Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Hexis and Homemade Candles with Kids

5 puffs this week.  I used the Candy Skein yarn that I purchased last week and love it!!  It's soft and doesn't split and those stripes are the best!
 Sometimes the kids come up with such fun things to do.  One of my kids had made candles on a field trip last year and wanted to make some again at home.
 We started by melting the just plain old white wax and added wax dye.  Blue was the color of the day.
 It was very hard to cut that wax in smaller pieces.  It took my big knife and that meat tenderizer (I used it like a hammer on the handle of the knife) to break off pieces.
 Cut strings for the wicks - they are too long, but the kids didn't seem to mind!
 Then we set up an assembly of sorts - several stops with a can of melted wax and a can of water.
 The kids then walked around the table stopping at each station to dip their wick first in wax and then in the water.  The had so much fun talking and walking!!
 Some of them made big ones and formed them into shapes...
 others just let the wax do whatever it wanted.
 The 7 year old meticulously made different forms.
 The 10 year old trying to get a skinny one to stand up.
 Still trying.  It never did stand up, but she didn't mind.
The candles of our labors :o)  Not perfect, but perfectly fun!  They want to make more as soon as we use these up.

I love these times with the kids where we can just stop all the crazy business and take a breath.  Do something fun together that they have initiated.  These are the times, I hope, that they will look back on and think how fun it was to grow up in our home with all their siblings.

6 comments:

Nicole said...

That rainbow puff is my favourite too, so bright and cheery :)

I love making candles but I made some tea lights once and the whole thing (wax and all) burst into flames! I think it was because there was only a small container (instead of a normal candle) so when all the wax turned to liquid it went a little mad... Be wary lol x

Deb Hickman said...

I'm loving your hexi puffs such pretty colours, looks like you all had fun making your candles. Deb x

Mlissabeth said...

That Candy Skein yarn makes great stripes!

Tangled Sweetpea said...

Love those puffs, and the candles are pretty cool too!
Victoria xx

Heidi Kuijer said...

You almost need a honeybee charm to add to your Beekeeper's quilt when it is done. :-)

Love the candles and it looks like lots of fun was had by all.

Hugs from Holland ~
Heidi

Lydia said...

The candles look fun! I'd love to do this with my kids! Thanks for linking up with me!