Sheet bees wax candle making tutorial

This is the second time in a week that it's snowed! Frigid temps have made is it easier to stay inside and craft. We made about a dozen of the candy cane striped candles together. They're so easy that my 4 year old was able to fully participate. This is such a wonderful way to make candles if you're not ready for dipping or molds. It's incredibly easy, and instant gratification .... really! I promise.



This is my version of a tutorial for bees' wax sheet candles to create a two tone spiral candle. We ordered our wax from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. This is where we get all of our beekeeping supplies. They are a wonderful North Carolina small business with excellent customer support. If you're local and want to make these tomorrow, you can also visit the Earth Guild in Asheville.


Ingredient list:
1) bees wax sheets (2 different colors for this craft)
2) wick, enough yardage to make the number of candles (1 yd for @ 3 candles is my guess,but don't trust my math. It depends on how tall your sheets of wax are.)
3) hair dryer (a necessity, so borrow one if you don't have one.)

Here we go....

Cut the wax upper left corner to lower right corner, making a triangle like the pic above. Do this with both colors of wax sheet. You will be able to make 2 candles total.


Layer the two colors of wax sheet like the pic above. The other two sheets of wax are sitting to the side ready to use for the next candle.

Tear a small corner from the top sheet bottom left corner (look closely at the white wax.) Use your hair dryer to warm the wax up, making it tear smoothly. You will use this bit of wax to prime your wick. Again, a little blast from the hairdryer will help to mold it right around the end of the wick. It should look like the pic below.

Now, you will lay the appropriate length of wick at the far left side of the candle. Use your hair dryer to heat up the wax. You can't hurt the wax. Just experiment with intensity of heat so that you achieve pliability. I use low heat when working with my kids, but high heat when I'm doing it myself. When your candle is mailable, start rolling. Once we get it going, I turn the candle toward the child so that they can roll TOWARD their body (rather than left to right.) My seven year old is good to go on her own. My four year old needs a little assistance with keeping the end of the candle flush. You'll see... and you'll quickly get the hang of it.
These are spectacularly easy and so much fun to make. Even if you don't have kids, it's just a wonderful craft that yields beautiful results. Need some inexpensive gifts? Give it a try. My guess is that you won't be disappointed.

Ornament Idea for you... or, some like it hot!

We happened to have acquired quite a few peppers this fall....

Well, a lot, actually.

I got kind of inspired by all that red. I took out a needle and thread.... and got busy.

After a two hour movie, I had about a hundred to hang on the tree. The best part is that next year, I'll get to use them again. One of the cheapest, easiest, and most beautiful ornaments ever.
The secret to the effect is definitely in the sheer quantity, though. Somebody had a rockin' garden this year (and it wasn't me.)

So much to be thankful for...

We've had such a wonderful holiday, despite my initial funk leading up to it. I think all the hype of getting ready for craft shows just does that to me. Despite the fact that it was another wonderful event, I just felt like I needed to go find a real job afterward. Hmmmm.

But it really was hard to stay in that state for long. Thanksgiving day was brilliant here. We went bike riding as a family, and had a really nice time with my extended family that evening. My dad helped me plant my my bulbs in the garden. I had a date night with my husband that included sushi and old friends. We decorated our beautiful Christmas tree. Four days were just jam packed with good stuff.

When the weekend got colder we shifted to a whole bunch of crafting and indoor play. Even my husband got artsy and made some wreaths, which I'll have to show you later. We're all definitely excited about spending our first holidays in our new/old house.

I had to snap a bunch of pictures of the little scenes of play that were happening around our house. It warms my heart especially because I made these fairy dolls last spring for my sweet girl's birthday. They've gotten so much mileage! They were definitely worth the effort. The book mentioned in this post is what I used to guide me.

Here's the dish I made for Thanksgiving, a secret recipe shared by the woman who catered our wedding. We begged her for it after the event, and it's something I take the time to make every year. I hoarded the leftovers and finished that bit off yesterday.

Butternut squash souffle

2 cups butternut squash, roasted, mashed

2 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 Tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoon corn starch

Mix until smooth. (I use my handheld Cuisinart)

1 stick melted butter

1 1/4 cup cream

3 egg yolks

Mix with butternut squash mixture until smooth.

3 egg whites

pinch salt

Beat in separate bowl to soft peaks. Fold this into squash mixture without over mixing.

Bake in buttered souffle dish at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Alrighty, then. Now it's time for me to re-enter the real world. Hope you were able to find some moments away from all the stressors this weekend. Have a great week!

I'm always reminding myself to...

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Feel better now?

I do.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Getting in my groove

Somewhere along the way in the last year, I lost my groove. It just happened. Certainly there was plenty of chaos and life stressors. It's easy to put oneself, or one's passions, on the back burner when it comes to raising kids. I'm fine with that these days although there was a time I felt decidedly more resentful. There is usually an ebb and flow, and I have a great life. Still, it just feels so good when some of my dreams take center stage.

Recently, several things converged for me artistically... drawing, block carving, print making, and sewing. They were driven by the deadline of our upcoming holiday show, but nevertheless, it got me in gear. These images are prints that I did on textile with my carved stamps. I did these more than a year ago, but I carved them again during my hiatus this summer (aka: dog attack recovery.) Plenty of helpful info is listed in this post and this one if you're interested in giving carving and printing a try.

I absolutely love drawing, and it is thrilling to see how your drawing will look once you've carved it. The printing process is equally as gratifying for me. There is something very meditative about it as you get into the rhythm of printing. These were my first attempts at printing on textile. I used linen and Pebeo Setacolour opaque textile paint from Dharma Trading Post.

Here's some of the results. The top two are being made into pillows. I also designed a messenger bag. I've printed up about 18 for the show and we'll see if I get them all constructed in time. Did I mention that the show is just 10 days away?! Hmmmm. My goal is to remain healthy while cranking it all out.

So... I've been a busy little bee, but that's usually the case this time of year. I find that I'm feeling really energized by my new creations, so let's hope is the drive that I need to get it all done. Really, though, even if I don't get everything made that I want to, the very best part is feeling like I'm back in my creative groove. Ah, yes. That's more like it.

Sushi by daddy

It's always a good weekend when daddy makes sushi.

Remember how important you are....

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