And The DIY Continues...

This DIYBride madness has to come an end...soon.

But not today. Today, I decided to tackle yet another DIY area and make my centerpieces a little more unique.

Instead of using the usual smooth-wax pillar, taper and votive candles, I am going to make hand-rolled beeswax pillar candles of different lengths in ivory and sage.

I am loving this idea for many reasons, but the top two are: 1) first, it's a cheaper alternative to buying a zillion candles (since I am having a cadlelight ceremony and reception, I am going to need A LOT of them) and secondly, they are too easy to make.

They sell the beeswax sheets at just about every craft store, and even Wal-Mart, as well as the wicks, and those are the only two things you need.

And this is also a craft I am very familiar with, and have done before. While Forever*Hubby was deployed to Iraq, I picked up a few new hobbies to keep myself busy -- card-making was one, and candle-making was another. I was not a fan of the boiling the wax and making the smooth type (too time-intensive and messy), but I fell in love with making the hand-rolled kind because it was easier and there was virtually no clean up. Many nights, I would pop in a DVD, pull out a few sheets of the beeswax, gather some wicks and roll the night away. I used some, and gave many away as gifts.

The directions for these are as easy as this; this craft is so easy, it's usually suggested as a child's craft project.

Basic Rolled Pillar

Ingredients:
Beeswax Sheet
Square Braided Wick

Step 1
Warm the wax sheet slightly with a hair dryer (if necessary). Warming the wax will make it easier to work with in cooler room temperatures. Just a slight heat is needed – do not melt the wax.

Step 2
Cut sheets long ways so the width of the newly cut sheet will be the height of the finished candle.

Step 3
Place sheet shiny side down, and position wick as shown below. The wick should be offset ½ inch so it extends ½ inch past the top and ½ inch from the bottom.

Step 4
Carefully fold the wax over the wick trying to keep the edge as round as possible and keep rolling firmly like you would roll a sleeping bag or like how paper towels are rolled around the cardboard tube.

Step 5
Keep the top and bottom of the wax even as you firmly roll the wax. The end result will be a tightly rolled candle with a flat top and bottom that looks sort of like a fire cracker. You can add more sheets to make the diameter of the finished candle as large as you want butting the ends of each sheet as you go (do not overlap – but them up against each other nice and straight).

Step 6
When the last sheet has been rolled, press the last seem down tightly against the candle with your thumb and it is ready to light.

See? Too easy!

And if I get to rolling now, I will probably have the number of candles I want somewhere within the same week of the ceremony...