Last Christmas, I saw a pair of oversized Christmas candles in a home decor shop that caught my eye. I loved the idea of them, and apparently tucked it away somewhere in the back of my mind. So when I came across these vintage blow mold candles, I saw the possibility. I wasn’t interested in copying the candles I’d seen, but I did want to take the idea and put my own spin on it.
Before I could get to the fun part, though, I had to figure out exactly what I was working with. Blow molds aren’t the same as painting a piece of wood furniture, and I wasn’t sure how well regular paint would adhere to the plastic. I also thought there was a chance I might want to use the finished candles outdoors, so I did a little research before I started painting.
Figuring Out How to Paint the Blow Molds
Based on my research, I decided to start with a priming spray designed for automotive painting and planned to protect everything with a non-peel topcoat. Since these were potentially going outdoors, I wanted to give the paint the best chance of holding up rather than spend all that time painting only to have it start peeling later.
As the project evolved, though, so did the outdoor plan. I ended up using quite a few different paint colors to create the design, and not all of the paints I wanted to use really lent themselves to outdoor exposure. In the end, I think these are going to be indoor Christmas decorations—which is perfectly fine with me. I’d rather have the colors and details I wanted than compromise the design simply to make them outdoor-friendly.
With the practical part figured out, I sanded and primed the candles and started painting with a design already in mind. The problem was that after that first step, I wasn’t excited about where they were headed. I was still excited about the candles and knew I wanted to finish them, but the design wasn’t stopping me in my tracks.
I was walking with my sister that night and told her exactly that. Somewhere in that conversation I realized that feeling was really my prompt to change direction. There was no reason to keep going with an idea just because it had been the original plan. If I wasn’t excited about it now, I probably wasn’t going to be excited about it when it was finished.
I didn’t want these candles to be cute. I wanted them to be stunning.
Paints I used: HERE
Changing the Plan
Once I gave myself permission to abandon the first idea, I started thinking about what would make these feel more special. I kept coming back to that classic Ralph Lauren Christmas look—the rich reds, traditional plaids and touches of gold. It has that collected, timeless Christmas feeling I love, and it seemed like a great jumping-off point for putting my own spin on these candles.
The plaid was what really got me excited. I had painted plaid before, but not this particular pattern and certainly not on something this large. Before committing to two giant curved candles, I decided to work it out on paper first. I played around with the stripes, checks, colors and proportions until the pattern started to look the way I imagined it.
Once I had that little practice piece in front of me, I knew I had found the direction I wanted to take. The plaid worked on paper. Now I needed to see if I could make it work on the candles.
Painting the Plaid
Thankfully, the answer was yes. The plaid wasn’t particularly difficult to paint, but it was definitely detailed and time-consuming. There were a lot of individual checks, and working my way around the shape of the candles meant there was no rushing through it. I just kept going, one section at a time.
As more of the pattern came together, I could see that the time was going to be worth it. The plaid became the showstopper of the whole project. It gave the candles the personality they had been missing with my first design and made them feel completely different from where they started.
I think that’s something worth remembering with projects like this. Sometimes the part that takes the most time isn’t necessarily the most technically difficult part. It’s simply the detail that makes the difference. I could have simplified the plaid and finished much faster, but it wouldn’t have had the same impact.
Adding the Gold NOEL
Once all that plaid was finished, I still thought the candles needed one more detail. I wanted something on the front that would break up the pattern a little and give them a more finished look, so I decided on NOEL painted in gold.
That little bit of gold was exactly what they needed. It added some shine against all that red and plaid and gave the candles a slightly more polished Christmas feel without competing with the pattern. After spending so much time concentrating on individual checks, it was also the point where I could finally step back and look at the candles as a whole.
This time, I was excited.
From Inspiration to Something of My Own
I think my favorite thing about this makeover may be that the finished candles don’t look anything like my original plan.
I could have kept going after that first coat of paint. I had already decided what I was going to do, and it certainly would have been easier to just finish what I’d started. They probably would have turned out perfectly cute. But that wasn’t really the point.
The candles I saw in the shop last Christmas gave me the original spark. Finding these vintage blow molds gave me the opportunity to try my own version. The Ralph Lauren-inspired plaid sent me in a completely different direction, and the gold lettering was the detail that finished them. Somewhere in between all of those things, they became mine.
I’ve done enough projects at this point to know that changing your mind halfway through isn’t necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. Sometimes you have to start making something before you can see what it really wants to be. I’m glad I listened to that little voice telling me the first plan wasn’t it.
These took longer than I expected—particularly the plaid—but now when I walk past them, they do exactly what I wanted them to do.
They stop me in my tracks.
And really, isn’t that the fun of making it pretty again?
Project Notes
If you’re thinking about painting vintage blow molds of your own, spend a little time researching the material you’re working with and the products that are appropriate for it before you begin. I used an automotive-type priming spray to prepare mine and had originally planned on a non-peel protective topcoat because I was considering outdoor use.
My design eventually required several different types and colors of paint, and outdoor durability became less practical than I originally envisioned. I’m planning to enjoy mine indoors instead. If outdoor use is important to you, I would choose your primer, paints and protective finish specifically for exterior use and make that part of your plan from the beginning.
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