| All you need is... | | | | a long thin Christmas cracker. |
| Some flowers, leaves, confetti, sequins, | | | | You will need a container that is as |
| beads, cheap household candles, hot | | | | tall as the candle and which can hold |
| water and greaseproof paper. The | | | | boiling water. A plastic jug would do. |
| flowers, leaves and any other greenery | | | | Fill the jug with boiling water. |
| need to be pressed. To do this, simply | | | | Taking great care, hold your candle at |
| place the flowers and leaves between | | | | the top or the wick end, lower the |
| sheets of newspaper and put this between | | | | candle parcel into the water so that all |
| the pages of a big book. Put it | | | | the decorations are under the water |
| somewhere flat and stack other heavy | | | | line. Hold it there for about 20 |
| books of top of it. If a week they | | | | seconds. |
| should be pressed enough to work with. | | | | Take the candle parcel out and wrap it |
| Take a piece of greaseproof paper, it | | | | up in a towel. Roll the sausage of towel |
| doesn't need to be very wide, just | | | | and candle parcel back and forth as if |
| enough to wrap around the candle a | | | | it were a rolling pin. Do this for about |
| couple of times. | | | | 20 seconds. |
| Arrange the candle decorations (leaves, | | | | Carefully unwrap the candle from the |
| flowers, beads, confetti, sequins and | | | | towel and from the greaseproof paper. |
| other bits and bobs) on the greaseproof | | | | Finally holding the wick, dunk the |
| paper. Don't put on too many and don't | | | | candle in the hot water for 5 seconds or |
| overlap them too much. There is only | | | | so. This smoothes the surface and |
| candle wax to stick it to the candle. | | | | applies a thin layer of wax over the |
| Put the candle on top of the | | | | design to fix it into place. Hold the |
| decorations. Roll the candle up in the | | | | candle by the wick and give it a minute |
| paper so that all the decorations are in | | | | or so for the wax to cool and harden |
| direct contact with the candle. Twist | | | | before setting it down and to not alter |
| the ends of the paper to keep the candle | | | | the shape. |
| tightly wrapped. It will look a bit like | | | | Easy! |