Crafts

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Home Bee Facts Activities Record Keeping Honey Harvest More Sites Crafts Queen Rearing Observation Hives Recipes Wax Moths Rescuing a Colony Top Bar Hives Save the Bees	This bee is on a landing board. This bee is on newly made honey comb.	Working With Beeswax The sheets of colored beeswax the children used are not the same as the ones they use for foundation in the frames in their beehives. The colored beeswax is not pure. It does have some paraffin in it. Pure beeswax burns cleaner and longer. Candle making and hand lotion bar making are good ways to make products to sell along with the honey your bees will produce. In the December 2005 meeting Megan gave a talk and demonstrated how to make lip balm using beeswax. When melting beeswax always use a double boiler. Never put the pan of wax over direct heat.	This bee is on a block of pure beeswax saved from cappings. When making hand lotions, lip balms and lip creams, use this nice, clean wax. Its lovely smell will add value to your product.

Making Things With Beeswax
Liberty 4-H Beekeepers made beeswax candles at their December 2004 Meeting . They used sheets of colored beeswax. These are available at many craft stores and in beekeepers' supply catalogs.
	Kaitlyn is demonstrating the way to place the wick on the beeswax. She pressed it firmly onto the edge of the wax. Next she will roll the wax tightly around the wick. The top of the wick is 1/4" above the candle. Before rolling the wax, she softened it with a hair dryer so that it was easier to work with.	Griffin is selecting his next sheets of beeswax.	Kasey made her rolled candles and then cut out pieces to make pictures. They stuck on after she warmed them slightly with the hair drier.
Molded beeswax candles require clean wax filtered through mesh or a nylon stocking. Wax saved from the cappings cut off the honey frames is great. It has the best fragrance. Melting old comb in a solar wax melter also gives a beautiful wax.
	Hard plastic and metal molds require spraying with a silicon spray. Always spray away from yourself and anything that could cause a fire. Flexible silicon molds do not need spraying.	Phoebe is pouring wax that is not too hot. Pouring temperatures should be between 145°F and 155°F. Note she is holding the container very close to the mold.	To make this two color floating candle Jessie carefully poured the red wax first and let it set awhile before pouring the lighter color.

Wood skewers work well to support the wick in the large candles. We used hair pins for the little votive candles seen in the photo.	The cup cake molds were made by the Wilton cake pan company and worked great for making candles. The wicks have little metal clips on the bottom. To make these pour a little wax in the base, place wick in center and then carefully pour the rest of the wax. Note the half gallon milk carton being used as a pourer.	The tallest molds were expensive but will last for years. They are silicon flexible molds. The two piece bee skep molds were the hardest to seal and pour.	Arianna, Phoebe and Jessie are planning to give their beautiful candles away for Christmas gifts.
Megan did a great job preparing a talk and teaching the other 4-H beekeepers the art of making lip balms and creams. She now prefers to use olive oil in these recipes rather than the almond or other oils she found in her research.

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