This tutorial comes from Ann of
Harvest Moon by Hand. It was one of their family
advent activities. The results are beautiful and we are so pleased Ann is sharing how to make these charming ornaments.
These beeswax ornaments are made by pouring melted beeswax into ceramic ceramic cookie molds. The mold designs lend themselves well to the ornaments, and in the window, the sunlight reveals the pattern. It takes about a pound of wax to make eight ornaments.
The first step was to m
elt the wax. My daughter, emptied a huge can of black beans and washed out the container. I put the wax into the can and then into a heavy pot with a few inches of water.
The next step, once the wax was melted, was to pour it into molds. Initially, we poured the wax directly onto the mold. It ended up sticking. One of the ornaments came off easily, but the rest stuck. After getting the wax off, I put some vegetable oil onto the molds. We re-melted the wax and tried again.
This time, there was too much oil and the ornaments looked greasy. Removed all the beeswax and re-melted it. Wiped off some of the oil so there was barely any there.
Third time...re-poured the wax in the molds an
d put little holes where the ribbon would go through.
The beeswax hardens quite quickly. For the initial ornaments, we made holes with toothpicks through the wax so a ribbon would go through them. For the last batch, I put the ribbon in the back of the hardening wax.
If we had trouble taking any of the ornaments out of the molds, we put them in the freezer for a few minutes. Then they would come out easily.
After drying them for a couple of days at room temperature, I took a paring knife and cleaned up the edges as well as put a ribbon through the holes for hanging them.
My daughter and I enjoyed making these ornaments together, and look forward to making more of them.
Many thanks to Ann for sharing one of her projects for the holidays. Ann's shop,
Harvest Moon by Hand is participant in our Christmas in July Sale. Save 10% on everything in her shop by using code
EKCIJ10 (products only; not on shipping).
If you love these
Beeswax Impressions but aren't up for making them yourself, you can purchase them in her shop
here.
Follow Ann's articles and photos about homeschooling; arts and crafts; cooking; nature walks; natural living; needlework; and see what inspires the creation of products available through Harvest Moon by Hand by reading her
blog.
ABOVE::
ABOVE::
elt the wax. My daughter, emptied a huge can of black beans and washed out the container. I put the wax into the can and then into a heavy pot with a few inches of water.
d put little holes where the ribbon would go through.
I have three girls, and when a certain doll catalog comes in the mail, there is a huge clamoring to see who can get their hands on it first. My girls love the books and stories that go along with the dolls, telling their story and the time in which they lived. Over the years these characters like many in their favorite books, have become good friends, friends they like to visit often within the pages of their stories.
What a fabulous suggestion! Etsy, specifically EtsyKids team members have an amazing selection of clothing for 18" dolls ... everything from period dresses and party dresses, to soccer and cheer leading uniforms. But don't for get the everyday clothes and accessories ... dresses, jeans, leggings, caps, and more. The prices are super reasonable and the quality looks amazing! So if you're in the market for 18" doll clothes. Please check out the selection offered by our EtsyKids team members. They have LOTS to offer the little girls on your shopping list this year.
These pom-poms are easy to make and eco-friendly, allowing you to re-use everyday items you will likely have on hand ... and if you don't improvisation is always a good thing! The instructions were published in Family Fun magazine last summer and are available here. You might notice that we had to do a little improvisation when making the one pictured. Because of a strict event budget, dowel rods were quickly abandoned, so we turned to a local fast food restaurant who donated a box of extra tall drinking straws. Perfect! Three extra tall drinking straws taped together held the weight of our recycled grocery bags very nicely.
Grace Hester of gracehesterdesigns has a knack for presentation. One look at her Etsy shop and a quick pa-rouse of her blog and you know, nothing leaves her hands without it looking like it stepped away from a photo shoot.
You can find the tutorial and the freebie download on her blog, here. See the lovely teal and white bakers twine - that little something extra that makes those little tags sing? Well she's even got a little giveaway going on ('til Wednesday 8/18/10) for some, so be sure to check that out as well!
Wrap N Snap Reversible Car Seat Belt Covers by AmyRoseDesigns
Ok. Remember what that looks like because we are going to go on a scavenger hunt now! Hidden inside 2 items in each participating shop are the daisies. What you need to do is open the survey/form in a new window: 
