Beeswax Candle making

The kids were rummaging through the craft cupboard and came across some sheets of beeswax. They wanted to know what we could make with them and could they please use them. A quick search of the shelves also turned up some wicks, so we were set to make candles.

As you can see in the photos, beeswax candles only need 3 things - beeswax sheets, wicks and a hair dryer. We lie the wick along one end of the sheet with a little bit overhanging. Then we warm the wax with the hair dryer and tightly wrap the wick with the end of the sheet. Now we use the hair dryer to warm up the wax and tightly roll the wick up in the wax. The end of the sheet needs to be heated a little more until it almost melts so that the roll sticks together and doesn't unwind. Once we've finished making the candle, if we have wax in a different colour we cut out shapes and melt it on to the candle.

Depending on the age of the child making the candle, it may be tightly wrapped or loosely wrapped. It doesn't really matter. The tightness of the wrapping simply makes the candle last longer. So whenever I have a fast burning candle, I know my kids love me so much!

Felt Making for the Young

Have you ever tried making felt? You know, the stuff you buy in the craft shops. Well last year at Majura Womens Group we spent a term learning how to make felt. Feeling enthusiastic about felting I went and equipped myself with the rovings necessary to make felt pictures. I was convinced that at any moment I was going to come up with a design that would instantly transform me into an artist.

I cleared the kitchen bench during quiet time while the kids were resting, put my box of colourful rovings on one side and set up an area to lay out my picture. And then I sat down to think...

and I thought...

and thought some more...

until I realised I had only thought about collecting everything I needed rather than having an idea of what I wanted to do with it.

It wasn't until the boys came out and asked what I was doing and if they could help that I thought we could work together on a design. So I asked both of them for an idea. The eldest wanted to make a nativity scene. The youngest wanted some spring flowers. I showed them how to layout the background and let them loose.

Here is James's flower scene. I did help with getting the pink balls of roving to stick to the picture.

Christopher's nativity was more of a solo effort. 

Once the pictures were laid out on a large piece of bubble wrap, it was a matter of covering with netting and sprinkling with warm soapy water, rolling it tightly up around a plastic tube and rolling, rolling, rolling in all different directions until the felt comes together. The warm soapy water causes shrinkage and wobbly edges, but this makes it authentically home made. 

The netting should be removed once the felt has started to stay together. Then the felt is simply rolled up again around the tube and rolled firmly to and fro 50 times in each direction. It is easiest to unroll the plastic and carefully lift the felt and turn 90 degrees. By doing this you are preventing the felt distorting and ensuring that the fibres are meshed together. 

The pinch test tells you if the felt is done - if you pinch a section of the felt between your fingers and you can feel movement in it then it still needs more rolling. If it sticks together then you can rinse in warm water, press it between a towel to remove excess water and leave it to dry. Do now wring the felt out or it distorts.

These are our finished products. If we feel inspired we may attempt some hand sewing to embellish them...but I think they look good just as they are!

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers.

Until today it had never occurred to me to wonder how they jump. We were making cardboard roll grasshoppers when one of my boys asked me how grasshoppers managed to jump with their legs on backwards. Hmmm, the only way to work it out was to try it ourselves. We tried lying down and jumping backwards. We tried using our legs to launch ourselves across the slippery floor.

Nope. 

It doesn't work for humans. It must be the little miracle that makes grasshoppers so very different to us.

After we had been trying this for while Paul found a video clip showing how grasshoppers jump and how the rear legs are designed to give extra power to their jump. Next time I'll be saving myself a lot of effort and sending the kids to ask Dad what the answer is.

Our grasshoppers were painted green. While we waited for the paint to dry we cut out two  big legs (the reason we ended up trying to jump horizontally) and 4 little legs. We did have to consult our 'How to Draw Insects' book for the correct shape of the legs...and then decided it was too tricky so made some carefully rounded legs for the small ones. The large legs were triangles with feet. 

The antennae was one pipe cleaner with curly tips. The wings were some scrap materials cut into wing shapes and glued on. 

I have to confess that after the children left the grasshoppers to dry I did sneak some strong glue to hold on the wings as I didn't think that the kids glue would hold it for much longer than it took to dry. I hope the kids didn't notice!

Egg Carton Critters - Under the Sea

Generally on a Sunday evening we will watch a documentary together while we eat pizzas. This is our one day of the week where we don't sit at the table (mostly because the pizzas are ready at different times and it is rather miserable sitting down to watch everyone else eat). Sunday night we watched a documentary on sea creatures. While we were watching, my boys started working out how they could make toy jellyfish so they could put on a puppet show for me.

I could only manage to get everyone into bed by assuring them that we could make their creatures the next afternoon.

Let me introduce you to Gail the Jellyfish and Henry the Octopus (do little children call an octopus anything else these days?)

Not bad for a quick craft session. We did have a few dramas making the 8 legs for Henry because we tried to use pipe cleaners first as an easier alternative to plaited wool but discovered that they don't glue very well with kids glue.

Now I just have to sit back and wait for the promised puppet show.