Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Bees wax candles

The light in me sees the light in you ...

These are pictures from our first candle making experience which was last year with friends for Winter Solstice. We really had no idea what we were doing, but I brought the bees wax and wick, while friends brought the oranges. We dug the oranges out, melted the wax, put the wick in and held it up with sticks spontaneously gathered from outside, then we poured. It really is easy peasy, and hard to mess up. I'm chuckling, remembering our process of figuring it out. I'd always imagined up to that point that it was rocket science and way out of my league. Honestly, though, anyone can do it.

You can use a jar like we did, but you will need to keep a hold on it (with a potholder) as it tends to float around a bit. Whatever you melt the wax in will definitely not be usable for anything other than melting wax ever after. My husband and I have made many rounds of candles now and it's worth purchasing one of these if you're going to continue making lots of candles. We especially love ordering from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. They have all the supplies you'll need, including the bees wax.

So, since that night nearly a year ago, we have had a bees wax candle light nearly every night at our dinner table. It's become a tradition that we all enjoy. Even if we forget, the kids remind us, and it's as much a part of our family dinners as the "gratefuls" we say at the table.


2 comments:

jennifer said...

We used to make candles when we were kids and I have also repeated the experience with my kids(though it was really for myself). We used to cut up our old crayon bits and add those as well as bits of cinnamon bark and cloves. Recently I added a bit of glitter as well but not sure how good that would be to burn at your dinner table! However I adore the idea of beeswax in an orange mould! It must smell divine! How long do the oranges 'last'? I have some beeswax leftover from when we made didgereedoo's with the kids. It would be a great summer/January holiday activity. Thanks for the ideas...keep em coming!

Wendy said...

We've made candle before, but not in oranges, great idea! We always have candles at dinner -except in the summer, its too light here - and its a wonderful tradition.