Make waves with clay
4 sea‑inspired candle holders—make them yourself with air-dry clay!
Candle holders shaped from air‑dry clay bring memories of beach days and rolling waves. We’ve rounded up instructions for four easy, personality‑packed crafts.
Wavy dish shaped by the sea
Wavy dish supplies
- a piece of clay about the size of a mandarin orange
- a cutting board or other work surface
- a rolling pin
- a 3–5 mm (size D-3 to H-8) crochet hook
- a pillar candle
- a small soup plate, bowl, or similar to use as a mold
- a plastic bag
Wavy dish instructions
- Warm the clay in your hands. Roll it into an irregularly shaped sheet about 0.5 (0.2”) cm thick, roughly 14–18 cm (5.5–7”) across. Flip the sheet over and patch or trim any tears along the edges. Smooth the edges with your fingers.
- Place a pillar candle slightly off center as a marker, and press a series of indentations around it with the crochet hook. While pressing, use a light touch and both ends of the hook at different angles to make the surface lively.
- Turn the mold bowl upside down. Lift the sheet onto it to dry, indented side down, so the flat spot under the candle rests on the bottom of the bowl. Because the sheet is larger than the bowl, its edges settle in gentle waves over the rim.
- Cover the piece with a plastic bag and let it dry. The bag slows drying, helping prevent cracks. This thin dish is fragile, so handle it with extra care. If you want to keep candle wax from staining the porous surface, you can paint or varnish the dish.
Beach day candle holders for a marine feel
Beach day candle holder supplies
- a piece of clay about the size of a large plum for each candle holder
- a cutting board or other work surface
- a small candle
- a wooden skewer and a knitting needle for surface texturing
- a piece of clay about the size of a cherry tomato, plus a plastic bowl and a fork for making clay slip
- a syringe or a piping bag
- a plastic bag
Beach day candle holder instructions
- Mold the clay until it warms up and feels easy to shape. Roll it into a ball, then shape a sturdy star, a flat seashell, or a beach pebble. Use the candle to shape an opening for it. Because the clay shrinks as it dries, make the openings somewhat wider.
- Decorate the surface of the candle holder. Press grooves with the knitting needle and draw furrows or press little indentations with the skewer. Break up clay in a bowl for slip, add a drop of water, and mix into a thick, non-drip slip you can pipe. Pipe dots of slip using the syringe or piping bag.
- Cover the finished piece lightly with a plastic bag so it dries slowly and doesn’t crack.
Sponge lantern with light peeking through its holes
Sponge lantern supplies
- a piece of clay about the size of a mandarin orange
- a cutting board or other work surface
- some newspaper and a plastic bag
Sponge lantern instructions
- Warm the clay in your hands and shape it into a ball. Flatten and level the bottom of the ball against your work surface to create a stable base for the holder.
- Push your thumbs into the ball and shape an opening with your fingers wide enough for a tea light. Gradually widen the opening but mind that the walls don’t become thinner than 1 cm (0.4”). Leave the opening only slightly narrower than the full width of the holder.
- Make the surface lively. Press hollows and small holes of different sizes with a skewer and a knitting needle. Leave enough solid clay between the holes so the walls don’t collapse. Smooth the edges of the holes with your fingers.
- Support the shape while it dries by stuffing crumpled newspaper inside. Cover lightly with a plastic bag.
Lifelike tube corals
Tube coral supplies
- a couple of pieces of clay about the size of large oranges
- a piece of clay about the size of a large plum and a plastic bowl for clay slip
- a large cutting board or other work surface
- a rolling pin, a fork, and a small spoon
- a syringe or a piping bag
- a taper candle
- some newspaper and a plastic bag
Tube coral instructions
- Warm the clay in your hands. Break up the clay for slip and mix it with a drop of water to make slip.
- Roll the clay into slabs 1 cm (0.4”) thick. The base of the candelabrum is a 6 × 26 cm (2.4 × 10.2”) slab, and the holders are made from two 10 × 12 cm (3.9 × 4.7”) slabs. The single candle holder is made from a 4 × 12 cm (1.6 × 4.7”) slab.
- Along the short edges of each slab, use the fork's tines to make 0.5 cm (0.2”) wide rows of indentations—on the bottom edge on one side and on the top edge on the other side. Add the same indentations along one long edge of the candelabrum's base slab and along one long edge of each holder slab. These will be the joining points.
- Spread slip into the indentations and roll the slabs into tubes by pressing the rows of indentations along the short edges together. Smooth the seams with your fingers and a spoon. Attach the holder tubes to the candelabrum's base slab.
- Shape the candelabrum and the candle holder so they stand steady. Use a candle to shape their openings so they point straight up. Because the clay shrinks as it dries, make sure the openings are somewhat wider for the first 2 cm (0.8”) of depth. Lower down, the tubes should be narrower so the candle doesn’t slip inside. Support the clay pieces with newspaper so they don’t slump as they dry.
- Put slip into a syringe or piping bag and squeeze out little spike‑like dots onto the surfaces of the candle holders. Cover the clay pieces with a plastic bag while they dry.
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