UNITY CANDLES

 The unity candle ceremony represents the union of the two families. The bride and groom light the individual tapers and bring the two flames together to light the larger column. This is similar to the South African !Kung ceremony in which fire from the hearths of the homes of both families is used to start a fire in the newlyweds' home. Our candles are personalized with the addition of the wedding invitation and sheer wired ribbons.

 MATERIALS

  • 1 yd (1m) of 1/2-inch-wide (1.5cm) woven braid in white

  • 1 1/2 yds (1.5m) of
    1 1/4- inch-wide (3cm) sheer merrow-edge wire ribbon in white

  • 1 yd (1m) of 1 1/4-inch-wide (3cm) sheer merrow-edge wire ribbon in ivory

  • 1 1/2 yds (1.5m) of
    1 1/2-inch-wide (4cm) sheer ribbon in white

  • 3 (1pkg) premade ribbon lilies in white

  • 1 large faceted crystal, 3/4-inch (2cm) diameter, with hanger

  • 2 sets of 3 crystals to string together, 1 long and 2 short per set

  • 1 white 3-by-10 inch (7.5-by-25cm) pillar candle

  • 2 white 12-inch (30.5cm) tapers

  • Wedding invitation

  • White ball-head pins

  • Hot glue

  • Glue release pad

  • Double-stick tape

  • Fine craft wire

DIRECTIONS

  1. With a pencil, trace an oval shape around the text of the wedding invitation. Do not cut. Working over a glue release pad, place a small amount of glue on the raw end of the woven braid. Let end dry completely, then make a clean cut. Starting with this end, glue the braid to the invitation, placing it over the pencil line. When braid ends meet, repeat same procedure to close braid oval. Let dry. Carefully cut the excess paper away from the braided oval.

  2. Affix the invitation to the pillar candle with double-stick tape. Push the white ball-head pins through the braid into the candle, spacing them evenly around the oval.

  3. Cut an 18-inch (50cm) length of the 1 1/4-inch (3cm) sheer white ribbon. Following the instructions below, make a four-loop bow from this length. Cut a 12-inch (30.5cm) length of the 1 1/4-inch (3cm) sheer ivory ribbon and make a slightly smaller two-loop bow from this length. Wire the ivory bow to the top of the white bow, attaching the large faceted crystal in place while wiring. Glue one of the ribbon lilies in the center of the bow. Pin the bow in place at the bottom of the invitation. Hide the pins behind the bow loops.

  4. Cut the 1 1/2-inch (4cm) sheer white ribbon in half. Following the instructions below, make a two-loop bow with 6-inch (15cm) tails from each length. Set aside. With the remaining 1 1/4-inch (3cm) ivory sheer ribbon, make two additional bows as in step 3. Wire one to the center of each sheer white bow. Wire a set of crystals hanging down at the center of each bow, placing longer crystal in middle. Glue a ribbon lily to the center of each bow. Wire bows to bottom of taper stems or to candlestick bases.

 GENERAL BOW TECHNIQUES

To fasten a bow with wire, fold an 18-inch (50cm) length of wire in half. Place the folded wire underneath the chosen ribbon and wrap the wire around the center, inserting the wire ends through the loop to tighten. Pull the wire ends to secure, bringing one end around center again at back. To tighten, twist the bow -- not the wire -- a few times.

TWO-LOOP BOW AND VARIATIONS

Cut a length of ribbon as specified in the project instructions. Wrap the ribbon back and forth, forming two loops with tails. Glue a small strip of ribbon around the ribbon loops to hold it in place. Ease the ribbon tail to the back of the bow.

For four-, six-, eight-, ten-, and twelve-loop bows, simply increase the number of loops before securing the center strip.

Note: When using ombre~ ribbon, results will differ depending on which side of the ribbon you work. Experiment with this for interesting color variations.

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