DIY Network

Modern Beeswax Candles Create square and pillar candles from beeswax. From "Special Presentation" episode DHGN-S

Creative Juice co-host, Steve Piacenza, gives an old craft a modern twist by making beeswax candles for Jennifer Perkins, host of Craft Lab. Sheets of colored beeswax are cut using a knife and cookie cutters. They are rolled and stacked and used with complementary colors of wax to create circle and square designs.

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Materials:

flat 17" x 8" beeswax sheets in various colors
cookie cutters: small circle, medium circle, large square
kitchen knife
scissors
braided wick
hair dryer or heat gun
old cookie sheet

	Figure A

Steps:

Square candle:

1. Warm a sheet of yellow beeswax with a heat gun or hair dryer, being careful not to melt it. Use a large square cookie cutter to stamp out about twenty square shapes from the beeswax (figure A). Stamp one square shape from a piece of blue beeswax, and use a medium and a small circle cookie cutter to cut a target shape from the center of the blue square or cut any desired shapes for your candles.

2. Cut a piece of wick that is about 1/2-inch longer than the squares. Sandwich this piece of wick in between two squares and firmly press the two squares together. Working in groups of two, layer yellow squares evenly on both sides of the candle, firmly pressing them into the candle as you go.

3. Add the blue beeswax stamps to each side of the candle, creating target patterns on each side.

	Figure B
	Figure C

Pillar candle:

1. Warm two sheets of beeswax – one pink and one purple – with a hair dryer or heat gun, being careful not to melt them. Use the kitchen knife or a pair of scissors to cut each sheet in half widthwise (figure B) so that you have two 17" x 4" pieces.

2. Cut a piece of wick that is about 4-1/2-inches long. Lay the wick across the shorter edge of the pink beeswax, leaving 1/4-inch overhang on each side. Crimp the edge of the wax over the wick and roll the sheet of wax tightly and evenly. When you get to the end, crimp the other piece of pink beeswax to the end of the first piece and continue rolling.

3. Gently roll the purple beeswax around the candle to figure out how much purple beeswax is needed to cover the outside of the candle. Cut off a piece of purple beeswax that will fit around the candle with about 1/4- to 1/2-inch overlap.

4. Cut polka dot shapes out of the purple beeswax with a small circle cookie cutter. Press one end of the purple wax into the candle and roll it around the outside of the candle (figure C). Firmly press the end of the purple beeswax into the candle.

5. Trim the excess wick from the bottom of the candle. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and heat it in the oven, or line a frying pan with foil and heat it on the stove. Run the bottom of the candle along the hot foil; this will make the bottom of the candle smooth.

Note: Over time, a film called "bloom" may appear on the surface of the candle. This can be eliminated by heating the candle with a hair dryer or heat gun.