|
How to Make Candles Using Old Crayons
By LeAnn R. Ralph
As featured in the story "A Candle For Christmas" from
the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin
Farm)
Materials:
- 1 wax carton (quart) (milk,
fabric softener, or orange juice)
- 1 pound of paraffin wax
- 4 or 5 old crayons
- two trays of ice cubes
- a double boiler (or an empty
coffee can and a saucepan)
- 1 piece of ordinary white package
string about six inches long.
|
Caution: Do not heat paraffin
directly over the burner. Paraffin is easily combustible. Use
a double boiler or a two-pound coffee can set in a pan of water.
I put the coffee can on top of home canning jar rings (the rings,
not the flat lids). If the can is not set on top of something,
the concave bottom creates a vacuum when the water begins to
heat up, plus if it’s on the bottom of the pan, it's just
that much closer to the burner.
Trim the top part of the carton
off so that what remains is about six inches high.
Cut the string so that it is
six inches long. (To make a wick that lasts longer, try braiding
three pieces of string together.)
Melt the paraffin wax over medium
heat in a double boiler or a coffee can in a pan of water. Use
three-quarters of a pound for a somewhat smaller candle or use
all four squares for a larger candle. Once the water begins to
boil, it will take 10 or 15 minutes for the paraffin to melt. |
|
Break the crayons into small
pieces and add to the paraffin. If the crayons are added first
before the wax is melted, the color makes it difficult to see
if all of the paraffin is liquefied.
Use a pair of tongs (a scissors
works, too), and dip the string into the paraffin. Dipping the
string will ensure that it is coated with paraffin since the
ice cubes may prevent some sections from coming in contact with
the liquid wax. Hold the string so that it is in the middle of
the carton and fill the carton with ice cubes. Pour the hot paraffin
over the ice cubes.
The candle will be set in about
30 minutes. Let the candle stand for another hour or two until
most of the ice cubes are melted. Pour off the water. Peel off
the carton. Place the candle in a tray or on a plate to catch
the rest of the water from the ice cubes as they finish melting.
Let the candle dry for a day or two.
The candles I have made with
a single piece of string only burn for an hour or so and burn
quickly enough so that most of the paraffin remains intact. To
use the paraffin again, melt the candle and pour the wax into
other containers to make solid candles.
Solid Candles
To make solid candles, select
several glass containers. Pint or half-pint canning or jelly
jars work well. For the wick, measure out a few more inches of
string than is needed to reach the bottom of the container. Tie
the string around a pencil. Put the pencil across the top of
the container to hold the wick in place. When the paraffin and
crayons are melted, pour the liquid wax into the container(s).
When the candle is set, snip off the wick about a half inch above
the wax.
Scented Candles
To make scented candles, put
three or four teaspoons of vanilla extract into the bottom of
the double boiler (or the coffee can) and then add the paraffin
and crayons. When the wax is melted, pour into containers. |
