour the wax

I poured several jars of liquid wax until it reached about an inch below the rim of the dough bowl.

Step 5 – Secure the wicks

I laid skewers across the bowl and then secured each wick with small hair clips I purloined from Handan’s bathroom vanity. She has a whole basket of these things – she’ll never know! 😁

Step 6 – Arrange the flowers

I waited until the wax had solidified but was still soft, and then I placed the dried flowers. I have to admit, I thought these things were fakes when I first laid eyes on them. Closer inspection revealed they are real flowers and stems. Some people on social media tried to claim they’re dyed, but I don’t buy that accusation. Then again, what do I know?

I used the tweezers provided with the flowers to place them onto the candle, and then I pressed them into the semi-soft wax.

This is what I ended up with.

If you wait too long and the wax has hardened, you can either brush the flowers with more liquid wax, but this will hide them behind a waxy haze. Alternatively, you could brush them with clear gel wax. Another pain in the butt.

Or you could do what I did for the many flowers of mine that didn’t make the cut before the wax fully hardened – ignore it and just lay those suckers on top.

I got a lot of flack from Concerned Karens who were just so worried about the well-being of me and my household that they felt compelled to inform me that I would surely burn down everything I hold dear because of those tiny little dried flowers.

Please.

As if I hadn’t thought of that while the Karens were still rubbing sleep out of their judgy little eyeballs.

I did a burn test on this candle with dried flowers, and not a single one caught fire when the flame reached it (for the test, I also used additional flame sources besides the wicks). Instead, the flowers turned to char and ash. I know this is unwelcome news to the shrieking doom-sayers, but there you have it.

Anyway, my Babes loves her new candle. In fact, it’s now her preferred method of receiving flowers! Let’s have a closer look.