This post is brought to you by Rachel Thomas.
When it comes to Valentine’s Day, handmade gifts really stand out. Even if the artwork is reminiscent to a sleep-deprived Picasso, the final product can easily warm the heart. Helping your children create scented waxy hearts can be quite easy if you have the tools on hand.
Image via Parenting.com
Ways to Make Homemade Candles for Valentine’s Day
Collecting the Wax – When the wick is too short to light, scented wax from the candle can be easy to retrieve. If the wax is in a jar, you can heat it up in order to help it liquefy. Using a spoon, you could scrape the wax out of these jars. If you’re looking to make these in mass quantities, you can also find scented wax cubes or cheap candles at local dollar stores.
Heart-Shaped Designs – You can find a myriad of heart-shaped cookie cutters that will work great for cooling the wax. These will help you turn the collection of scented material into a work of art. Virtually any heart-shaped mold will do for Valentine’s Day.
Oil – To help separate the wax from the heart mold, many people add a small amount of oil to the inside of the shape. This will help prevent the wax from sticking to the heart mold. A thin layer of oil can help you retrieve the wax without a breaking heart – unless that is your goal.
Wax Paper or Tin Foil – Lastly, you’ll need wax paper, tin foil, or other covering that the wax will be easy to retrieve from. As you’ll be filling the heart mold with scented wax, you want to have a semi-tight seal between the shape and the material.
Putting it Together
Combining the materials to create the scented wax heart isn’t difficult to do. While you may want to help your children handle the hot material, the actual work is quite easy.
- Lay your paper or other material on a flat surface. You can also use a cookie sheet if you’re careful about using a spatula to pick up the heart.
- Place your heart mold securely on the paper.
- Carefully pour the melted wax into the heart mold. You don’t want to splash hot wax everywhere as it could make an unsightly mess.
- Let the wax cool before retrieving it from the mold. Depending on the size of the heart-shaped mold, it could take anywhere from five minutes to more than 30 in order for the wax to be stable enough to remove it from the area.
Don’t be afraid to add a bit of flare to the design. Layered colors can be easily accomplished if you let each harden before pouring in the next. The end result is a magnificent work of scented art that can be carved by your children to include dates or initials.
What would be your favorite scent to turn into a Valentine?
Rachel is an ex-babysitting pro as well as a professional writer and blogger. She is a graduate from Iowa State University and currently writes for www.babysitting.net. She welcomes questions/comments which can be sent to rachelthomas.author @ gmail.com.
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