Marbled candle votive with Nail Polish

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Last year I took some adorable mini pumpkins and I used nail polish to add a marbled effect to them. They turned out so cute. I used fresh pumpkins though, and after the season was over, they were thrown away. I wanted to try the same effect on a more permanent surface this year. These marbled votives could work for any holiday, event, or color scheme. These were made for Halloween and it’s so simple! If you’ve never marbled anything with nail polish this is the perfect project to try it out.

An important note before I show you: Nail polish in such large amounts produces lots of fumes. This cheap nail polish especially! In my excited rush to get started I forgot to open a window. The Craft Shack will smell like nail polish for the rest of the month, and I lost a few brain cells to the fumes (I’m already missing too many haha). Open a window before you start please.

Nail polish can be pretty pricey! But you don’t need an expensive brand for this. I purchased my nail polish at the dollar store and it works perfect even though it’s cheap!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your marbled votives:

A large container of water. Don’t use something you’d worry about ruining. I use a plastic tub that was at one time full of Redvine licorice candy. A gallon size ice cream tub would be perfect too.
Nail polish in several colors (I used orange, white and black)
Glass votive candle holders (you could use mason jars too!)
a stick (I used a bamboo BBQ skewer)
Wax paper or towels to set your votives on while they dry (Please don’t use something you wouldn’t want ruined)
candles (real or led)

I made this quick video because sometimes it’s easier to see it in action. While it’s really very simple, it can be difficult to describe step by step.

Here’s what you’ll do:

Give each of your polishes a good shake before you start. Your container needs to be big enough that your votive or jar will fit inside it. Fill the container with enough water to cover your votive completely (but don’t put the votive in the water).

Choosing at least two colors to work with, pour some of each color into the water.

Draw your stick through the colors, dragging each color into the other for the marbled effect. How many times you pass your stick through the colors will depend on the kind of marbled effect you want.

Carefully dip your votive into the water through the polish and lift back out.

Use your stick to collect the stray polish in the container before repeating on a second votive.

Let it dry and you’re done! I think they look so amazing lit up in the dark with a candle inside. A battery powered LED candle works great so they don’t get too hot.

*Nail polish is listed as flammable on the bottle. While it is only on the outside of the votive, sometimes the glass can get warm while the candle is burning inside. I have not had any problems with unwanted flames or melting issues I have burned candles in these for several hours keeping a close eye on them each time. You should never burn any candle unsupervised.*