Introduction: Handrolled Sparkly Beeswax Candles
Pretty much exactly what the title says. Basically, this will show you how to handroll beeswax candles, and also make them sparkly.
Ingredients/Supplies/Materials:
At least one (1) sheet of beeswax
(available from your local chain craftstore, most of the time)
At least one (1) wick. I always buy the ones with the metal bases attached, but it's your perogative. It doesn't matter, really.
Sparkles (any colour, I chose multi-coloured)
Elmer's glue
A paintbrush (large or small, doesn't matter)
Scissors (depending on the size of your sheet of wax: if you have a large sheet, you can cut it in half and have more candles)
Water (less than a 1/4 of a cup)
A bowl (smallish/small medium)
Hands
A flat surface
Step 1: Mixing Glue and Glitter
Sprinkle glitter liberally at the bottom of your bowl.
Add a sizeable amount of glue, and begin to mix them together with your paintbrush.
Begin to add water, a little at a time, until it is a thick, milky consistency.
I like a lighter glitter look, but feel free to add as much glitter as you like.
Add a sizeable amount of glue, and begin to mix them together with your paintbrush.
Begin to add water, a little at a time, until it is a thick, milky consistency.
I like a lighter glitter look, but feel free to add as much glitter as you like.
Step 2: Glittering the Wax.
Now, take your paintbrush and begin to brush the glitter/glue mixture over the wax as lightly or thickly as you prefer.
Keep in mind, the thicker the layer/waterier the glue, the longer it will take to dry.
Also, make sure you're even all over, including the edges.
The wax will take over night or a few hours to dry depending on how much water you put in the glue/glitter mixture.
You can use something like a hair blow dryer to speed up the drying process, but keep in mind that wax softens/melts as it warms up, so keep the heating element far away from the wax and don't over dry any particular area. I don't really recommend this, but if you are really really impatient and can't wait a few hours/over night, you can always try. Again, depending on how watery the glue/glitter mixture was, this may not be very effective.
Keep in mind, the thicker the layer/waterier the glue, the longer it will take to dry.
Also, make sure you're even all over, including the edges.
The wax will take over night or a few hours to dry depending on how much water you put in the glue/glitter mixture.
You can use something like a hair blow dryer to speed up the drying process, but keep in mind that wax softens/melts as it warms up, so keep the heating element far away from the wax and don't over dry any particular area. I don't really recommend this, but if you are really really impatient and can't wait a few hours/over night, you can always try. Again, depending on how watery the glue/glitter mixture was, this may not be very effective.
Step 3: Rolling the Candle.
You can begin rolling your candle whenever your glue has dried.
First, flip your sheet of wax over so that the glitter is face down on your hard surface.
Now, place your wick as shown in the first photo: parallel to one side of the wax sheet. As you can see the wick does curve a little bit, so you'll need to straighten that out as much as possible. The wick should go down through the middle of the candle.
Now, time to start rolling!
The way I've heard this described, is like pretending you're back in pre-school and making snakes out of play-doh. The wax shouldn't bee (haha) too stiff, just malleable enough to roll. If you have cracks/breaks, those are pretty easy to fix. Just get a little heat, or warm with your hands, and gently mush it back together. Just roll slowly and steadily, and don't rush it. If you rush it you'll get cracks. Make sure to roll tightly, as in, there are not gaps between layers of wax as it is rolled.
You want the candle to be more or less straight, unless you're going for a curvy candle, which I'm not sure how well will work, but you're welcome to try.
So, as you can see in picture 3, roll until you're satisfied with the width of the candle. This might depend on how big your candle sheets are. If you like your width, you can cut off the remainder of the wax for another candle. Or you can use the whole sheet and make a giant, beer can size glitter candle.
First, flip your sheet of wax over so that the glitter is face down on your hard surface.
Now, place your wick as shown in the first photo: parallel to one side of the wax sheet. As you can see the wick does curve a little bit, so you'll need to straighten that out as much as possible. The wick should go down through the middle of the candle.
Now, time to start rolling!
The way I've heard this described, is like pretending you're back in pre-school and making snakes out of play-doh. The wax shouldn't bee (haha) too stiff, just malleable enough to roll. If you have cracks/breaks, those are pretty easy to fix. Just get a little heat, or warm with your hands, and gently mush it back together. Just roll slowly and steadily, and don't rush it. If you rush it you'll get cracks. Make sure to roll tightly, as in, there are not gaps between layers of wax as it is rolled.
You want the candle to be more or less straight, unless you're going for a curvy candle, which I'm not sure how well will work, but you're welcome to try.
So, as you can see in picture 3, roll until you're satisfied with the width of the candle. This might depend on how big your candle sheets are. If you like your width, you can cut off the remainder of the wax for another candle. Or you can use the whole sheet and make a giant, beer can size glitter candle.
Step 4: Finishing the Candle.
So, as you can see, your candle is more or less finished!
Except that you need to make sure you push the seam in! So, what I mean by this is that you note when you look at your rolled candle there is an "end" seam, where the wax sheet ended/you cut it off. So, you need to take your thumb or strongest finger and gently push that into the candle. If your wax is super stiff, try taking a mini-creme brulee torch and heating it up a little so that it doesn't unroll.
Now that you have your candle, you can trip the wick down if it is too long. If your candle bottom is uneven (not flat) you probably didn't roll very neatly. That's fine! Just take your candle, and bang the bottom against a firm, flat surface, hard. I know that's not exactly a *neat* solution, but it works admirably.
These candles work best when you're in a glittery mood. Whip them out and impress your mother, mother-in-law, your brother, and significant other.
How glittery!
Except that you need to make sure you push the seam in! So, what I mean by this is that you note when you look at your rolled candle there is an "end" seam, where the wax sheet ended/you cut it off. So, you need to take your thumb or strongest finger and gently push that into the candle. If your wax is super stiff, try taking a mini-creme brulee torch and heating it up a little so that it doesn't unroll.
Now that you have your candle, you can trip the wick down if it is too long. If your candle bottom is uneven (not flat) you probably didn't roll very neatly. That's fine! Just take your candle, and bang the bottom against a firm, flat surface, hard. I know that's not exactly a *neat* solution, but it works admirably.
These candles work best when you're in a glittery mood. Whip them out and impress your mother, mother-in-law, your brother, and significant other.
How glittery!
