Candle crafts to make with Kids



Posted: Wednesday, December 23, 2009

by Sara Patterson

As much as candle making is about creating the warmth and glow of candlelight for your very own there can also be a fun and whimsical side of candle making, which we are now going to explore.

Any wax can be used in candle crafts for kids but since paraffin wax does release soot and other elements into the room when lit we will be discussing the use of soy wax. Soy wax burns cleaner and because it is made from hydrogenated soy beans it is a renewable resource. Using renewable resources as much as possible is a good thing to teach our children, I believe.

And here's a reminder of the basic plan for making a candle using soy wax and that this part of the process is best left to the adults in the family. First you melt the soy wax to 150-180 degrees Fahrenheit in the top of a double boiler. Be careful not to keep the soy wax above 150 degrees for too long because it could burn and take on a yellowish appearance. Once the wax is melted you can add any additional color. Then remove it from the heat and add your fragrances. It is best to use 7% fragrance by weight which is 1.12 ounces of fragrance oil for every pound of soy wax. If the fragrance concentration is too high then it may bleed through the candle. With the wax at around 140-150 degrees Fahrenheit you can then pour the wax into the mold to cool. Be careful not to pour the wax at too low of a temperature or the wax could crack. The perfect temperature is between 95 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Let soy wax candles cool naturally and don't hurry the cooling process along or you could cause the finished candle to crack.

The parts that kids excel at are in the planning and the execution of the rest of the project. Great projects, especially for younger kids are to use toilet paper or paper towel rolls for your candle mold. These molds need not be removed either. The kids can then decorate them with stickers, construction paper, glitter, or other items depending on the season. Candles that look like candles, or candy canes, or snowflakes would be wonderful crafts for the winter months.

If you make container candles kids can decorate the jars with paint pens, by gluing on beads, gluing glitter, ribbon or other sparkling items. Tissue paper pictures glued to the side of the jar would also give the candle a wonderful glow from the inside out.

And one of the most fun candle crafts for kids has to be making floating candles. This would be a great project if you had a small amount of wax left or if you had leftover wax left from the bottom of votives or containers. The fun part is picking cookie cutters for the shape of your candles. This would be a wonderful task for kids to be part of. With a baking sheet lined with foil you set the cookie cutters here, but first we need to get them ready. Using masking tape we need to seal the cookie cutter to the lined baking sheet. Run the tape around the outside edge of the cookie cutter leaving inch overhang. If there are corners, carefully give the tape a snip so that it will all fold flat down onto the lined baking sheet. This will keep the wax from running out of the cookie cutter and you will now follow the above directions using the cookie cutter as your mold.

Another fun candle craft that kids can enjoy participating in is creating an ice candle. It's best to start with a large container like a cardboard milk or juice container. You'll melt your wax the same way you do for all of these projects but instead of pouring all the wax in at the same time you are going to layer it with crushed ice about 2 inches at a time until the mold is filled. Once the mold is full you'll need to set the candle in a bowl for about an hour while the ice melts out. Once the wax hardens you can remove the mold and enjoy the marvel and randomness that ice creates in homemade candle making.

These are just a few of the great crafts that fun and enjoyable to do along with kids. Each craft has the opportunity to bring the joy of candle making to a new generation and that is a wonderful experience with which to build on.

Sara Patterson enjoys making candle projects with soy wax. For more information on how to make soy candles, visit www.homecandlemakingtips.com/

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