Make your own candles with a twist

Sculptural candles are currently a big interior trend. They come in all shapes and colours and are widely shared on social media. One of the most popular designs "Twist" comes from Dutch designer Lex Pott. The well-known brand "HAY" is jumping on the same bandwagon and has recently launched a candle collection with "Twist". I'll show you how you can make a candle like this yourself with a little skill and at a lower price.

You need

• Stick candles (height: 19 to 25 cm, diameter: approx. 3 cm)
• Cooking pot, bowl, oven dish or preserving jar (diameter: approx. 25 cm)

First, fill a saucepan to the brim with water and heat it up. If you don't have a large saucepan, you can pour already heated water into a bowl, casserole dish or tall preserving jar. The water bath should only be lukewarm and not exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Check that your work surface is resistant to wax. Prepare a base if it is not. There may be one or two drops of wax on the surface. I used a cutting mat.

Place a candle in the pot with the wick facing downwards. It should sink as completely as possible into the water. After about ten minutes in the water bath, the wax should be soft enough. Do the test by bending the candle slightly. If nothing happens yet, wait a little longer or add a little more heat.

It is also possible that the opposite is the case: if the candle deforms on its own or drops of wax appear on the surface of the water. Take it out of the water as quickly as possible and rinse it with cold water before using it again. I recommend heating a maximum of two candles at the same time. That way you can keep a better eye on the time.

Take out the candle, place it on the table and flatten it in the centre with your hands. The areas on the wick and the underside should remain the same. This way, the candle will still fit into the stand. Finally, twirl the candle carefully and tadaa: The candle has a twist.

The spiral effect can be doubled by combining two colours. Cut two differently coloured candles in half after the water bath and put them together again. Simply pair one half with a candle wick and one half without. You can also twist two stick candles into each other as another variation by twisting them together without pressing them smooth first. Bear in mind that the sculpture will probably no longer fit into a standard candle holder in the end.

For my wreath "Circle", I'm sticking with the first variant for this reason. All that's missing is some greenery and 29 November can come.