Have you thought about candles for this year's home made Christmas gifts?
You don't need any special skills, just some time and enthusiasm!
Miss Trixie is probably more suited to road testing lingerie and perfume than she is to making stuff. So, if she can make a reasonable looking candle, believe me, anyone can!
One thing she does excel at is knowing what to buy women for Christmas.
She says that it's almost spooky that so many women love candles. The only complaints she's ever had have been for overly strong fragrances, too much smoke, or having to clean up drips.
All easily avoided with good products.
Otherwise, candles are universally loved by women and make great home made Christmas gifts for mom.
Here are five easy to follow recipes for fail proof candles.
1.Candle in a Tea Cup
A candle in an old, fine bone china teacup makes very sweet looking home made Christmas gifts.
You'll need:
1. Check your tea cup for any cracks while you wash it in hot soapy water. You don't want any nasty accidents! Dry it thoroughly.
2. Tie the wick onto the middle of the chop stick and sit it on top of the teacup so that the wick hangs down into the center of the cup and rests on the bottom.
3. Melt the wax and add any coloring and/or fragrances you choose.
4. Pour the wax carefully into the cup to about ½ inch from the top. Allow to harden and top up with more wax if needed.
5. Cut the wick from the chop stick.
6.Wrap the cup and saucer (if there is one) in pretty tissue paper and present it in a gift wrapped box.
2. Candle in a Preserving Jar
You can use any heat proof container for a candle. Why not use an old preserving jar?
Glass always looks pretty and you can dress up an old jar to look either country (with a gingham and ribbon top) or classy (with a modern decal or simple ribbon).
The instructions are exactly as for the candle in the tea cup.
Once you've made your candle you can decorate the jar with beads on wire threaded around the top, ribbons, or source those gorgeous decals you can get for scrap booking.
3. Beeswax Rollups
Candles made from beeswax sheets are possibly the simplest candles you could ever hope to make.
You will need:
1. Cut your wicks to be 1 or 2 inches longer than your wax sheets.
2. Take one of your wicks and one sheet of wax.
3. Lay the wick along the edge and allow it to over hang on one end.
4. Start rolling the wax being careful not to put too much pressure on it as you don't want to squash it or to make it roll unevenly.
5. If it won't roll easily you can heat if very gently with the hair dryer or put it briefly into a cool oven.
6. Keep an eye on how even it is as you roll.
7. When you reach the end you should be able to seal the end just by running your warm fingers along it. It this doesn't work you'll need to heat that side of candle gently with the hair dryer.
You're done. Is that one of the easiest home made Christmas gifts you've ever done!
Decorate the finished candle if you wish - rustic trims like raffia, pine cones, cinnamon sticks or dried flowers can look great.
4. Frozen Candle
For a very striking and unique candle, try using an ice filled mold.
You will need:
1. Cut the top off your milk container and wash and dry it well.
2. Melt your wax and add any of the fragrance and coloring that you want.
3. Pour a little of the wax into your mold. Put your ready made taper candle right into the middle and hold in place until the wax has set.
4. Drop chunks of ice into the container to a depth of about 2 inches. You don't want a uniform pattern so crush and smash some of it. Pour in enough of your wax to almost the top of the ice.
5. Allow it to cool, and then repeat the process again. You need to do it in stages to make sure enough of the wax reaches the edges of the mold.
Once the candle has completely cooled (allow 40 to 60 minutes) you can pull or tear the mold off. These candles make truly stunning home made Christmas gifts - very sculptural.
TIP: Do this over a sink or outside as the ice will now be water and go everywhere! Give the candle time to dry before you try to gift wrap it.
5. Wax Chunk Candle
You can get wonderful results with this method of candle making. Essentially it is made up of large chunks of colored wax covered in clear wax. Just imagine what you could do with different colors!
You will need:
1. Cut the top off your milk container and wash and dry it well.
2. Measure out a length of candle wick and tie it to the middle of your chop stick so that the wick can hang right down to the bottom of the container.
3. Melt your clear wax.
4. Pour a little into the base of your container. Drop the free end of the wick into the middle so that it is held firmly in place when the wax cools. The other end is tied to the chop stick which will sit on top of the container keeping the wick in the middle.
5. Carefully place your wax chunks around the wick. Favor the chunks to the outside of the mold so they will be seen clearly when the mold comes off. Make sure the chunks are irregular with gaps between them. You don't want a uniform pattern.
6. Slowly pour in the melted clear wax.
7. Leave it to harden. You may need to top it up to give a flat top. Remove the mold and gift wrap.
TIP: You could also do this in a sturdy glass jar.
So, there you have my top 5 easy home made Christmas gifts from candles.
Make sure you're careful with the hot wax, won't you?
Merry Christmas!
