There is romance associated with the use of any type of candle, floating candles combine that with water which is always pleasing to the eye. Floating candles are obvious - candles that float on water. They come in many shapes, colors and sizes and are great for creating a centerpiece to talk about. For many the floating candle bowls will be the eye catching focus, for others the interesting shapes of the floating candles will be appealing.

Floating Candle Bowls

To create an amazing floating candle centerpiece first look for an attractive container. Almost any container that can hold water and has a large surface area(open at the top) will do. The best kind of bowl is often glass, so that the candles can be seen through the glass and the candlelight reflects off the glass. Crystal bowls will produce some lovely reflections. Having said that, if floating candle holders are to be placed lower than dining table level, then other types of material can work well, such as pottery with beautiful glazes or polished metal which will reflect the light.

Once you have a candle bowl that you are happy with, you need to find some floating candles to go in. Floating candles come in all shapes and colors, so choose something you like that fits with your bowl and any other color scheme. To really make the floating candle centerpiece stand out add some flowers to the bowl, just enough to break up the candles which will tend to clump together. Then surround the bowl with more flowers and Voila!

Candles for use on water are usually small with a rounded bottom to enable them to float. The standard floating candle is like a squashed sphere that was about golf ball sized. They are available in a number of standard sizes such as 2inch round or 3 inch round.They have a very short wick. Floating candles also come in a number of flower shapes such as, Tiger Lily, Johnny Jump Up, pansies, poppies, bird of Paradise and daffodils amongst others. I have frangipani shaped floating candles, which I like to use.There are also many other shapes available such as butterflies, fish, cacti, turtles, strawberries and other fruit. Star floating candles are also popular. Large floating candles may have more than one wick to help them burn evenly. Some of the larger shapes include fruit such as papaya! Floating candles come in every color you can imagine, but the most popular color is white floating candles. The lighter shades tend to show up more against the darker color of the water, and against any flowers you may also use in the bowl.

You can choose scented floating candles for a more romantic feel to the display, or perhaps if you are using the floating candle bowl in a bathroom for mood lighting. There are a variety of scents available such as rose floating candles and many of the normal room scents such as pine, ginger, cinnamon and some fruit scents.

Candle displays can be used around your home and garden to add mood lighting for special occasions. You can also add floating candles to your pool,or spa. Floating candles on large bodies of water have a magical effect and really add to the ambiance. There are many forms for floating candles for pool even some that are just candle effect, but look very effective floating. Pool floating candles tend to be larger than the interior floating candles, often around 5 inches across. For the real candle effect, you could use floating water lilies that take a tea light. These can be re-used whenever you need them.

For themed parties shaped floating candles come in animal forms like butterflies. Or you can choose floating candle holders in the form of rubber ducks!

That's my brief review of floating candles. Please let me know what you think.