Beeswax Candles!

I have been wanting to make these for a very long time.  I have been to many Waldorf schooling blogs, where they have posted beeswax crafts, and I always thought the candles looked so glowy and creamy yellow.

Now that we are settled in a bit from our move, we can craft more and more each day! Also, when we went to the farmers' market this week, the "bee guy" had his wax there at a great price.  I am so happy to be able to seek out those special places and people where you can find, say, beeswax, or the best coffee, or the best apple orchard.  I love it because we aren't going to move--we can embrace our lovely community in a way that I couldn't before.

Anyway, back to the candles.
I thought that Tate was getting to that age where he is going to start opting out of Mama's activities.  He recently complained about "Vinegar and Baking Soda and Food Coloring again??", so I have been letting him do his own thing.   Before I could even finish getting everything on the table, he was obsessed with the yellow soft sticks of beeswax.  He was building with them, playing with them, talking about them, etc.  It was a PERFECT Sunday afternoon activity.

How did we do it?

1.  Get Beeswax.  (Bee Guy, Natural Food Store, Amazon)

2.  Put a thin wipe of Jojoba oil in pyrex, then add wax to Pyrex.  Use about 1.5x the quantity that you want to fill.  (We used old glass candle holders and teeny canning jars.)

3.  Melt by putting Pyrex in a pot with an water in it.  (It takes awhile.  Watch very carefully as it can ignite if it gets super hot.   I just stand by and stir and stir and adjust temp as necessary.)

4.  Get wick ready.  They sell these at Michaels or other craft stores and are very inexpensive.  I used the long wick that I could cut to whatever size I need, with metal bases that are sold separately.  You just tie a knot in the bottom, pull it through until you hear it pop into the metal tube, and then crimp with pliers.  

 5.  Pour a little melted wax in the bottom of glass and "glue" wick down.  (You can do this before all of the wax is melted.)

 6.  Add and stir essential oils to fully melted wax OFF the burner.  I used 4 ml total and you could just smell the scent.  It was subtle, so add more if you want.

7.  Pour into glass candle holder.  Use 2 chopsticks or skewers (seen above in the corner) that you lay flat across the top of the glass, on either side of the wick to make it stand up straight.

8.  Let cool and trim wicks, and you have candles!

 They helped choose the oils, stir the wax, and basically just played with all the supplies as I did most of the work.  They didn't care--they still felt like they made the candles.

I need to go back to the "Bee Guy" for some more wax!

Project 21: Reusable Gift Bag

I love a pretty, wrapped package, but I do hate how much waste it creates.  My son, Tate, had a birthday party to attend, and I had a few spare hours, so I made a reusable gift bag.  I love it!!

I used StayzOn ink and stamped the cupcake on the twill ribbon, and hemmed the edges.  I know there is a company who makes these and you can track where in the world they travel to!!  Here is where you can find them.  Or, if you ask me, I might make one for you:) 

Lip Balm Party!

For Tate's school, I auctioned off a Lip Balm and Salt Scrub Making Party.  It was sooo fun!  We had a group of about 10 girls, and we divided the activities in half.  They seemed to like making their stickers for each of their items as much as making the lip balm and salt scrub. (We used these labels and some gel pens.) Here are the ingredient lists that I gave to each of the girls.  (Basically, you combine all of the ingredients, adding the essential oil last.)

We were so busy making our creations, that I didn't get any photos.  Equally as fun was, after the girls went outside to play, the moms all had a chance to make their own salt scrubs.  I had such a great time!

Fun in the Kitchen--Summer 2012

 My generous neighbor gave me some of her extra, home grown zucchinis.  I have always wanted to make these and thought this was the perfect time.  They were great, and even Soleil loved them.  (They are like potato latkes, but fresher tasting.)  I had them with a little lemon juice, s&p, and sour cream on top.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/08/25/zucchini-fritters/

We made this for a little gathering I went to.  The little sweet-salty treat is so good, and easy to make.

 My helper in the kitchen.

This really works to keep your salad lettuce fresh and easy to access.  I ate sooo much more salad than I usually do, since all I had to do was pour it into a bowl to make salad:)

 And on a slightly unhealthy note, these are YUMMMY!  My friend, Ann, introduced me to their spicy, corny, salty goodness.