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 This week's
Craft of the Week is brought to us by Carla Strunk. She has a great way to make beautiful
candles.
Here are Carla's
ideas:
I am making candle with my boys. It is a great way to get
them involved in preparing for power outages that we expect to happen on occasion in the
winter. We will also make some for Grandma's and Aunt Debbies Christmas gifts.
What you need:
 Use old juice concentrate containers for making candles. It is going
to take almost a pound of wax for each juice container, you will probably have left over
wax.- If you use the same size juice container as I did you will
have left over wax. I used a lemonade container which is the small one (12 oz.).
- If you use a 16 oz. container I don't think you will because
I used about a 3-4 oz. container for the leftover wax.
- Save a little wax in case you candle slopes down on top
towards your wick. That way you can make it level after it cools by adding more hot a wax
to the top.
What you do:
- I melted my wax in boiling bags I bought at the craft store.
Any containers that you use for your wax cannot be used for food afterwards. So choose
your pan and molds carefully. The juice containers are ideal because you just cut a line
down the side with your knife and peel them off. I cut the bottom of the can off first. Be
careful not to scratch your candle.
- If you want to buy small bowls for holding the votive
candles and fill them with wax you can. I did that for the leftover wax. I should say I
used old bowls that I had. The boys also used small coffee cups I had (they came with my
espresso machine) for making mini-teatime candles.
- I did not let them pour their own wax or really do very much
except pick the colors and scents then cut the paraffin wax into chunks (hot wax can burn
badly).
- The colors came with a book on making candles I bought at
Costco. The color was actually a small amount of colored wax in blue, yellow, and red. The
book said that if you spill hot wax on yourself wash immediately in COLD water. The title
was Candle Making Funstation, by David Constable Published by Silver Dolphin Books.
- I put paper clips through the braided end of my wick to
weigh them down. I taped the wick over the candle to a pencil suspended over the
container. I chose to use tape verses tying a knot because it left me with more wick for
the next candle.
- Remember the bigger the container the longer it takes to
cool. I cooled some of the small ones in the freezer. You can buy wax, coloring, wicks,
and scents at Michael's craft store. I am going to make candles for my Thanksgiving dinner
by painting pumpkins and other harvest fruits and veggies on a 4 inch. clay pot then I
will fill the hole on the bottom of my pot with my hot glue gun. Then fill with wax. They
will be a nice decoration, but small enough to not block the view of family members you
want to see.
Carla
Ideas
Brings back memories of my
mom
From: Ellen
Lesburg
I just wanted to thank you for your site on candlemaking! When I was a little girl, my
mom was a kindergarten teacher and used the recipe for making candles using the ice cubes.
I've been looking for that recipe! Thank you. My mom has long since been in a nursing home
from having a stroke. Her speach is impaired so couldn't remind me of the directions.
Thanks again for bringing back some wonderful memories. I was especially interested in the
information passed on by the lady who does this professionally
and shared some money saving ideas. After calling around the craft stores yesterday, I
discovered it can be a costly craft....her ideas just might save me some money! Thanks
again and have a good day.
Ellen
Leave holes to let the light
through
From: Edwin
Copeland
In home economics class we also made candles with ice, but we left the holes
empty to let the light through. We also used the little cardboard milk cartons from lunch
to use as our molds you can just tear them off when the candle has cooled.
How to
save money on candlemaking
From: Rebecca
Greene
I run a small home-based business that makes candles and oil lamps. I was
noticing your posting on candles. Most of the ideas presented are great, and just right
for a beginner at home. I did, however notice that most of the supplies listed were
supposed to come from the local craft store. You may have very few takers after the prices
there nip the new hobby in the bud! I thought I would share a couple of ideas with you in
case some of the readers would like to really get into the hobby to a larger degree. You
can check out your local meat packing plant. I know this is a little strange, but they use
paraffin wax for who knows what, and will usually give you a very good price per pound. I
pay $.60 per lb. whereas Michaels wanted to charge me almost $2.00 per lb. If you want
beeswax, which is a wonderful natural product, you can look up some local apiaries in your
area. Most of the time they sell their cappings at the end of the season, but whoever they
sell to will usually have the wax available. If they don't normally sell them to a company
they still might sell them to you! Just my two "scents" worth! :)
Use crayons to make the
candles
From: K.
Larry Renaud
  I used to make these
candles with my mom when I was a kid, only we put crayons into the melting wax, using
whatever colour we wanted. Another thing we did was to make multi layered
colours. This takes longer but they're pretty. Fill one third of the carton
with broken ice. Pour whatever colour you want of melted wax stopping just above the
ice so that there are no holes showing. Wait until set. Fill next third with
ice. Pour second colour of wax on top. Set. Repeat with final layer.
Once the third layer is set, tear away carton and voila. Variegating the colour is
really pretty ie. dark blue on bottom, lighter blue in middle and lightest blue at
top. You can also fill entire carton with one colour, then once it's set, empty out
the water and pour another colour down through it which will "fill" in where the
holes would have been. The choices are neverending.
Lacey Candles
This week's Craft of the Week features homemade Lacey Candles.
These are easy to do and can be done with children age 8 and older. For a spring
look choose pastel colored paraffin or if that isn't available color your paraffin after
it completely melts. These candles look awesome because of the lacey patterns
which remain after peeling away the juice carton. |
 
 more candlemaking
books
Melted Crayon Jars
These jars are both pretty and
useful containers for such things as flowers, pencils, and odds and ends. They are fun and
easy to make and each one is different. Remember to keep your finished jars out of direct
sunlight or the crayons will melt again.
Villaware Imperia
Pasta Machine
also  Pasta Recipes
Making Candles
(Kids Can Do It)
by Judy Ann Sadler, Tracy Walker
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