Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Beeswax Candle and Heart Holder Tutorial

For the Salt Dough -

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup water
Knead together for about five minutes.

Roll out to the approximate thickness of your cookie cutter, about 1 - 1/2 inches thick and cut out hearts.

We chose to use a small heart to cut 3/4 of the way down into the heart to form the candle "holder".

We also baked and painted these little hearts.

After your candle holders are done, bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes. The little hearts will be done sooner and will start to turn light brown.

When cooled - paint! We used acrylic paints.

Now on to the candles ~
Hand Dipped Beeswax Tapers

You will need:
Number 2 Wick (about 9 inches per candle)
6 ounces of beeswax
tin can (about six of small can of beans/soup)

Melt the beeswax in a small tin can in a pan filled with about 2 inches of water that has been heated to near boiling. I added 3 of the of one ounce bars of beeswax until they melted and then added the other three bars. We heat our water on the woodstove, but a regular stove top is just fine.

After the wax melts, move your pan to a safe area for your child or children to work. Leave the can in the hot water. Tie the wick to the middle of a pencil, letting the majority of the wick hang down. Dip the wick into the can of wax and make sure it touches the bottom. Just move in and out in one fluid motion. Hold the wick over the pot for a moment to catch drips..
...and then have your child walk around a certain area to cool. I set up some chairs to walk around. After the first two dips you might want to help your child by straightening the wick just a bit.
Continue until candle is thick enough to fit into your handmade heart holder.

Enjoy!



Warm wishes,
Tonya

17 comments:

  1. Those are so cute! My kids love dipping beeswax candles too. Such a calming, mindful activity. :)

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  2. Ah, so sweet! And they were so patient! It takes a long time to dip a candle and make it that thick, doesn't it? Beth

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  3. Beth,
    I was amazed how quickly they do form. Maybe it is the beeswax.

    Warm wishes,
    Tonya

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  4. Tonya, thanks so much for stopping by. I had to check out your blog and found it very interesting. We, too, are getting back to basics around here. Hard to do but committed to making the change.
    Berte

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  5. These are so sweet, and how perfect to get ready for Valentine's Day. Thank you for sharing

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  6. I love your candles. I've been thinking about trying this myself and this has given me some more inspiration. Of course it will be more fun when my son is old enough. :)

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  7. Cute idea! We did salt dough snowmen faces for Christmas and it was alot of fun.

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  8. I have left an award for you over at my blog. I really enjoy your blog its such an inspiration!

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  9. So sweet. I love seeing how engaged the littlest of children can get when doing a "big" project. they love it and it makes them really blossom I think. Thanks for sharing! I know what we can do with all the beeswax I have left over from making Christmas ornaments now!

    :)Lisa

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  10. What a great project! This is something I've been wanting to do with my kids, but for some reason, I thought it was much more complicated. Thanks for this great tutorial.

    ~Mellie

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  11. This is so great Tonya! What fun for the kiddos!!

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  12. Hi Tonya! It´s a great tutorial and I´ll try to do with my daughter. Thank you ! Lovely Blog!!!

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  13. These are just so sweet! Love your blog. blessings,Kathleen

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  14. What a beautiful project Tonya! I have made salt dough ornaments in the past and am so inspired to make candle holders now! We made many birthday candle size beeswax candles this will be a fun project : ) xoxo

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  15. These are great! I know my kids would love to do this.

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  16. Wow what a cute idea. These would be great to make for Candlemas Feb. 2. I think I will have to try with the Littles.

    Blessings to you and your family

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