During this holiday season, many people tend to make cute home decor items with air dry clay including christmas ornaments, home decor items and candle holders.
I know you have seen lots of candle holders made with air dry clay in Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram and other social media platforms.
They look so beautiful and also seem functional. But there is a hidden story behind those beautiful candle holders that no one talks about! If you’re about to use raw flame instead of LED lights for your air dry clay candle holder, you need to be 100% sure about one thing! You’re playing with fire my friend! That’s the truth. Let me tell you this!
Is air dry clay safe for candles?
Yes, air dry clay is safe for candles but only when you keep it far away from the naked flame because most of the air dry clay we use are made of paper fibers, starches, or PVA glues that are flammable.
They catch fire, emit fumes when heated, or pose a fire/cracking risk.
Therefore use LED lights instead of raw/naked flame for your air dry clay candle holders or make your candle holders have no chance to get contact with naked flame.
People in Youtube, Tiktok continuously show air dry clay candle holders with naked flame near, but that’s only for the show. You should not make such a thing and place it inside of your house. There is always a risk. Especially when the flame is dancing due to the wind.
Heat risk (cracking and crumbling)
Even without direct contact from an open flame, the heat generated by it can still cause your air-dry clay candle holder to crack and crumble on the surface.
The prolonged heat from melted wax can cause dried air dry clay to crack, warp, or weaken over time. This ruins your hours of work making that beautiful candle holder.
Forming bubbles on the surface
I noticed this recently when I was making my halloween ghost item with air dry clay. That was a halloween desk decor item.Â
After I made the clay ghost, I painted it with acrylic paint and sealed it with gloss varnish. After drying and curing them well, I placed a small candle inside of it to take pictures.
But after several minutes I noticed bubbles started to form on top of the ghost surface while the candle was inside.
I did some research on why this happened and found out trapped moisture and gas inside of air dry clay and paint were trying to escape due to the intense heat from the candle underneath. So consider that as well. Flames can damage the finishing coats of your clay candle holders as well.
Ways to safely make an air dry clay candle holder
In order to make a candle holder with air dry clay which is functional and safe you definitely have to put a barrier between the naked flame and air dry clay candle holder or you should change the light source.
Let’s talk about the options you got.
Use a glass or metal insert
After making the candle holder with air dry clay, press a glass tealight cup or small mason jar to make a barrier between the naked flame/wax and air dry clay.
Use LED candles
Honestly this is the best option. Use led flameless candles so you have nothing to worry about cracking, crumbling or catching fire to your air dry clay candle holder.
Use battery operated tealights or taper candles which are 100 percent safe.
Best sealants for clay candle holders
There aren’t any sealers for air dry clay that will stand up to fire. Gloss varnish, polyurethane varnish, shellac, Mod Podge or any other sealants we normally use are not good to use as sealers for your air dry clay candle holders.
Instead use specially made fireproof sealers like Candle Crete Sealer or JDiction ResinCrete & Clay Sealer.
Final thoughts
Now you exactly know why you need to be extra careful when making candle holders with air dry clay. I highly recommend you to go with the flameless led option which is safe and functional just as raw flames.
Don’t get fooled by watching TikTok reels because they are there for your attention. Better to double check everything you see especially when you’re working with a flammable material like air dry clay.
