Yesterday I mentioned that we made the tags in the middle of another adventure. That was our first attempt at candle making. I think I have recovered sufficiently enough to be able to talk about the experience.
What didn't work:
- Buying the 10# glacier of paraffin at Hobby Lobby. My attempts to break it into manageable chunks with a chisel and hammer would have given Martha Stewart heart palpitations. I was considering the reciprocal saw at one point.
- Using the wax dye to color the paraffin.
- Using a pyrex bowl to melt the wax in since we didn't have a metal coffee can. (Do they even sell coffee in metal cans anymore?) Pyrex bowls don't pour very well. In fact, Pyrex bowls pour just about everywhere except where you want them to.
What did work (or would probably work):
- Buying the smaller packages of Gulf Wax. It would likely cost more, but be much easier to work with and involve less bruising.
- Lots more dye.
- The metal coffee can. Crimping a pour spout in the rim first would be a great idea too.
- The pine needle essential oil smells great. In fact, my kitchen floor will smell good for a long time to come.
- Allowing about four times longer for the project then you think it will take.
- Buying your candles from Pier One.
Our first project was Pinecone Firestarters. Tie a wick on a pine cone and dip it in melted wax several times. How hard could that be?
No comment.
These were the pinecones we made.
These were the pinecones in the Gooseberry Patch Christmas book. I'm going to go out a limb and guess that I don't have much of a future in candlemaking. It remains to be seen if they will start a fire or not. And will the wax leave residue in the fireplace?
My biggest question however involves the warnings on the paraffin. They went to great lengths to inform you that you should not, under any circumstances, not ever, no we mean it, never use the paraffin near an open flame (which we didn't). And yet the product is labeled for use in making candles; which by their very nature involve open flames.
I think I'm going to stick to sharp, pointy objects from now on.
