CREATE A HAND-MADE BEESWAX CANDLE

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Hand rolled beeswax candles make beautiful, practical gifts.  Very little time is needed to create a versital honey colored utility candle. You can, of course, choose other colors, but the natural lends itself to many different arrangements.  

You can purchase 11"X8" sheets of honeycomb or smooth beeswax and round-core wick at a craft supply store.  Do not use braided or wire-core wick!  Remember to work in a fairly warm room.

Now the fun begins.  Place a sheet of wax on your breadboard with the long side toward you and the edge protruding about 1/4".  Bend this downward, keeping it straight by aligning the 8" side to the end of the board.  Carefully turn this over so that it bends upwards.  Cut a length of wick to extend 1/2" on BOTH ends of the wax.  Lay it along the fold and press the upturned edge over the wick firmly enough to remove air but still preserve the wax.

Now begin rolling from the wick side using enough pressure to eliminate air.  Keeping the wax straight, roll the entire sheet.  Finish the bottom by tapping on a hard flat surface.  The extra wick on that end will be pressed into the wax and can still be used if you need to "turn it over" and start with a fresh wick.

There are many variations and decorating ideas which will be discussed in the future.

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Article #7 in a series              

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